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A black woman had to suffer racial discrimination at cosmetology school at the hands of a classmate with Tourette’s syndrome. The woman is now suing the school’s parent company for showing inaction even after she reported the harassment several times. Yamonnie Pressley was in cosmetologist training and studying to be an educator at the Empire Beauty School in Pennsylvania. This is when she started being racially discriminated against by a female classmate. The female with tourette syndrome allegedly followed Pressley wherever she went. The classmate “repeatedly shouted racial slurs,” according to official court documents obtained by Atlanta Black Star. Pressley also shared how, when the harassment became so frequent, she stopped attending the school fully. The program provides hands-on experiences and requires students to show up to school. The woman missed her classes from July to September. Yamonnie was quick to report the harassment to the management, which did nothing to stop it. They claimed that nothing could be done about the situation, considering that the student’s actions were involuntary. #LatestStory ‘Shouted Racial Slurs’: Black Woman Sues After Beauty School Dismisses Harassment as ‘Involuntary’ Tics from Student with Tourette’s: A Black cosmetologist training to be an educator at a beauty school in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, is suing the… https://t.co/qcaTefKcfq — Online Listing (@onlinelisting) November 2, 2025 The lawsuit filed by Pressley notes how the school isn’t required to accommodate Student A’s apparent disability at the expense of Pressley’s right to be free from discrimination based on race, according to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. In the documents, the school is also accused of neglecting its own nondiscrimination policy that protects students against harassment through racial discrimination. Due to the frequent harassment that she had to face, Pressley was unable to finish the educator program she had signed up for. In the lawsuit, she blames the school’s inaction for the economic harm that she has incurred. The lawsuit also touches on the emotional distress she had to go through. The lawsuit accuses the Empire Education Group, the parent company of the school she was enrolled in, of neglecting the racial harassment and its impact on Pressley’s emotional state. The plaintiff also alleges that the company violated federal civil rights law in the process. She wants the jury trial to decide “all available remedies and damages” for the case. Mayo Clinic describes Tourette syndrome as a “disorder that involves repetitive movements or unwanted sounds that can’t easily be controlled.” The website notes how a person with the syndrome often “blurt out unusual sounds or offensive words.” The National Institutes of Health reveals that about 10% of people display complex tics, including vocal outbursts that include vulgar, obscene, or swear words, a symptomology called coprolalia. The lawsuit acknowledges that the student was racially discriminated against Pressley had this characteristic.
