Group Sues Over Professor's Firing For Racial Comments On TV

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A nonprofit organization claims a New Jersey college has illegally withheld documents concerning the firing of an instructor over racially charged comments she made in a television interview.

Essex County College fired adjunct professor Lisa Durden in June after she made comments on Fox News defending a Black Lives Matter event that only invited black people. Durden is black.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education alleges the college violated state law by ignoring multiple open records requests.

The suit seeks to force the college to produce the documents, including emails sent by administrators in the days leading up to Durden's suspension and firing.

A college spokesman and an attorney for the school didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

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