PRESS RELEASE
New Book on Discrimination and Retaliation in NE Minnesota
Wins National Award
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The book, Plaintiff Blues: Job Discrimination and the Chilling Effect of Retaliation,
by Judith Pearson, has won national recognition in the Memoir category from the 2008 Eric
Hoffer Awards for Books. These awards are given to recognize freethinking writers and
independent books of exceptional merit. The awards are named in honor of one of America's
greatest philosophers and freethinkers. For more than fifty years, Eric Hoffer's books
have circulated the world and been translated into several languages. |
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The award announcement read, "Congratulations on your Eric Hoffer Book Award. Your book
endured rigorous judging and surpassed dozens of titles within its category. Each winner
was determined to be unique, worthy and well produced in all aspects of writing and publishing."
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Lake Vermilion resident, Iron Range native, and retired educator Judith Pearson wrote
Plaintiff Blues as a personal instruction manual on "the how and why" of civil
rights. It is Pearson's story of the discrimination lawsuit she won against St. Louis
County School District and the devastating retaliation that ensued. Pearson's
seventeen-year saga starts in 1986 when she applied for the Cook high school principal
position and was told, "Hell will freeze over before we hire a woman principal at the
Cook High School," and "The rumor is that you are sleeping with the superintendent,"
after her scheduled interviews for that position. She sued and won and now Pearson gives
readers the story beyond the newspaper coverage, including the personal and professional
costs she paid for exercising her civil rights. Plaintiff Blues is a candid representation
of one woman's challenge to provincialism in northern Minnesota, a white-collar version
of the book Class Action and the movie North Country. Pearson provides insight into
initiating an EEOC complaint, filing a civil lawsuit, confronting retaliation, and
being a plaintiff. The context of Pearson's story includes a close up look at her
common sense approach to teaching and education administration. |
Readers have written:
"WOW! You're a great writer. Your book kept me enthralled! I realize that it took some
soul searching and real effort to write it! You're also a terrific researcher & "keeper
of records." I want to buy more copies and give them to other women friends who've
experienced blatant discrimination, not as bad as what you went through, though, but
they'll profit from your writing."
Dr. Neal Nickerson (Professor Emeritus - Department of Educational Policy and Administration,
University of Minnesota.)
"Hi Judy, what a wonderful book. I read it over the past weekend and couldn't put it down.
You faced a great number of trials during your tenure, continuing to fight when others
may have given up. Your tenacity to keep fighting when things looked bleak speaks volumes.
This is a book that peaked my interest from the first page to the last. It's a good read,
but more importantly it tells a story that needed to be told. I'm proud to know you."
Denny Anderson (news anchor WDIO, author Good Night Everybody ... and be kind)
Published book reviews and additional readers comments can be viewed at www.plaintiffblues.com.
The books are also available at Woodward's Bookstore in Virginia and Howard Street Bookstore
in Hibbing.
(300 dpi version of book award)
(300 dpi graphic of book cover)
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