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Earlier this year, Ruby Hamad wrote called, How white women use strategic tears to silence women of colour, and it struck a nerve. It dug into the ways white women weaponize their emotions against women of color.

Many women of color shared the article, including a Kansas City television reporter named Lisa Benson.  Benson says she was fired from her job after two white female coworkers took offense to the article, which was posted on her personal Facebook account in June.

The Kansas City Star reports that, Benson’s case has received renewed attention after Hamad wrote a series of Twitter posts about it on Monday.

Hamad said Benson was suspended for making “broad, unfair characterizations of white women as a group based on their race and gender.”

According to KSHB, Benson posted on June 13 that she was no longer a reporter for 41 Action News. She followed on June 19 by posting that she did not quit her job but was suspended for posting the piece.

“I want you to know, I did not quit my job 41 Action News — KSHB-TV,” she wrote. “I was suspended for sharing a meme & a Guardian US article on my personal FB page and subsequently told I ‘shall not report to work’ for the duration of my contract.”

According to a previous report, Benson had alleged her former employer discriminated against her long before the white tears article was posted. Last year, she filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that her race was “constantly used” in deciding which stories she’d be covering.

The suit also claims that despite more than 10 years at the company and numerous applications filed by Benson, KSHB TV promoted white colleagues with less experience than she.

From the Star:

After raising concerns about the way she was being treated in 2015, Benson was suspended without pay for two days for what she was told was “combative” behavior with a supervisor. In her suit, Benson said her behavior during the meeting was respectful. 

Benson’s racial discrimination suit is currently pending in federal court, reports KSHB.

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