The Equal Protection Project (EPP) (EqualProtect.org) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation has challenged numerous racially discriminatory programs done in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This discrimination comes in various ways, but the overarching theme is to exclude or diminish some people and promote others, based on race, color, or ethnicity. We have filed over two dozen complaints and legal actions in the year since launch in February 2023, over a dozen schools withdrawing or modifying the discriminatory programs.Almost all of our actions have addressed discrimination in higher education, although we have handles some matters in K-12. In our latest action, we have sent a letter to the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) calling on it to desegregate an event planned for the end of this month which appears to be open only to students and staff “of color.”Here are excerpts from the Letter (full embed at bottom of post) which was delivered this morning to senior administrators at ICSD:
The nation recently commemorated the 70th Anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), which held, among other things, that segregation of students by race in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. In light of this historic anniversary, we are deeply troubled to learn of a program in the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) which appears to segregate students by race.According to the official online Ithaca High School (IHS) calendar,[1] the Student of Color United (SOCU) Summit 2024, is scheduled for May 31, 2024, to be held at IHS from 9 a.m. through 12 p.m. A poster promoting SOCU 2024 indicates that SOCU 2024 is only for “Students of Color in grades 6-12 in Ithaca City School District.” [image omitted]Additionally, it appears that an email or message was circulated by a supervisory level staff member of ICSD informing staff (and possibly others) of SOCU 2024, how staff could assist students in registering, and stating that the event was “for students of color to interact with each other….” The message goes on to emphasize the exclusionary nature of the summit, and explicitly delineates that “[a]llies are not invited to this event.” We understand in this context that the word “allies” refers to white students and staff. In fact, the message goes on to invite only non-white staff, stating: “If you are a staff member of color and would like to attend the summit with our students, please email ….”SOCU 2024 thus appears intended to exclude whites and to be promoted as open only to students and staff “of color.”
We then went over the segregationist history of these Summits at ICSD:
This is consistent with how ICSD and IHS have run prior SOCU summits. SOCU 2021 was discussed at a public Ithaca Board of Education meeting on May 25, 2021. There, non-white students explained to the Board how important it was to them to have had an event open only to other “students of color.” During the exchange, one of the students recounted an interaction with a mixed-race schoolmate, who was unsure whether the event was open to her. In response, one of the Board members stated:
“We’ve had some people ask us as a Board, I’m sure Dr. Brown has heard this, why would we support something that separates young people out by the color of their skin?”
Promotional materials for SOCU 2021-2023,[2] and post-event postings on social media make clear that the events were racially exclusionary, and open only to students of color. The following examples illustrate this:
- In May 2021, ICSD posted on social media: “On Friday, May 21, BIPOC students from Boynton Middle School, DeWitt Middle School, Lehman Alternative Community School, and Ithaca High School gathered for a day of affirmation, scholarship, joy, and artful expression…. ”
- In June 2022, ICSD posted that: “The Students of Color United (SOCU) Summit is a day of affirmation, scholarship, joy, and artful expression for BIPOC students at Boynton, DeWitt, LACS, and IHS.”
- In June 2023, ICSD posted on social media: “The third-annual Students of Color United (SOCU) Summit took place on June 7th! The affinity event welcomed students of color from all ICSD secondary schools….”
It appears that these 2021-2023 annual Students of Color United summits were promoted and conducted as racially exclusionary, and that SOCU 2024 is following in that path. We don’t think you will seriously dispute this.[3]
We also noted that ICSD apparently had represented to the U.S. Department of Education that all programs were open to all students:
ICSD knows that it is not permitted to segregate students by race for any reason. On March 13, 2023, the non-profit group Parents Defending Education filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) regarding a different ICSD affinity event scheduled for February 8, 2023. According to a September 7, 2023, letter4 from OCR dismissing the complaint as moot, ICSD made the following representations to the U.S. Department of Education:
“The District informed OCR that the affinity groups listed on the announcement and scheduled for February 8, 2023, did not take place. The District further informed OCR that all of the District’s programming is open to all participants regardless of race and there are no affinity groups or other programs that are exclusionary based on race. OCR confirmed that the announcement listing the affinity groups no longer exists on the District’s website.” [emphasis added]
It seems hard to square ICSD’s representations to OCR with how the SOCU summits appear to have been promoted and conducted since 2021, but we look forward to that explanation.
We then went into a detailed explanation of the law, and how it didn’t matter why students were segregated by race, such segregation was not permitted.
Separately, we filed a Freedom of Information Law request seeking records regarding the Student of Color Summits, including but not limited to, racial eligibility and access standards.
As of this writing, we have not heard back from ICSD.
As an aside, there seems to be a voter revolt in liberal Ithaca, with the school budget (and large tax increase) overwhelmingly rejected, and two Board of Education members voted off.
After weeks of outcry about rising property tax bills, voters rejected the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) proposed budget by record-setting margins Tuesday, with only 29% voting in favor and 71% opposed.Such margins are exceptionally rare — both regionally and statewide….The budget included a proposed 8.4% increase to the tax levy, or the portion of the budget funded by tax dollars. The increased levy came amid increases in property assessments averaging 20% county-wide. This is also the third year in a row ICSD has increased its tax levy by more than 5%….In another rare result, all three of ICSD’s ballot proposals failed, despite only one — the budget — directly impacting property taxes. Some said they voted down the other proposals, which dealt with the district’s capital projects and the purchase of low or no emission school buses, because they wished to send a stronger message to school district leadership….Two longtime incumbents, Moira Lang and Eldred Harris, had been outspoken in their support for the budget and the district’s performance in its pursuit of more equitable learning. Both lost their bids for reelection.
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