Politics

‘Movement Is Racist’: Former Bernie Sanders Staffer Sues Pro-Sanders Group

No featured image available

Former Bernie Sanders campaign staffer Tezlyn Figaro is suing the pro-Sanders group Our Revolution, alleging racial discrimination.

“I’m not saying that he himself is racist, but his movement is,” said Figaro in an interview Monday morning with “Fox & Friends.”

Figaro was previously the director for racial justice issues on Sanders’s 2016 campaign, and reports stated she was fired after making offensive comments regarding immigrants. Figaro, however, has said she was fired because of “black outreach” and her advocacy about African-Americans in jail.

Figaro said in the interview that her previous appearances on Fox News and comments she made about immigrants receiving benefits that other Americans don’t have are what resulted in these anti-immigrant allegations.

Sanders has struggled with reaching the African-American community in the past. According to CNN’s exit polls, Sanders won only 14% of the black vote during his 2016 South Carolina Democratic Primary defeat. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, won 86% of black votes.

“Senator Sanders’ 2016 campaign leadership, which was all white, was accused of racism by a number of Senator Sanders’ African-American campaign staff,” according to the complaint filed May 15.

The complaint also discussed an instance where Figaro gave a presentation to board members that resulted in one member — Catalina Velasquez — allegedly “interrogating” Figaro regarding why she was booked at so many African-American events instead of Latino events.

Neither Our Revolution nor Sanders’ office responded to inquiries by press time.

Follow Shelby on Twitter