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 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 Fordham University in New York City regarding three race- and ethnicity-based scholarship programs.From the Complaint:
We write in connection with Fordham University in New York City (“Fordham”), a private university, arising from its illegal race- and ethnicity- based discrimination in violation of Title VI. As set forth below, Fordham operates, administers and promotes three discriminatory scholarship programs: The “Diversity Fund,” the “Fordham Scholarship,” and the “Latino Social Work Coalition Scholarship Program.” These scholarship programs, among other things, set up unequal standards of eligibility so that students similarly situated are treated differently based on race and ethnicity, in clear violation of Title VI.
We then went through each of the three scholarships
The Diversity FundThe Diversity Fund is described on Fordham’s website as a “Funding Initiative” that “fosters greater diversity among the student body at Fordham by providing financial support to students of color and those from first-generation or lower-income backgrounds. It was created in early 2021 to ease the burdens of student loans and part-time work that disproportionately affect Black and Latinx [sic] students.”2The Diversity Fund criteria set up a racially discriminatory standard: “the Diversity Fund is a current-use fund that fosters greater diversity among the student body at Fordham by providing financial support to students of color and those from first-generation or lower-income backgrounds.” (emphasis added). Accordingly, “students of color” are eligible regardless of whether they are “first-generation” or “lower-income.” Students who are not “of color” (i.e. whites) are eligible only if they are first-generation or lower-income. As a result, two similarly situated students – one “of color” and one white – who are not first-generation or lower-income are treated differently depending on their race and skin color.***The Fordham ScholarshipThe Fordham Scholarship is explicitly limited to applicants that fall into prescribed racial categories such as “Hispanic” and “African American.”3
“The full-tuition Fordham Scholarship is awarded to entering traditional first-year students for a maximum of eight fall and spring semesters (four years). Applicants designated as Semifinalists by the National Merit Recognition Program or Scholars by the National Hispanic Recognition Program, National African American Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program, National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program or National First-Generation Recognition Program are eligible to be considered for this scholarship.”4 (Emphasis added.)
4 The College Board programs referred to in the Fordham Scholarship description as prerequisites to eligibility include categories that are race-based, described by the College Board as a “tangible way to recognize the academic achievements of rural area/small town, African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous/Native American, and (new in 2024) first-generation students.” See, College Board “Big Future” website, “National Recognition Programs,” found at https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/communities-events/national-recognition-programs.
As with the Fordham Diversity Fund, different standards are applied depending on the race and ethnicity of the student. An Asian or white student who is not rural/small town or first-generation is not eligible, while a similarly situated African American or Hispanic student is eligible. In violation of Title VI, the above-listed program illegally discriminates against non-Black or non-Hispanic persons based on their race or national origin.
Latino Social Work Coalition Scholarship Program
The Latino Social Work Coalition Scholarship Program, offered through the Fordham Graduate School of Social Work5 is restricted to “[applicants who are Latino/x/e and bilingual students with significant economic needs….”
This scholarship discriminates based on ethnicity because “Latino/x/e” students who are not bilingual are eligible, while similarly situated other students who are not bilingual (Black, Asian, white) are not eligible. In violation of Title VI, the above-listed program illegally discriminates against non-Hispanic persons based on their race and ethnicity.
We then explain why these scholarship programs violate the alw, and ce conclude with a call to action:
The Office for Civil Rights has the power and obligation to investigate Fordham’s role in creating, supporting and promoting the discriminatory scholarship programs and to impose whatever remedial relief is necessary to hold it accountable for that unlawful conduct. This includes, if necessary, imposing fines, initiating administrative proceedings to suspend or terminate federal financial assistance and referring the case to the Department of Justice for judicial proceedings to enforce the rights of the United States under federal law.Accordingly, we respectfully ask that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights open a formal investigation, impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of anyone who may have been illegally excluded from the scholarship programs described above based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future programming at Fordham comports with the federal civil rights laws.
The NY Post Has covered the filing, Fordham U. ‘diversity’ programs discriminate, violate civil rights law: complaint:
A legal advocacy group has filed a discrimination complaint against Fordham University, claiming the Jesuit school in the Bronx offers race- and ethnicity-based scholarships that favor black and Latino students over white and Asian students in violation of civil rights law.The Equal Protection Project’s complaint highlights several examples, such as Fordham’s “Diversity Fund” and “Fordham Scholarship,” for which access is restricted to black, Latino or first-generation or lower-income students.The group also points to the school’s Latino Social Work Coalition Scholarship Program, which targets aid to Latino or bilingual students while excluding their black, white and Asian peers.The different standards based on race and ethnicity that must be met to qualify for financial assistance violate Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EPP said in the Aug. 4 complaint filed with the US Education Department.The legality of such “diversity, equity and inclusion” and preference programs is being challenged after the US Supreme Court ruled last year that race-based preference criteria in college admissions were unconstitutional.“The eligibility requirements for these programs openly discriminate on the basis of race and ethnicity. Regardless of the purpose of the discrimination, it is wrong and unlawful,” said William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project.“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. As Chief Justice [John] Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’”Fordham’s Diversity Fund, established in 2021 by trustee Valerie Rainford, aims to “ease the burdens of student loans and part-time work that disproportionately affect Black and Latinx,” a summary of the program states.The financial assistance can be used to cover tuition, housing costs or study abroad.“Students who are not ‘of color’ (i.e. whites) are eligible only if they are first-generation or lower-income. As a result, two similarly situated students — one of color and one white — who are not first-generation or lower-income are treated differently depending on their race and skin color,” EPP said in its complaint….Meanwhile, the Latino Social Work Coalition Scholarship Program, offered through the Fordham Graduate School of Social Work, is restricted to “applicants who are Latino/x/e and bilingual students with significant economic needs” who are pursuing a master’s degree in social work. Students are eligible for scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,500.“Fordham knows better than to run educational programs that exclude students based on race and ethnicity. Fordham’s own nondiscrimination standards forbid such discrimination,” Jacobson of EPP said.“Fordham should live up to its own set of rules.”EPP has filed similar complaints against preferential scholarship and financial aid programs offered by the New York State Education Department, and the State University of New York’s Albany and Buffalo campuses.Fordham spokesman Bob Howe responded, “When OCR [the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights] receives a complaint, they review it and decide, as a threshold matter, whether to proceed. OCR does not pursue every complaint they receive, so it would be very premature to comment.”
EPP is in a major expansion mode, and we expect to broaden our challenges to racially discriminatory programs. But we need your help. 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.
ADDED 8/6/2024
Interesting layout in the print paper.
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