Black Nevada Cafeteria Worker Silenced Because White School Employees Didn’t Like Her ‘Black Voice,’ But She Got the Last Laugh

Add “having vocal cords that work” in the list of things one can’t do while Black. The latest example stems from a cafeteria worker in Nevada who filed a lawsuit because a few white teachers complained about her “Black voice.” You just can’t make this up.

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Vanessa Bowie-Middleton, 60, filed a suit in July 2024 claiming that she was silenced by the Bohach Elementary School Principal Heidi Gavrilles. Her suit says in 2022, the principal informed her that a few white teachers did not want her reprimanding the misbehavior of any of the 700 students she served, despite her responsibility to do so. The order put Bowie-Middleton on silent treatment for seven months, per the Reno Gazette Journal.

Bowie-Middleton claimed she was being singled out because of her race. Her attorney, Terri Keyser-Cooper, said plainly the situation was less about her client’s tone but more so because “the sound of her Black voice made the white teachers uncomfortable,” according to a statement.

“Principal Gavrilles explained to Ms. Bowie-Middleton that the white middle class Bohach teachers were not used to hearing a Black voice and it upset them to listen to her talk,” Keyser-Cooper said in a news release.

Following the complaint, Washoe County School District launched a probe but found no evidence sustaining the allegations, the report says. However, Tuesday, the district agreed to settle with Bowie-Middleton and pay her a whopping $60,000, via KOLO. The district released a statement following the settlement to set the record straight that they do NOT admit guilt to the accusations.

“The Washoe County School District denies all of the allegations in this one-sided press release authored by Ms. Keyser-Cooper, which amounts to an inappropriate attempt at an advertisement for her law firm. The District also denies the comments made by any third-party not related to this case,” the district said in a statement, via KOLO. “There are many factors that play into a settlement decision, and the District’s decision to settle was purely a business decision for the purpose of putting our students, families, and employees first.”