Protesters gathered outside the Arboretum last spring to demand the resignation of the facility’s CEO.

A story in the Dallas Morning News celebrates retiring Dallas Arboretum CEO Mary Brinigar and minimizes discrimination lawsuits in which she’s named.

Arboretum Vice President Terry Lendecker said in the article that the facility “has submitted position statements requested by the EEOC and fully cooperated with all investigations. We are just awaiting EEOC determinations.”

EEOC has weighed in, and in at least one case has said the complaint may move to trial.

Brinigar addresses the lawsuits only saying she was “stunned by them,” but they have nothing to do with the timing of her retirement. She’s been a “proponent of diversity and inclusion programs since her days at the opera in the 90s.” One of the suits by a former trans employee claims they were hired to stage those diversity and inclusion programs but then was fired when they did just that.

Protests outside the Arboretum last spring caught the attention of Dallas City Council members as well as Arboretum board members. Employees quietly walked up to demonstrators thanking them for being there.

New policies were put in place by the board and Brinigar announced her retirement. The Dallas Morning News says that Brinigar is just waiting for her replacement to be named, but from the article, it doesn’t seem as if the search has gotten very far yet.

In light of Brinigar’s cavalier attitude toward multiple charges of discrimination, the Arboretum would be a happier place if she left now.

— David Taffet