The City of Haine, Florida has agreed to pay $550,000 to settle a federal lawsuit brought by former city clerk Erica Anderson, who alleged she endured years of racial harassment, defamation, and retaliation from then-Mayor Anne Huffman before being wrongfully terminated in 2022, according to Atlanta Black Star.
Court documents reveal a disturbing pattern of abuse: Huffman, who is also Black, allegedly mocked Anderson’s natural hairstyle as “Aunt Jemima braids,” demanded she wear makeup to conceal a disabling skin condition, and told her she didn’t “act Black enough” for certain neighborhoods. The former mayor also allegedly retaliated when Anderson reported sexual harassment by a vendor, asking, “Are you sure this is what you want to do to another Black man?”
The retaliation escalated in 2022 after Anderson filed a whistleblower complaint. During a public meeting, Huffman defamed Anderson by falsely claiming her fiancé was her “other boyfriend” – a comment U.S. District Judge William F. Jung later ruled was intentionally humiliating. Anderson, who developed severe anxiety and depression from the harassment, was fired months later after taking medical leave…