The Equal Protection Project (EqualProtect.org) is a project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation devoted to fighting unlawful discrimination in all forms. While most of our cases have involved race, color, and national origin discrimination, we will challenge all forms of unlawful discrimination, including sex discrimination.
Since its launch, EPP has challenged over 800 discriminatory programs and scholarships at more than 275 colleges and universities. This is done to ensure that every student has the opportunity to compete on equal terms.
Our most recent filing on March 17, 2026, was a Civil Rights Complaint against Jacksonville State (“Jax State”):
We bring this civil rights complaint against Jacksonville State University (“Jax State”), in Jacksonville, Alabama, for offering, administering, and promoting four (4) scholarships that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, and/or national origin in violation of Title IX and Title VI, respectively.Students are considered automatically for many scholarships at Jax State based on their initial “JaxApp” scholarship application. Students must complete this application by February 1 every year. So long as students meet the requirements, they will be considered.
We then go on to list the scholarships at issue and why we believe they violate the Civil Rights Act:
The scholarships listed below are currently offered to Jax State students and applicants for admission, according to the Jax State website, and violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) and its implementing regulations3 by discriminating against students based on their sex, or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) and its implementing regulations by discriminating against students based on their race and skin color. Because Jax State is a public university, these discriminatory scholarships also violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.SCHOLARSHIPS THAT VIOLATE TITLE IX (3)1. Darlene Hocutt-Watson Annual ScholarshipLink: https://jsu.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com/Scholarships/SearchArchived Link: http://archive.today/zRBv0Discriminatory Requirement: “Preference will be given to a female. “2. Dr. Louise J. Clark Memorial ScholarshipLink: https://jsu.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com/Scholarships/SearchArchived Link: http://archive.today/zRBv0Discriminatory Requirement: “Established in memory of Dr. Louise J. Clark by her son,Jeff Clark, to promote the education of deserving full-time undergraduate students and/orgraduate female students who are admitted to the JSU MBA program.”3. JSU Faculty Women’s Club of JacksonvilleLink: https://jsu.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com/Scholarships/SearchArchived Link: http://archive.today/zRBv0Discriminatory Requirement: “Established by the Faculty Women’s Club of JacksonvilleState University for the benefit of a deserving full-time undergraduate female studentfrom Calhoun County, Alabama.”SCHOLARSHIPS THAT VIOLATE TITLE VI (1)1. Nicole Cannon McNair Memorial Endowed Nursing ScholarshipLink: https://jsu.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com/Scholarships/SearchArchived Link: http://archive.today/zRBv0Discriminatory Requirement: “Preference will be given to a student in a minoritygroup”
As we always do, we then spend several pages explaining why the exclusionary scholarships violate not only federal and state law, but also the university’s own non-discrimination rules. We then request that a formal investigation be opened.
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.
Robert Fox is an attorney at the Equal Protection Project, and focuses, among things, on filing civil rights complaints against DEI discrimination.
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