“If you believe that people at Harvard have not told the truth in one of any of these positions, you can infer that there is a discriminatory reason for their decisions in that case,” Clarey told the jury.

Clarey invoked the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. in court yesterday, claiming his client was judged by the color of her skin rather than the content of her character.

Goodwin contends she was told by her employer Barbara Mitchell that she was “just a pretty face” and that a promotion at Harvard in library services for an African-American was nearly impossible. “She was told by several people that she should leave Harvard,” Clarey said. “[An employer] suggested that she move on, [saying] ‘Don’t get stuck here. This is a traditional place.’”

The defense attempted to debunk Goodwin’s testimony from the week before. Riley reminded jurors that Mitchell had vehemently denied on the stand that she had said anything negative about the plaintiff’s race. He said that, in fact, Mitchell had written letters of recommendation for Goodwin and pointed out several positions to her.

“[Mitchell said] ‘If you’re equally qualified, the fact that you’re black may help you get the job,’” Riley reminded the jury. “Does this suggest that the woman—who is married to an African-American man, by the way—is a racist?”

The Harvard lawyer also suggested to the jury that Goodwin’s contention that she was asked to leave Widener “through the back door” by an interviewer was a fabrication.

“What she realized was that she didn’t have any evidence that would legitimately convince you,” Riley said. “[So she thought], ‘I was sent through the back door, that’s what I’ll say.’”

Goodwin first mentioned this incident, which her attorneys called a “humiliating experience,” during cross-examination, claiming that she had just remembered it at that moment and recalled crying in the parking lot afterward.

“I was personally offended because I pride myself on my integrity,” Goodwin said in an interview yesterday.

Goodwin said she was surprised by the speed at which the jury returned a finding but was less so about the actual decision.

“It’s very hard to legally decide what motivates a person to act in a certain way,” Goodwin said. “Most people who discriminate do not think of themselves as discriminators.”

—Staff writer Robin M. Peguero can be reached at peguero@fas.harvard.edu.