Kansas City VA Medical Center sees protests today

Protestors gathered this morning at the Kansas City VA Medical Center in response to claimed ignored reports of racial discrimination at the center, asking for an unbiased, external investigation into discriminatory practices, according to a news report from KCTV5.

Those gathered for the protest include the Kansas City chapter of the NAACP, Reale Justice, the Concerned Clergy Coalition and former staff members of the medical center.

According to black employees and veterans, there has been a history of discrimination from white staff members who are said to have openly joked about lynching, using the n-word at work and discrimination in hiring, firing and promotions, according to KCTV5. These are among some of the complaints that have been reported starting back in March.

Following these allegations, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, chair of the Senate committee on Veterans Affairs, sent a letter to the VA Secretary demanding that the VA provide documentation regarding all discrimination complaints in the past 10 years, as well as how the hospital responded to those complaints, according to a news report from KMBC.

This morning protesters urged for further investigation, saying the conditions of the center, even after filing complaints, have not improved.

In March a VA spokesman for the hospital center, Vernon Stewart, released a statement saying the hospital is proud of its diverse culture and doesn’t tolerate discrimination of any kind.

Before the issue received attention in March, employees say that hospital administrators and the Office of Resolution Management and Equal Employment Opportunity have addressed complaints by retaliating against the workers who filed them, according to an article by AP News.