Just out of curiosity one day, I went to the internet's largest and most widely used search engine, www.google.com. I wanted to see what would come up about me if I typed Terry Artis into the search window.
At the top of the return page was Terry Artis' Web Site - www.phatassdrummer.com. (P.H.A.T. ASS. - is an acronym for Percussion Helpers And Teachers ASSociation). My students at Riverview Gardens at that time came up with the name. Terry Artis' Website is the html title of the front page of that site, so it was not hard to understand why a google search would have pulled up that result high in the order.
The second listed search result item was the Show-Me Sound Organization website - www.showmesound.org. I am the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization and listed as such, so again, it wasn't difficult to understand why this search result listed high in the order.
It is the third search result that I wondered about: Terry J. Artis, Appellant, v. Francis Howell North Band Boosters, et al... This case, filed June 11, 1998, was an appeal that I had my attorney file in the wake of our lawsuit filed in the Federal Courts: Artis v. Francis Howell School District, Francis Howell North Band Boosters, et al... That case was a breach of contract dispute as well as race discrimination. I wondered, "Why is this appeal the only part of the process published and readily accessible by a google search?" As I read the published information, I realized why. It would make the average person think that the White folks were the winners. "Look at the White folks. They LOVE to make people think that they ALWAYS win," I thought. The actual fact is in that case, the White folks lost BIG time.
I filed a federal lawsuit for breach of contract and race discrimination after I was terminated for standing up for the rights of a Black child in the Francis Howell North band program. The young man was being kept from participating in the percussion ensemble that I was contracted to provide instruction for, because of his grades. There was a White child who was similarly situated academically, yet still allowed to participate.
I raised hell and was eventually terminated by my contractor, the Francis Howell North Band Booster Association, in cooperation with the Francis Howell School District. I had the good White folks so mad at me that they made mistakes in getting rid of me. Those mistakes led to my filing a charge of aiding and abetting against the school district in a breach of contract cause that I was taking against the boosters. The charge was filed with the Missouri Commission On Human Rights (MCHR), which made it a joint filing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). I also filed for an investigation of the discriminatory practices of the school district with the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (USDE-OCR).
In the appeal, listed in the google search, there is no mention of ANY of those facts, investigations or cases. The only thing that the White folks want known is that I filed an "unsuccessful appeal."
The appeal was only filed to cost the district more money and further punish them for their discriminatory practices. It was at a minimum cost to me, because my young attorney took on the case for a 'song,' considering that I had the MCHR, the EEOC and the USDE-OCR involved. It was a breeze and a great experience for him. The Francis Howell School District had employed the services of Peper Martin Jensen Maichel and Hetlage law firm to dispute all of the claims in my charges. They were paying through the nose.
The one undisputable claim that my attorney and I knew we would win was breach of contract. At the time of the termination, I was at the end of the contract and the district only owed me $3,200. We held that the contract was breached because of my actions to protect the rights of the Black child.
The boosters had attempted to settle the contract dispute when they got a copy of a note written to me by my supervisor at that time, Joe Stacy. The little post-it note was left on my computer after I had lent it to Mr. Stacy. It read, "Pretty nice for a Black man. Thanx... Joe." That little note that I saved was my ticket to federal trial and the district and its attorneys were well aware of that fact. No one has ever said that racists are smart by any standard, but their attorneys tend to see the picture quite clearly.
I, of course, refused to settle for the pay out of my contract, but sent a message by my attorney that if they wanted to settle this matter, $50,000 for my pain and suffering would possibly make me able to get over the ordeal. By that time, the Black child had been reinstated in the program. (Racist White folks are so crafty, they believe). They actually make me laugh. The 'die hard racists' refused to settle on my terms, opting to pay what we can only estimate as a couple hundred thousand of the school district's (tax-payer) money to fight me.
After a lengthy and costly probe by MCHR, the EEOC and USDE-OCR, we filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court - Eastern District of Missouri. I got the 'luck of the draw' when my case drew Judge Charles A. Shaw. Judge Shaw is a Black man and well known to be a BLACK MAN. He, thank God, was and is no tap dancer.
My young attorney and I were able to take Peper Martin and the whole school district, et al to federal trial, which is largely unheard of. It was a thrill ride for me. Costing those racists that kind of money made every day a joy.
The jury awarded us breach of contract, but ruled against us on race discrimination. We considered ourselves lucky, because even though you are assigned a Black Judge, the jury make-up of the eastern district is VERY largely White and known for not giving a dime to Negroes, even in the face of the obvious that we had on our side.
I asked my attorney to file an appeal to continue to run up the district's attorney fees. He did and there we are on google.
Three months after the trial, I saw on the local news that the Francis Howell School District was being made to pay back over $6 million dollars to the state. It seems that the district had been over counting kindergartners for a time and the state had overpaid their Average Daily Attendance allowances as a result. I like to think that the thorough investigation of the districts finances by the U. S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights ferreted out this unsavory practice by the school district. When USDE-OCR investigates a district for discriminatory practices, they can remove all federal funding if they find cause. As they investigate school district's practices, they comb the books and finances with a fine-tooth, so that the organization under investigation is aware of the severity of the situation.
I 'googled' the Francis Howell School District to see if one of their entries reflected any of the investigations or cases listed above. There was no mention of any of these items on the first result page and I didn't look further. I simply thought again, "Look at the White Folks," and smiled.
For the record: I don't believe in dealing with matters such as these in courts. The odds are so stacked against Blacks in the court system, it can largely be a waste of time and money. This was a "special circumstance." I had the use of three FREE investigative agencies. I do believe in hitting racist cowards in the pockets. I always advocate filing a claim and maybe even a lawsuit. In my case, if I had drawn a White judge, I would probably have settled to avoid a dismissal or a summary judgement on all counts. But, that's just my philosophy.
Home
At the top of the return page was Terry Artis' Web Site - www.phatassdrummer.com. (P.H.A.T. ASS. - is an acronym for Percussion Helpers And Teachers ASSociation). My students at Riverview Gardens at that time came up with the name. Terry Artis' Website is the html title of the front page of that site, so it was not hard to understand why a google search would have pulled up that result high in the order.
The second listed search result item was the Show-Me Sound Organization website - www.showmesound.org. I am the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization and listed as such, so again, it wasn't difficult to understand why this search result listed high in the order.
It is the third search result that I wondered about: Terry J. Artis, Appellant, v. Francis Howell North Band Boosters, et al... This case, filed June 11, 1998, was an appeal that I had my attorney file in the wake of our lawsuit filed in the Federal Courts: Artis v. Francis Howell School District, Francis Howell North Band Boosters, et al... That case was a breach of contract dispute as well as race discrimination. I wondered, "Why is this appeal the only part of the process published and readily accessible by a google search?" As I read the published information, I realized why. It would make the average person think that the White folks were the winners. "Look at the White folks. They LOVE to make people think that they ALWAYS win," I thought. The actual fact is in that case, the White folks lost BIG time.
I filed a federal lawsuit for breach of contract and race discrimination after I was terminated for standing up for the rights of a Black child in the Francis Howell North band program. The young man was being kept from participating in the percussion ensemble that I was contracted to provide instruction for, because of his grades. There was a White child who was similarly situated academically, yet still allowed to participate.
I raised hell and was eventually terminated by my contractor, the Francis Howell North Band Booster Association, in cooperation with the Francis Howell School District. I had the good White folks so mad at me that they made mistakes in getting rid of me. Those mistakes led to my filing a charge of aiding and abetting against the school district in a breach of contract cause that I was taking against the boosters. The charge was filed with the Missouri Commission On Human Rights (MCHR), which made it a joint filing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). I also filed for an investigation of the discriminatory practices of the school district with the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (USDE-OCR).
In the appeal, listed in the google search, there is no mention of ANY of those facts, investigations or cases. The only thing that the White folks want known is that I filed an "unsuccessful appeal."
The appeal was only filed to cost the district more money and further punish them for their discriminatory practices. It was at a minimum cost to me, because my young attorney took on the case for a 'song,' considering that I had the MCHR, the EEOC and the USDE-OCR involved. It was a breeze and a great experience for him. The Francis Howell School District had employed the services of Peper Martin Jensen Maichel and Hetlage law firm to dispute all of the claims in my charges. They were paying through the nose.
The one undisputable claim that my attorney and I knew we would win was breach of contract. At the time of the termination, I was at the end of the contract and the district only owed me $3,200. We held that the contract was breached because of my actions to protect the rights of the Black child.
The boosters had attempted to settle the contract dispute when they got a copy of a note written to me by my supervisor at that time, Joe Stacy. The little post-it note was left on my computer after I had lent it to Mr. Stacy. It read, "Pretty nice for a Black man. Thanx... Joe." That little note that I saved was my ticket to federal trial and the district and its attorneys were well aware of that fact. No one has ever said that racists are smart by any standard, but their attorneys tend to see the picture quite clearly.
I, of course, refused to settle for the pay out of my contract, but sent a message by my attorney that if they wanted to settle this matter, $50,000 for my pain and suffering would possibly make me able to get over the ordeal. By that time, the Black child had been reinstated in the program. (Racist White folks are so crafty, they believe). They actually make me laugh. The 'die hard racists' refused to settle on my terms, opting to pay what we can only estimate as a couple hundred thousand of the school district's (tax-payer) money to fight me.
After a lengthy and costly probe by MCHR, the EEOC and USDE-OCR, we filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court - Eastern District of Missouri. I got the 'luck of the draw' when my case drew Judge Charles A. Shaw. Judge Shaw is a Black man and well known to be a BLACK MAN. He, thank God, was and is no tap dancer.
My young attorney and I were able to take Peper Martin and the whole school district, et al to federal trial, which is largely unheard of. It was a thrill ride for me. Costing those racists that kind of money made every day a joy.
The jury awarded us breach of contract, but ruled against us on race discrimination. We considered ourselves lucky, because even though you are assigned a Black Judge, the jury make-up of the eastern district is VERY largely White and known for not giving a dime to Negroes, even in the face of the obvious that we had on our side.
I asked my attorney to file an appeal to continue to run up the district's attorney fees. He did and there we are on google.
Three months after the trial, I saw on the local news that the Francis Howell School District was being made to pay back over $6 million dollars to the state. It seems that the district had been over counting kindergartners for a time and the state had overpaid their Average Daily Attendance allowances as a result. I like to think that the thorough investigation of the districts finances by the U. S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights ferreted out this unsavory practice by the school district. When USDE-OCR investigates a district for discriminatory practices, they can remove all federal funding if they find cause. As they investigate school district's practices, they comb the books and finances with a fine-tooth, so that the organization under investigation is aware of the severity of the situation.
I 'googled' the Francis Howell School District to see if one of their entries reflected any of the investigations or cases listed above. There was no mention of any of these items on the first result page and I didn't look further. I simply thought again, "Look at the White Folks," and smiled.
For the record: I don't believe in dealing with matters such as these in courts. The odds are so stacked against Blacks in the court system, it can largely be a waste of time and money. This was a "special circumstance." I had the use of three FREE investigative agencies. I do believe in hitting racist cowards in the pockets. I always advocate filing a claim and maybe even a lawsuit. In my case, if I had drawn a White judge, I would probably have settled to avoid a dismissal or a summary judgement on all counts. But, that's just my philosophy.