Investigation Clears White President of HBCU of Wrongdoing in Black Administrator’s Suicide, Prompting Outrage

The white president of historically Black university in Missouri placed on leave amid claims of harassment will keep his job after an independent investigation found no evidence he bullied a Black administrator who made the allegations against him before she committed suicide in January.

Lincoln University President John Moseley returned to work March 15 after he had been on paid leave since Jan. 12 following the death of Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, who had served under Moseley as the vice president of student affairs.

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The 49-year-old Candia-Bailey took her own life on Jan. 8, just days after she sent an email to the university’s Board of Curators and others, accusing Moseley of intimidation and “mental damage” after she was on the job for less than a year.

Previously, the deceased woman’s mother, Veronica Candia, and husband, Anthony Bailey, revealed that Moseley terminated her employment in the days leading up to her death.

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Candia-Bailey also told family members that she felt she was being targeted because of her race, citing Moseley’s complete lack of support.

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The allegations of harassment and bullying immediately prompted an uproar among students and alumni, who organized a massive campus protest to demand Moseley’s removal.

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Nearly three months later, the investigation has ended with Moseley’s name being cleared.

“Dr. Candia-Bailey’s claims that she was bullied by President Moseley were unsubstantiated. Specifically, when directly asked in the course of this investigation, no witnesses reported that they had ever witnessed President Moseley engage in bullying — and all denied having ever personally felt bullied by President Moseley,” the board said in its statement {snip}

The Board’s decision didn’t sit well with some HBCU alumni, who took to social media to assail Moseley’s reinstatement after it was announced last week.

“I hope the Board of Curators at Lincoln University never know peace again,” wrote Je’lon Alexander, a 2021 graduate of Morehouse in Atlanta, in a post to the platform X. “To allow this white man to remain president at an HBCU after evidence of him bullying Dr. Antoinette Candia-Bailey where she committed suicide is pure evil. Believe and listen to Black Women!!”