A Black ex-director at SFJAZZ is suing the jazz nonprofit, alleging years of discrimination during his tenure at the organization.
Mount V. Allen III, 65, served in director roles at SFJAZZ for over a decade until this June when he was laid off. Allen served as the director of network engagement, and before that, was the director of operations. His lawsuit, filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, notes that he has learning disabilities, including dyslexia and dysgraphia.
The suit also alleges that he was the only African American employed at the director level at SFJAZZ in the past decade. Gazetteer could not independently verify that stat; SFJAZZ did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The lawsuit states that Niketa Wilkinson, SFJAZZ’s chief people officer, repeatedly excluded Allen from high-level meetings and denied him access to information, a claim that effectively meant there were no African American high-level staffers in attendance. He also claims he was removed from the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion committee in May 2024.
Wilkinson, during a meeting with Allen and a diversity consultant, said that she was frustrated with Allen’s “slow responses,” despite knowing of his learning disabilities.
In another incident, Allen alleges that Wilkinson repeatedly discriminated against older staff members during an internal re-organization. Ushers and box office personnel, the suit states, were required to re-apply for full-time jobs. Many of these employees were in their 70s. During the process, Wilkinson allegedly stated that they will only “rehire those that can stand up for 3 hours and those who do not require accommodations.”
After Allen called out that this would be age discrimination, she responded, “Yes, but we can’t say that,” per the suit.
According to the suit, SFJAZZ has hired more than six consultants specializing in DEI training since 2020 in order to address institutional “racial barriers, lack of communication, and lack of trust” within the organization. Allen told a manager that he felt like a “chattel slave” in SFJAZZ, the lawsuit said. A page on SFJAZZ’s website “acknowledges that systemic racism and bias has impacted Black, Indigenous, and people of color … within our own organization.”
Allan’s suit is asking for an unspecified amount in damages. Attorneys for Allen did not respond to requests for comment from Gazetteer.
