Oberlin College has finally agreed to pay a $36.6 million judgment to a bakery it labelled as racist.
Nearly six years ago, the son of the owner of Gibson’s Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio confronted a young black man for allegedly stealing a bottle of wine from the bakery.
The young man and two of his friends who also became involved eventually pled guilty to misdemeanor charges over the incident.
However, the three were also attending Oberlin College in the small town. The school has a long history of political activism, and students at the college accused the owners of the bakery of being racists and organized demonstrations and boycotts against the small business.
School officials also became involved. This included providing food and cold weather clothing for the student demonstrators. The college’s former Dean also distributed a flyer accusing Gibson’s Bakery of racial profiling.
The College’s Student Senate sent an email to its students condemning the Bakery and as well the college discontinued purchasing goods from the bakery.
In 2017, the owners of Gibson’s Bakery successfully sued the college, claiming it had libeled the bakery. In 2019, the court agreed and awarded the bakery $44 million in compensatory damages, which was later reduced to $25 million under Ohio law that caps such judgments.
Oberlin College then appealed the decision to the Ninth District Court of Appeals, which in March 2022 unanimously upheld the original decision and as well payment to Gibson’s Bakery of $6.3 million for its legal fees. This, plus accumulated interest, brought the total payout to $36.59 million.
The College trustees agreed to pay the judgment after the Ohio Supreme Court stated in August 2022 that it would not hear an appeal of the decision.
READ: Oberlin College to Pay $36.6 Million to Family Bakery It Labeled ‘Racist‘ AND Appeals court: Oberlin must pay $25M award to family-owned bakery it defamed
Meanwhile, at a university in Pennsylvania
The Daily Mail writes:
A Carnegie Mellon professor who sparked outrage by saying she hoped the Queen died an ‘excruciating death’ has launched another vile attack on the late monarch for sitting on ‘a throne of blood’.
Uju Anya, who teaches linguistics, argued Her Majesty, who died last week aged 96, wore a crown made of ‘blood diamonds’ and claimed her palaces and riches were funded by ‘our blood’.
She also attacked the monarch for what she claimed was her role in the Nigerian Civil War, bizarrely suggesting she was directly responsible for the death of millions.
OpentheWord.org 