A Black tech executive is suing her former employer over racial discrimination she claims she encountered on the job, including a Juneteenth greeting from a company director who allegedly wished her a “Happy no longer being a slave day,” according to a federal civil rights lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.
Spearbit Labs account manager Krystal Stokes immediately reported the incident – which occurred in front of colleagues – to Human Resources, her complaint states.
However, speaking out also set off a cascade of retaliatory moves by the company, purportedly icing Stokes, 45, out of meetings, cutting her pay without notice, and ultimately firing her upon her return from uterine surgery because, as the complaint says she was told, “her skills no longer met the standard.”
Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It was established as an official federal holiday by President Biden in 2021, and denigrated in 2025 as a ‘non-working holiday’ by President Trump, who removed it, along with MLK Day, as a free-entry day to the country’s national parks.
The Miami, Florida-based Spearbit is a top-rated Web3 firm founded in 2021, and describes itself as “a network of world-class security researchers protecting financial and blockchain infrastructure,” with affiliated contractors around the globe who provide high-level code audits to help harden clients’ defenses against crypto hacks and exploits. Spearbit has worked with companies such as Coinbase, SAP, OpenSea, and others, according to its website.
Employment lawyer Benjamin Yormak, who is representing Stokes, said he has seen an uptick in bigotry-based workplace cases over the past couple of years.
“Shockingly, many involve the use of overtly racist slurs, as opposed to more subtle racial discrimination we’ve often seen,” Yormak told The Independent. “Companies need to make sure that all employees are properly trained as to what’s appropriate, and what’s not appropriate, in the workplace.”
Last year, a Black employee at an Ace Hardware in Texas filed a million-dollar lawsuit alleging his white supervisor hung a noose inside a warehouse on Juneteenth.
In 2024, a Black firefighter in Rochester, New York was awarded $150,000 in a lawsuit against the city after his supervisor pressured him, while on duty, to attend a Juneteenth “parody party” where large Juneteenth flags were displayed among buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken and bottles of Hennessy.
In 2011, a group of Black drivers at a Houston limousine service who had asked for the day off on Juneteenth were instead subjected to a “mandatory safety meeting” during which a white woman in a gorilla suit allegedly shrieked like Tarzan, made offensive comments about attendees' lips, and asked at least one worker there if he had a banana in his pants, according to a lawsuit filed by two of the employees. The pair were later awarded some $200,000 in damages.
Spearbit founders Hari Mulackal and Mike Leffer did not respond on Monday to requests for comment.
Stokes, an Illinois resident, began working remotely at Spearbit on February 3, 2025, as a technical account manager, according to her complaint, which was filed March 13 in Miami federal court.
The position involves “managing and nurturing client relationships, understanding their technical needs, and working closely with our internal teams to deliver exceptional service,” a Spearbit job listing explains. “The ideal candidate will have a strong background in technology and security services, exceptional communication skills, and a passion for delivering outstanding client experiences.”
The complaint says Stokes was the only Black employee in Spearbit’s U.S. operation; all others were white or Asian.
In June 2025, Stokes started to experience racial discrimination on the job, the complaint goes on.
“More specifically, on or about June 19, 2025 (Juneteenth), a Director told Stokes, ‘Happy no longer being a slave day,’ in the presence of colleagues,” the complaint states.
The remark left Stokes feeling “extremely upset,” and she promptly emailed HR to formally report it, according to the complaint.
“While Human Resources made the Director apologize, this was one of many passive-aggressive comments directed toward Stokes based on her race,” the complaint says.
From there, the director, who is unnamed in the complaint, retaliated against Stokes by shifting her accounts away from her, not including her in meetings, and “taking her contacts away.”
In September 2025, Stokes was denied both a raise and a quarterly bonus, unlike her white counterparts, who all received them, the complaint continues.
Further, it contends, when Stokes went to HR with a grievance about this allegedly disparate treatment, Spearbit unilaterally lowered her salary from $145,000 to $110,000.
“There was no reason provided for the pay decrease,” Yormak told The Independent.
Later that month, Stokes had uterine surgery, and was granted four to six weeks of medical leave for the procedure and recovery, the complaint states. When she felt better after just three weeks, Stokes returned to work.
“The following week after Stokes returned from medical leave, on or about October 16, 2025, [Spearbit] terminated her employment,” the complaint states. “Stokes was told that ‘her skills no longer met the standard,’ despite having received only one performance review during her eight-month employment, and having recently received a bonus toward the end of her employment.”
Prior to her complaints of racial discrimination, Stokes had not been disciplined for any reason and her lone performance review did not contain any negative feedback, according to the complaint.
Stokes’s complaint alleges violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal law prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, as well as the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, a state law prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
Stokes has suffered humiliation and mental and emotional distress, according to her complaint. She is now seeking back pay plus interest; front pay, including raises; punitive damages; compensatory damages; and attorneys’ fees and court costs.
