Benjamin Crump, a civil rights lawyer who has represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black victims of high-profile police killings, is calling on Gov. Phil Murphy to investigate accusations of systemic racism at University Hospital.
In a tweet Sunday, Crump posted an NJ Advance Media story in which the Newark hospital’s former diversity and inclusion officer said she was discriminated against and pushed out of her job because she is a Black woman.
“We join supporters who call on @GovMurphy to look into the culture at this public hospital & root out racial bias,” Crump wrote.
Dr. Chris Pernell, who disputed University Hospital’s description of her Sept. 2 departure as a resignation “to pursue new opportunities,” told NJ Advance Media that her efforts to eliminate bias were demeaned, leaders scrutinized her more than other administrators and the hospital retaliated against her for expressing interest in its open chief executive position.
Pernell contends her decisions were constantly questioned, she was accused of lying about her COVID-19 community vaccination efforts by a male executive and the hospital launched two “baseless” noncompliance investigations into her conduct in two years.
Murphy’s office declined to comment on Crump’s call for an investigation. Last week, the governor’s office declined to comment on Pernell’s accusations of racism at University Hospital.
“University Hospital is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment,” the hospital said Tuesday in a statement to NJ Advance Media. “Over the last few years, we have examined our organization to identify specific, measurable steps in furtherance of that goal. We are very proud of the progress we have made and continue to pursue this goal for our staff, patients and community.”
Pernell was moved by Crump’s tweet, she said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the support of Attorney Ben Crump,” Pernell said, “a champion for civil and human rights, in his call for Governor Murphy to intervene and ultimately root out the system sickness of racism at University Hospital, which cripples any meaningful efforts to change the organization and outcomes for patients.
“The only path to health equity and racial justice is through a process of truth and reconciliation,” said Pernell, who has not ruled out suing the hospital. “I invite others to stand firm in demanding action and accountability for all workers at University Hospital who have been wronged and subject to unfair racial bias and workplace discrimination.”
Pernell’s departure came just months after more than 100 leaders across the state called on Murphy and the University Hospital board of directors to name the 46-year-old Ivy League graduate as the next CEO, succeeding Dr. Shereef Elnahal. The letter described Pernell as a proven “champion for health justice, health promotion and disease prevention.”
“She has used her medical expertise to not only treat patients, but to lead initiatives that tackle the social determinants of health,” said the letter. U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., former Gov. James McGreevey and Dr. Perry N. Halkitis, the dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, were among those who signed it.
Elnahal, a former New Jersey health commissioner, stepped down in March after President Joe Biden nominated him to serve as under secretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration. Mary Maples, University Hospital’s chief legal officer, was named interim CEO.
Pernell joined University Hospital, a 519-bed facility and the state’s only public acute-care hospital, in 2019. She was its first diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
Crump, who the Rev. Al Sharpton has called “Black America’s attorney general,” is among the nation’s most prominent civil rights attorneys, representing the families of Blacks killed by police officers and helping them win multimillion-dollar settlements.
Crump also is representing the family of a woman who was among 10 killed in May by an 18-year-old white man in a Buffalo supermarket and Black families in Flint, Michigan, exposed to lead-contaminated water. Earlier this year, Crump was retained by the family of a Black youth who was handcuffed by police in Bridgewater after a fight at the Bridgewater Commons Mall.
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Elizabeth Llorente may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Liz_Llorente.