Black queer woman files racial discrimination lawsuit against the Kennedy Center over workplace treatment

A former Black employee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Washington, D.C.-based institution of racial profiling, retaliation, and creating a hostile work environment that ultimately forced her to resign, according to Forbes. Autumn Metcalf, a queer Black woman who worked in the center’s subscriptions office from 2022 to 2025, says her supervisors singled her out through excessive surveillance and disciplinary actions that were not imposed on white coworkers.

The lawsuit alleges that managers repeatedly questioned her whereabouts, monitored her bathroom breaks, and accused her of spending too much time away from her desk. According to the complaint, Kennedy Center supervisors also ordered Metcalf to remove a whiteboard outside her cubicle that displayed jokes and inspirational messages. She further claims that her manager, Stephanie Atkinson, made offensive comments about Black employees who had left the organization.

The lawsuit also says Atkinson made remarks about former interim director Richard Grenell’s assistants that Metcalf viewed as homophobic. The alleged discrimination reportedly intensified in November 2025, when Derek Younger, the center’s director of sales and ticketing services, confronted Metcalf in what she described as an aggressive and threatening encounter. She was then suspended without pay.

After returning to work, Metcalf says she was hit with another two-week suspension before deciding to resign, arguing that the repeated punishments and management’s treatment made the workplace unbearable. The complaint also includes accounts from former colleagues who said they questioned how management treated Metcalf. One coworker reportedly said supervisors paid unusually close attention to her movements, while another described the confrontation before her suspension as an unnecessary escalation.

Metcalf also accuses Kennedy Center Associate General Counsel Laura Hagan of brushing off her discrimination complaints and blocking her attempts to file an equal employment opportunity claim. The lawsuit arrives as the Kennedy Center is already dealing with separate legal disputes tied to leadership decisions and its temporary closure under President Donald Trump’s chairmanship. RELATED CONTENT: MLK Day Concert Finds New Home After 23-Year Run At The Kennedy Center