A Latina from Lawndale is suing an organization that bills itself as fighting for “cannabis justice” with a goal to “heal the legacy of racism in America,” alleging she was told she was not chosen for a position with the nonprofit in 2023 because she is not Black.
Briseida Lupercio Chavez’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against the Hood Incubator alleges racial discrimination, retaliation and wrongful failure to hire in violation of public policy. She seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
A Hood Incubator representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Jan. 5.
According to the suit, the Hood Incubator’s website states its purpose is to fight for “cannabis justice” and to “heal the legacy of racism in America . . . for the health and prosperity” of everyone.
“However, despite its stated vision of being an anti-racist organization, its blatantly discriminatory hiring practices could not be more contradictory to its stated purpose,” the suit states.
Chavez interviewed for a position with the Hood Incubator via Zoom last July with two organization representatives, one of whom is a managing agent, the suit states. The two representatives remained on the Zoom call after the interview and spent 10 minutes talking about why they were not interested in hiring Chavez because she is not Black, the suit states.
Both representatives mocked Chavez’s race and for saying she had biracial children, telling the plaintiff they found her comments “off- putting” and falsely implying that she only claims to care about Black people because she has Black kids and friends,” according to the suit.
One of the representatives told Chavez that because she is a Latina, she is used to the Latino community “pulling strings for each other,” the suit states.
Chavez was “embarrassed, ashamed, emotionally broken and in financial desperation” after learning that she was not hired allegedly due to her race, national origin and/or color,” the suit states.
Latina woman alleges she was denied job with cannabis nonprofit because she’s not Black
