Inetha M. Carr is no stranger to the judicial system. In fact, she has been involved in judicial proceedings for more than a decade. The incident Carr has been fighting against involves her time as a former employee of Central Piedmont Action Council (CPAC), a non-profit organization now known as HOPE Community Service Board. There, she was an outreach specialist who assisted people in crisis. Soon, she would find herself on the other side of the table in a crisis of her own.
Carr claims a "white male co-worker who was in a supervisor's position" attacked her on the job, twice. She said still today, there is not a feeling of resolution from that attack. The second time she was attacked, Carr said it put her out of work permanently. She says she is now weak and suffers pain throughout her body. "I am under the care of several doctors just to keep me alive," Carr added.
"Even after this person attacked me and I had him arrested, the agency turned on me. I was abused, mistreated and could do nothing right after I had this co-worker arrested." She said she was fired after she went to then-Congressman Virgil Goode (R) to report the situation.
According to her filed case in 1998, Inetha M. Carr v. Central Piedmont Action Council [CPAC], Carr filed the case by "alleging discrimination based upon sex and race regarding two incidents that allegedly occurred with a co-worker when he allegedly hit her on her back and for retaliation as a result of CPAC suspending Carr from employment a year after the incidents."
Fighting for justice for 12 years, Carr and a handful of supporters sat outside the HOPE Community Service Board building in Farmville on Main Street Nov. 9 in an effort to show she will not give up. "The last time I was here, I was alone. Now people have read the case and they support me in my fight," said Carr.
Carr said the FBI has investigated her case along with Consumer's Affairs agency.
The case has gone before all of Carr's government representatives in an effort to obtain justice, something Carr said is missing from her case.
Carr said she has been trying to get the attention of the current HOPE director, but despite her efforts, she has not received an answer. "I refuse to stop fighting for justice. I am a citizen of the United States of America. And my constitutional rights can be violated - my civil rights can be violated - and no one will do anything to address the situation?" Even though the FBI and Consumer's Affairs agency stepped in, she said she feels they did not complete the job.
"I'm not going anywhere. I am still standing for justice," Carr said. "If I would have committed a crime, the laws of the United States would have worked. But I refuse to be a victim. I have been hurt. And I expect the law to work on my behalf when crimes have been committed against me."
Carr said she thinks an agency that receives federal, state and local funding should "know how to treat employees" and be liable for incidents such as this.
Inetha Carr (seated) protests on Main St. in Farmville with supporters for her fight for justice.
