Two SC women of color denied spots on state board. They claim racial discrimination
Two women are suing South Carolina’s governor over what they say is a racial quota on a state board.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in December alleging racial discrimination in the composition of the S.C. Commission of Minority Affairs. Both plaintiffs claim they were denied seats on the commission because of their race.
The suit was filed by Sandy Chiong, a resident of Garden City Beach, and Michelle Mitchum, who lives in Orangeburg, against Gov. Henry McMaster, who appoints the commission and is an ex officio member. Both plaintiffs had expressed interest in serving on the governor-appointed commission tasked with engaging and uplifting the Palmetto State’s minority communities, but claim they were denied because the agency was seeking members of other races. Among the complicating factors is an existing mandate that the commission have an African-American majority.
“The ability to serve on the Commission for Minority Affairs should be based on qualifications, not race,” according to the lawsuit, filed by attorney Jeffrey Dunlaevy out of Greenville along with the California-based Pacific Legal Foundation. “And the Fourteenth Amendment requires the government to treat all of its citizens as individuals — not as members of a racial group.”
The suit asks the court to strike down the racial mandate for the commission, and for a nominal damages award of $1 plus attorneys’ fees.
Mitchum says she expressed interest in serving on the commission for the second district. A chief of the Pine Hill Indian Tribe, she previously served on the commission’s Native American advisory committee. But when she asked about earning a seat on the commission itself, Mitchum says she was told the open seat had to be filled by a member of “the Asian community,” according to the lawsuit.
“Initially, I was shocked,” Mitchum told The State when she received that response. “I was not expecting it to be any kind of a certain race.”
The rejection stung, Mitchum said, because the Pine Hill tribe has struggled for state recognition as a Native American community.
“It brought back historical trauma, just a blanket you’re not good enough,” she said.
Mitchum has worked with the agency for more than 20 years, pushing to represent the interests of her tribe and other Native American communities in the state. She worked to get protective gear distributed in her community when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and boost recovery efforts after a tornado swept through Orangeburg County. But she fears a racial quota for the board tasked with directing minority affairs has hampered its effectiveness.
She notes that four seats are currently vacant, and two others’ terms have expired, which could leave the 10-member commission short of a quorum. Mitchum also critiques the troubled history of the agency. The S.C. House Legislative Oversight Committee expressed “no confidence” in the Minority Affairs Commission in 2018 after an audit of its budget, deciding the agency was failing to meet many of the responsibilities for which it was initially set up.
“The governor is ignoring the commission,” Mitchum said, since McMaster is ultimately responsible for naming its members. “He’s asleep at the wheel.”
The governor’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Chiong, the other plaintiff, is the daughter of Cuban immigrants, with both of her grandfathers immigrating to the Caribbean island from China. She lives in the 7th congressional district, one of the seats on the commission with an expired term, and would otherwise be eligible to serve on the board, the lawsuit contends.
“She is ready, willing, and able to serve as a member of the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs and would be eligible to serve on the Commission were her race not a factor,” the lawsuit says.
Mitchum sums up the two women’s relationship with the Minority Affairs Commission as doubly frustrating.
“Ironically, she’s got to be Black and I’ve got to be Asian,” Mitchum said.
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