An English professor who worked at Pennsylvania State University is suing the college on claims that they racially discriminated against him and other white staff.

Zack De Piero, 40, served as an assistant professor of English and Composition at Penn State-Abington from 2018 to 2022. 

During this time he claims he was forced to grade 'hispanic and black' students differently and was subject to exercises centered on critical race theory where white staff were made to feel 'terrible.' 

The lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, also claims he was forced to teach that the 'English language is racist and embodies white supremacy.'

De Piero, the son of first generation immigrants from Italy, said his family were 'actively discriminated against - instilling a life long commitment to treating all Americans equal,' the lawsuit reads.

The 40-year-old said that after alerting the university of his perceived discrimination officials allegedly retaliated by filing a bullying and harassment complaint against him and handed down lower scores on his annual performance review.

'When he complained about the continuous stream of racial insult directed at White faculty in the writing department, the director of the Affirmative Action Office told him that 'There is a problem with the White Race,'' the lawsuit alleged.

It added that he 'should attend 'antiracist' workshops 'until [he] gets it,' and that he might have mental health issues.'