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, ethnicity, or sex. In all we have filed over thirty complaints and legal actions since launch in February 2023, with over half the schools withdrawing or modifying the discriminatory programs. (See EPP Mid-2024 Impact Reports.)Almost all of our actions have addressed discrimination in higher education. In our latest action, we have filed a Civil Rights Complaint (full embed at bottom of post) with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). What distinuishes the UIUC filing is that there are forty-two (42) scholarships challenged. We have never seen so many discriminatory scholarships at any one school. We also have not seen such a “diversity” of discrimination, against men, women, non-whites, whites, etc. There seems to be a systemic breakdown of civil rights compliance at UIUC when it comes to scholarships.From the Complaint:
We write in connection with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for illegal sex-based and race-based discrimination in violation of Title IX and Title VI, respectively. Specifically, UIUC offers, administers, and promotes 42 scholarships that discriminate based on race, sex, or both. Details of UIUC’s discrimination are provided below in three sections that include links to the relevant websites for each scholarship.
I.Title IX Violations (19) – Eight scholarships are offered exclusively to female students,eight state a preference for female students, two are offered exclusively to male students,and one states a preference for male students.II.Title VI Violations (19) – These 19 scholarships are all offered exclusively or with astated preference for various groups based on race, color, or national origin includingstudents from underrepresented populations, students who are historicallyunderrepresented, students from minority groups, and students from various ethnic groupsor national origins including Czech, Lithuanian, Japanese, Latina/Latino, Iranian.III.Title IX and Title VI (4) – These four scholarships discriminate based on both sex andrace either exclusively, e.g., eligibility is restricted to a male minority freshman, or with astated race/sex preference, e.g., minorities or women preferred.
In violation of Title XI and/or Title VI, each of UIUC’s 42 scholarships below illegally discriminates based on sex, race, or both. Given the vast array of discriminatory scholarships, it is clear that UIUC has a systemic non-compliance with federal civil rights laws. We request that OCR investigate UIUC for the multiple violations of federal civil rights laws (Title IX and Title VI) as set out below, and impose remedial and other relief
We then go on to discuss the law, and then detail each of the 42 scholarships at issue, concluding:
As set forth above, the number and scope of discriminatory scholarships is extensive, reflecting a systemic disregard for the civil rights laws. In light of this systemic problem, we ask that OCR promptly open a formal investigation not only as to these scholarships, but also as the UIUC system.We further request that OCR impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of anyone who may have been illegally excluded from UIUC’s scholarship offerings based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future programming through UIUC comports with the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.
The filing has generated a fair amount of local and national media attention.
The Washington Examiner covered the filing:
“UIUC has achieved diversity but in the worst way. The array of discriminatory scholarships collectively discriminates against almost everyone. Discrimination does not become lawful just because there is a diverse group of victims,” William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project, told the Washington Examiner. “The harm from discriminatory educational barriers is that it racializes not just the specific program, but the entire campus. Sending a message to students that access to opportunities is dependent on race or sex is damaging to the fabric of campus.”Alleging a “systemic non-compliance with federal civil rights law,” the complaint pointed to multiple instances in which scholarships are reserved for specific racial groups or genders, barring students who do not meet those demographic standards from benefiting from the scholarship….Some of the University of Illinois scholarships awarded to racial groups are somewhat vague in their wording, using phrases such as “underrepresented,” “minority,” and “diverse,” but in every instance, they exclude at least white students unless a specific national origin preference is stated. For example, two scholarships state a preference for a Czech student, and another prefers a student of Lithuanian descent, which the complaint still maintains is discriminatory.The Wanda Taeschner Babcock scholarship, for example, states a preference for “underrepresented populations pursuing a career in education to promote cultural diversity.” According to the UIUC website, “Underrepresented includes Black, Hispanic, and American Indian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and multi-racial students.”The Doris I. and James L. Willmer Endowed Scholarship has stratified preferences, stating, “Preference first to first-generation female, then to female students, and finally to minority students,” covering both Title IX and Title VI violations, according to the complaint. Similarly, the Myron and Jewel Ash Scholarship has a “preference to provide support for an African American man pursuing a career in elementary and middle school planning a teaching career in an inner city school at the kindergarten through eighth grade level.”“It doesn’t matter what the source of funds are for the scholarships or if the discrimination is at the request of donors,” Jacobson said. “UIUC needs to come up with a remedial plan to compensate students shut out of these scholarships due to discrimination.”
The College Fix also wrote about the case:
“After the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students For Fair Admission, it is clear that discriminating on the basis of race to achieve diversity is not lawful,” Jacobson, the founder of the Equal Protection Project, told The College Fix via a media statement. “As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’”“The vast number of discriminatory scholarships reflects a pervasive and systemic failure to comply with constitutional and statutory requirements at UIUC, warranting expedited investigation by the Office for Civil Rights,” Professor Jacobson said.“The eligibility requirements for these scholarships are openly discriminatory,” Jacobson also said. “Regardless of the purpose of the discrimination, it is wrong and unlawful.”“It does society no good to inject more racism and sexism into the educational system through discriminatory college scholarships,” the civil rights activist said.He wants the university to create a “remedial plan to compensate students shut out of these scholarships due to discrimination.”
I discussed the case on the Marc Cox Morning Show in Missouri, which covers the southern Illinois area as well. My discussion starts at the 2:00 minute mark:
It’s pervasive. It’s almost everywhere…. [W]hat started on the campuses has migrated off the campuses to private sector, and it’s a real problem and it’s something we can’t keep up with. We’re a small entity. We’ve brought 30 of these and we could probably have brought 300 of them if we had the, the manpower to do that. So it’s a huge problem.But here’s one where you have a public university doing it, and they’re not doing it even secretly. It’s right on their website. Everything we cited in our complaint is right on their website. And we think it’s pretty crazy. And the thing about it is, first of all, we’ve never seen 42 at one university. Usually we have one or two or three at a university. Here’s 42, which tells me somebody in their vast bureaucracy there who claims to be for non-discrimination is either agreeing with this or just ignoring it….And the interesting thing about this school, and again, we’ve never seen this, they discriminate against just about everybody. There are scholarships that discriminate against blacks. There are scholarships that discriminate against whites, against women, against men. Somebody is asleep at the wheel at the university that this is so pervasive. And that’s what’s so unique about it.We really do hope that the university senior administration will take a look at this and say, ‘Hey, you know, this can’t happen. This is actually not just contrary to federal law. It’s contrary to our own rules.’ And one of the things we see here, and we see in almost every case is the universities have rules that prohibit this, yet they don’t follow their own rules. So we’re not asking the university to do anything other than follow their own rules which says you can’t discriminate.
[If player doesn’t load, you can click here]
Springfield (IL) WAND TV ran a short spot on the complaint:
We are expecting more media coverage, and will add that if and when it happens.
Reminder: We are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination. Donations are greatly needed and appreciated.
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