Black Employees File Formal Complaint Against California Department of Education
January 20, 2016
Dr. Shirley Thornton, a retired educator and colonel in the United States Army Reserves, remembers reaching a “glass ceiling” when she tried to advance to a senior level position at the California Department of Education (CDE). “The problems I faced were centered around my being in charge and people accepting that,” said Thornton who lives in the Los Angeles area. She says when the position for Deputy Superintendent, Specialized Programs came open, officials at the CDE told her she would have to apply for it. At the same time, a white colleague, also a woman, was appointed to an equivalent