DoE Civil Rights Office Opens Investigation Into UW-Madison ‘BIPOC’ Fellowship After Complaint By Equal Protection Project

DoE Civil Rights Office Opens Investigation Into UW-Madison ‘BIPOC’ Fellowship After Complaint By Equal Protection Project

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 20 complaints and legal actions in the year since launch in February 2023, with at least 10 schools withdrawing or modifying the discriminatory programs.

You may recall our effort in late January 2024 at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, when EPP filed a Civil Rights Complaint over an educational scholarship program open only to “BIPOC” students, the “Creando Comunidad: Community Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Fellows” (“BIPOC Fellows”):

We bring this civil rights complaint against the University of Wisconsin-Madison (“UW-Madison”), a public institution, for supporting and promoting a program that engages in invidious discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.

We bring this civil rights complaint against the University of Wisconsin-Madison (“UW-Madison”), a public institution, for supporting and promoting a program that engages in invidious discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.

The phrase “Students of Color” is defined by UW-Madison as “[a] domestic (non-international) student who identifies, alone or in combination with other racial/ethnic categories, as African American/Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Hispanic/Latino(a), or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.”5

Undergraduate students who are selected to participate in the BIPOC Fellows program receive $500 in scholarship funds and, among other requirements, must attend seven 90-minute “cohort meetings” between October 2023 and May 2024.6

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UW-Madison’s voluntary and ongoing participation in and active promotion of the BIPOC Fellows program, which awards financial scholarships and mentorship to students based on their race and skin color, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) and its implementing regulations. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.; 28 C.F.R. Part 100; see also Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244, 276 n.23 (2003) (“We have explained that discrimination that violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment committed by an institution that accepts federal funds also constitutes a violation of Title VI.”).

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The BIPOC Fellows program at UW-Madison makes clear that students who do not meet the prerequisite racial categories – for example, students who identify as white – are automatically ineligible.

The discrimination is apparent: if applicants are African American/Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Hispanic/Latino(a), or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, they are automatically eligible for the program. Applicants who do not fall into one of those racial categories are automatically excluded from consideration.

It violates Title VI for a recipient of federal money to create, support and promote a racially segregated program. When a public institution does so, such conduct also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.8

We just received word today that OCR has opened a formal investigation, the first — but important — step in the process towards adjudication. The Letter (full embed at bottom of post) provides in part:

On January 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (Department), Office for Civil Rights
(OCR), received the above-referenced complaint you filed against the University of Wisconsin-
Madison (University) alleging that in September 2023 the University discriminated on the bases
of race, color and national origin by excluding applicants based on race, color and/or national
origin from its Creando Comunidad: Community Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of
Color Fellows fellowship program.

OCR enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-2000d-7,
and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 100, which prohibit discrimination based on
race, color, or national origin, including shared ancestry, in any program or activity operated by a
recipient of federal financial assistance from the Department. As a recipient of federal financial
assistance from the Department, the University is subject to these laws. Additional information
about the laws OCR enforces is available on our website at http://www.ed.gov/ocr.

OCR will investigate the following issue:

• Whether the University excluded applicants based on race, color and national origin from
its Creando Comunidad: Community Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
Fellows fellowship program (Fellowship Program) in a manner inconsistent with the
requirements of Title VI.

Please understand that opening an investigation does not mean that OCR has made a decision
about the complaint. During the investigation, OCR is neutral; OCR will collect and analyze the
evidence it needs in order to make a decision about the complaint.

The opening of the investigation has generated immediate media attention, which is likely to grow, including at local ABC affiliate WKOW:

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education on allegations that the university violated civil rights laws through scholarship programs….

The Equal Protection Project says UW-Madison on its application for Community-Engaged Black, Indigenous and People of Color Fellows asks students if they identify as a student of color.

“The ineligibility of white students for the BIPOC Fellows program makes that program underinclusive, since the racial criterion is arbitrary and excludes swaths of students who are deeply committed to engaging with their communities but are not permitted to apply due to their skin color, race and ethnicity,” the complaint states in part.

“The opening of an investigation by OCR is an important first step in bringing accountability to the university for a program that on its face discriminates in favor of ‘BIPOC’ students, a racial and ethnic categorization,” said William Jacobson, founder of EqualProtect.org, in a statement. “The law requires equal protection for all students, regardless of race and ethnicity, and we hope that a full investigation and determination will uphold this principle.”

The U.S. Dept. of Education, Region V, alerted The Equal Protection Project of the newly opened investigation on Monday.

UW-Madison Spokesperson Greg Bump issued the following statement:

“The university received notice that the Office of Civil Rights is responding to a complaint filed in January and will cooperate with the investigation.”

The Daily Caller reported:

Participants in the university’s BIPOC fellowship program each receive a $500 scholarship and must attend seven 90-minute meetings. The fellowship, which began in October, is “a cohort-based program that convenes monthly to connect undergraduate Students of Color who are currently, or striving to, participate in community engagement,” according to the website.

EPP’s complaint alleged the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“After the Supreme Court’s decision in Students For Fair Admission, it is clear that discriminating on the basis of race to achieve diversity is not lawful, and violates, among other things, students’ 14th Amendment right to equal protection of the laws,” Jacobson continued. “As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’”

The Washington Examiner reported::

University spokeswoman Kelly Tyrrell told the Washington Examiner that the school received the notice of investigation and “will cooperate” with the Education Department.

“The harm from racial educational barriers is that it racializes not just the specific program, but the entire campus,” Jacobson said. “Sending a message to students that access to opportunities is dependent on race is damaging to the fabric of campus.”

The “BIPOC” fellowship at issue is a “cohort-based program that convenes monthly to connect undergraduate Students of Color who are currently, or striving to, participate in community engagement,” according to its website. The school’s fellowship includes a $500 stipend and 90-minute meetings for attendees.

Equal Protection Project’s January complaint noted the program limited potential fellows to “member[s] of a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group or community.”

Several webpages for the program that include racial requirements appear to have been taken down from the university website.

We are continuing to act on tips and to seek out opportunities to challenge discrimination done in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 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.

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