Taylor Dumpson

Dumpson was born in Washington D.C. and raised in the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her mother is an executive vice president at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and her father is an executive movie producer.{{cite news |last1=Gates |first1=Deborah |title=Rising above racism: Salisbury resident Taylor Dumpson's resolve tested, but unwavering |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1913108695 |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=Daily Times |date=June 25, 2017|id={{ProQuest|1913108695}} }} Her family ties to the Eastern Shore begin in the 1800s.{{cite book |author1=Taylor Dumpson |editor1-last=Arjun Singh Sethi |title=American Hate: Survivors Speak Out |date=2018 |publisher=The New Press |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v3o7DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Taylor+Dumpson%22&pg=PT7 |access-date=30 November 2021 |chapter=Taylor Dumpson|isbn=9781620973721}} She has described the killing of Trayvon Martin as a life-changing event and a "generational moment" that inspired her to become more involved in activism during high school. She attended Wicomico High School, then American University for her BA in Law and Society, and completed her JD at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

At American University, she was a member of the predominantly Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, and began her term as the first Black woman president of the student government on April 30, 2017.{{cite news |last1=Larimer |first1=Sarah |title=After bananas and nooses on campus, here's how a student body president copes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/after-bananas-and-nooses-on-campus-heres-how-a-student-body-president-copes/2017/06/26/b8bdf706-5791-11e7-a204-ad706461fa4f_story.html |access-date=30 November 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 26, 2017}} On May 1, bananas hung from nooses, some including notes directed at her sorority, were found on campus, and the FBI began to investigate.{{cite news |last1=Fortin |first1=Jacey |title=F.B.I. Helping American University Investigate Bananas Found Hanging From Nooses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/us/bananas-hang-from-black-nooses-and-a-campus-erupts-in-protest.html |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=May 3, 2017}} Students protested and hundreds attended a town hall meeting in response to the incident.{{cite news |last1=Samsel |first1=Haley |last2=Turner |first2=Nora |title=American University hosts town hall to address racist incident targeting black women |url=https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2017/05/american-university-town-hall-addresses-racist-incident-targeting-black-women |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=The Eagle |publisher=American University |date=May 2, 2017}}

Within days, Dumpson was told by the Anti-Defamation League that the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer run by Andrew Anglin had targeted her for a "troll storm" of cyberharassment, including by posting her picture and social media contact information.{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Michel |title=After Neo-Nazis Targeted Her, Taylor Dumpson Says Young Generations Give Her Hope |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/12/1036475267/after-neo-nazis-targeted-her-taylor-dumpson-says-young-generations-give-her-hope |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=All Things Considered |publisher=NPR |date=September 12, 2021}}{{cite news | author= Karen Zraick| date= December 21, 2018

| work= The New York Times | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/us/american-university-racist-hate-training.html | title= Student Targeted by 'Troll Storm' Hopes Settlement Will Send Message to White Supremacists

| accessdate= November 30, 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Lavin |first1=Talia |title=Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy |date=October 13, 2020 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |isbn=9780306846441 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFfODwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Taylor+Dumpson%22&pg=PT2 |access-date=30 November 2021}} She has said she increased security precautions and experienced PTSD as a result of the harassment that followed.

In April 2018, with representation from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Dumpson filed a lawsuit alleging violations of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act of 1977 and the D.C. Bias-Related Crimes Act of 1989 against Andrew Anglin, Evan James McCarty, and Brian Andrew Ade.{{cite news |title=1st black woman student president at American Univ. seeks $1.5M damages from neo-Nazi site founder |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/1st-black-woman-student-president-american-univ-seeks-1-5m-n1000196 |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=NBC News |agency=Associated Press |date=April 30, 2019}} The lawsuit also included a variety of allegations against Anglin, including incitement of intentional infliction of emotional distress, interfering with her right to equal opportunity to education, and conspiracy to commit stalking.{{cite news |last1=Simon |first1=Mallory |last2=Sidner |first2=Sara |title=School's first female black student president was the target of a racist attack. Now she's suing over the 'troll storm' that followed |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/03/us/american-university-student-lawsuit-anglin/index.html |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=CNN |date=May 11, 2018}} In December 2018, Dumpson reached a settlement with McCarty that was influenced by principles of restorative justice and included his agreement to apologize to Dumpson, to renounce white supremacy, and to complete community service.{{cite news |last1=Sidner |first1=Sara |last2=Simon |first2=Mallory |title=He tweeted hate at her. She sued. Then she met him |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/21/us/white-supremacist-apology-to-student-soh/index.html |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=CNN |date=September 21, 2019}}

In August 2019, in a default judgment,{{cite journal |last1=Calvert |first1=Clay |date=April 2020 |title=Troll Storms and Tort Liability for Speech Urging Action by Others: A First Amendment Analysis and an Initial Step Towards a Federal Rule |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A632995687/AONE?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=86cd0eb4 |journal=Washington University Law Review |publisher=Washington University School of Law |volume=97 |issue=4 |access-date=30 November 2021 |quote=As was the situation in Gersh, Andrew Anglin failed to defend against Taylor Dumpson's lawsuit and default judgment was entered against him in August 2019. (47) In brief, the crucial issue at the heart of this Commentary regarding vicarious tort liability for speech-sparked troll storms was never fully litigated or resolved in either Gersh or Dumpson.}} Dumpson was awarded more than $725,000 in damages, costs, and fees against Anglin, as well as restraining orders against Anglin, Ade, and Moonbase Holdings, known as the company that supports The Daily Stormer.{{cite news |title=First black woman student president at American Univ. awarded $725k in suit against neo-Nazi website founder |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/1st-black-woman-student-president-american-univ-awarded-725k-suit-n1041821 |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=NBC News |agency=Associated Press |date=August 13, 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Padilla |first1=Mariel |title=Student Wins $725,000 in Lawsuit Over 'Troll Storm' Led by The Daily Stormer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/10/us/taylor-dumpson.html |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 10, 2019}} In her ruling, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer found Dumpson was "targeted because of her race and gender", and Dumpson's attorney Kristen Clarke described the ruling as "historic" due to the finding that racist online trolling can cause interference with equal access to a public accommodation.{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Samantha |title=Federal judge awards over $700,000 to former American University student targeted in neo-Nazi 'troll storm' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/federal-judge-awards-700000-to-former-american-university-student-targeted-in-neo-nazi-troll-storm/2019/08/10/f73dca84-bb7f-11e9-bad6-609f75bfd97f_story.html |access-date=30 November 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 10, 2019}}

Dumpson became a 2021 President's Fellow at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a DC-based organization that promotes civil rights,{{cite news | author= Rachel Maddow| date= October 25, 2021| publisher= MSNBC

| url= https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/neo-nazi-organizers-of-charlottesville-being-financially-wrecked-by-lawsuit-124611653715| title= Neo-Nazi organizers of Charlottesville being financially wrecked by lawsuit

| accessdate= November 30, 2021|quote=Taylor Dumpson of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law talks about her own experience using the court system to punish racist attackers.}} and has continued at the organization as associate counsel.

{{reflist}}

• [https://lawyerscommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dumpson-v-Ade-Opinion-on-Default-Judgment.pdf Dumpson v. Ade, Memorandum Opinion, August 9, 2019] (Case 1:18-cv-01011-RMC, United States District Court for the District of Columbia)
• [https://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_dumpson_from_exclusion_to_inclusion TED talk]

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Category:21st-century African-American women

Category:Activists for African-American civil rights

Category:American University alumni

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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni

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