In the exclusive interview, Bryant told AfroTech that her federal case was filed well before she was removed from the board and her CEO position. She also took time to address claims that she attempted to use funds from the organization for her own personal gain.

“To be specific, in my federal case, which was filed first, before I was removed from my board of directors, there are certain elements around the fraudulent activity that the board and certain members of the organization took to remove me as a fiduciary on bank accounts that belong to the organization. They did not belong to me and I did not make a claim that they did,” she claims. “But that was fraudulent use of documentation that was incorrect to compel Wells Fargo to make those changes.”

She called the move a “serious affliction” and noted that the allegations are included in her federal suit.

“We will be amending that federal suit to include a claim for wrongful termination because after the organization was served with that suit, the very next day I was retaliated against and removed from the board as well as from my role as CEO,” said Bryant.

Furthermore, she revealed that her claims against Hiles were brought forth well before she was suspended in 2021.

“Those issues, which are outlined in both the state’s case as well as the federal case, are important here because there are legal whistleblower protections that I intend to uphold, for bringing this these issues to the board and them not addressing them or even investigating them,” Bryant explained.

On the other hand, at the time of the briefing, Hiles stood by the actions taken against Bryant.

“I believe that the actions that were taken with respect to Kimberly were appropriate and necessary to responsibly protect Black Girls Code in its mission,” she continued during the briefing. “I also believe Kimberly’s ongoing actions since her termination were, which are knowingly causing harm to the organization that she built, demonstrate a lack of judgment and validate the decisions I made as a member of the board.”

She also spoke directly to Bryant’s claims against her.

“This past year has been incredibly difficult. Some of that difficulty is due to the ongoing, false, and malicious statements Kimberly has made about me and it has always, it has also been difficult to see this situation cause reputational damage to our organization that I deeply care about,” Hiles said, according to an audio recording shared with AfroTech. “I tried my best to limit the impact of the situation, but I cannot control what others say and do. I’m deeply disappointed that Kimberly has felt the need to attack me by making false and outrageous claims.”

Heather Hiles

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