Black scholar sues Cambridge University after missing out on interview

A black scholar sued Cambridge University after missing out on a job interview, claiming they must have known his skin colour because he mentioned Windrush on his application.

Distinguished academic Dr Calbert Graham sued for race discrimination because four eminent professors didn't give him an interview for a vacancy.

In his application, Cambridge researcher Dr Graham said he'd been impacted by Windrush - a reference to Caribbean immigration which later became a scandal involving the Home Office - and also boasted that his achievements had been recognised by the university during Black History Month.

Dr Graham accused the four professors on the job selection committee of 'racial bias' by not putting him on the shortlist for an interview.

But an employment tribunal ruled the panel - which had been given training on 'understanding unconscious and implicit bias' - could not have been sure what race Dr Graham as you don't have to be black to be affected by Windrush.

Instead, it found the 'scholar of some distinction' had simply fallen short in his application.

The tribunal in Cambridge heard Dr Graham, who has dual British and Jamaican nationality, is an 'outstanding' academic who has worked at the university as a senior research associate since 2014.

Dr Graham, an expert in linguistics, was employed within the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics.

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In 2018, Cambridge named him as a 'black researcher shaping the future' due to his work as part of Black History Month.

In May 2022 Dr Graham was one of 53 applicants who threw their hat in the ring for the role of assistant professor in second language education.

He said he was 'not at all worried about meeting the basic requirements for the job, because the advertised job is precisely I've been doing for the last 13 years', it was heard.

The tribunal heard that in the days before, Professor Linda Fisher, who was on the selection committee, had an email exchange with him and 'would almost certainly have seen that he was black' due to his email account photo.

Part of the job application was an expectation to 'engage with developing and raising awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion', it was heard.

In his application, Dr Graham said 'As someone affected in a very personal way by Windrush, I am a passionate advocate of a fairer society for all'.

Dr Graham also said: 'I was honoured to have had my research achievements formally recognised as 'future shaping' by the University of Cambridge in 2018. This was later featured as part of the 2018 Black History Month celebration of cutting edge and impactful research being conducted at Cambridge.'

His application also stated that his undergraduate degree was obtained from the University of the West Indies.

The selection committee was made up of Prof Fisher, Professor Ricardo Sabates Aysa, Professor Andreas Stylianides, and Professor Yongcan Liu.

They all undertook online training including 'Equality & diversity' and 'Understanding Unconscious / Implicit Bias', it was heard.

The committee said that 'while clearly an excellent scholar in their field', Dr Graham did not score well enough in the essential criteria.

At the tribunal, Prof Fisher 'accepted more than once that one could potentially infer from the application that Dr Graham is black' but said 'it was not at the forefront of her mind'.

Dr Graham asserted that a conscious racial bias was operating.

His lawyer argued they 'clearly had knowledge of Dr Graham's race from the time of receiving his application, yet tried to hide that fact'.

Dr Graham raised grievances and appealed, however he was not given an interview for the job.

Employment Judge Roger Tynan dismissed his claims of race discrimination.

Judge Tynan said there were 'undoubtedly indicators' that Dr Graham was black, but that the committee could not be certain and were not bias anyway.

Judge Tynan said: 'We think it highly unwise to assume anything about a person's race from the University they attended as an undergraduate.

'To do so would be to fail to have regard to racial diversity within academic institutions and the countries and regions from which they draw their students.

'As regards Dr Graham's reference to Black History Month, the study of and research into issues of race and racial identity are plainly not the exclusive preserve of those who are black, of colour or might otherwise identify as BAME.

'As we explored [at tribunal], a person might be personally affected by Windrush in myriad ways, for example through their partner or partner's family, or because their parent or other close relative is in a relationship with someone directly affected by Windrush.

'We are amply satisfied that the shortlisting was a collaborative exercise involving four independent-minded academics who were accustomed to and comfortable with group decision making structures and practices.'

Dr Graham - who claimed Prof Fisher was the 'villain of the piece' and the 'architect of all this misery' - also lost claims of disability discrimination and whistle blowing.