Impact of Equal Protection Project Profiled at ‘The Nation’ Mag

Impact of Equal Protection Project Profiled at ‘The Nation’ Mag

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. In all we have filed over 40 complaints and legal actions since launch in February 2023, with over half the schools withdrawing or modifying the discriminatory programs after our filing. (See EPP September 2024 Impact Report.)

Of course we have received fairly massive media coverage for our efforts. Of course, we received recognition from ‘conservativve’ media, but many legacy and ‘mainstream’ media publications have taken note of our success, including Reuters, The NY Times, The Washington Post, and Forbes. And now so too has an article in The Nation, a clearly left-wing publication.

The article was written by The Hechinger Report, which describes itself as “a nonprofit newsroom covering issues of inequality and innovation in education.” The article then appeared in The Nation and Minn Post.

I was interviewed at length by one of the authors, Laura Pappano. I have to say, I feel the article is very fair. None of my comments were taken out of context. They did a good job chronicling what we do and why we do it.

So if you want to find out the impact EPP has had, by all means read the whole thing at The Nation, Facing Legal Threats, Colleges Back Off From Race-Based Programs

The Equal Protection Project, a conservative legal group, has been particularly active in challenging services for students based on race and gender. Launched in early 2023 as an arm of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, the group boasted in its “impact report” that between February 2023 and September 2024, it had filed 43 complaints with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), made four “other challenges,” filed seven amicus curiae briefs, one lawsuit—and recorded 20 “wins.” The group’s “Vision: 2025” includes “continued OCR complaints” and “strategic lawsuits.”

William A. Jacobson, a Cornell law professor and the founder of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, said his group’s goal is “to stop discriminatory conduct.” He said that barring entry to certain groups, like white students, harms them. “We don’t accept that having racially discriminatory barriers is just no big deal or is not actually depriving, not actually harming someone,” he said….

The issue turns on the specifics of how programs frame their purpose and admit students, said Black, noting that programs cannot formally bar white students unless designed “as a remedy to past discrimination.” In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague letter in August 2023, stating that schools could “offer or recognize programs focused on the experience of particular racial groups, including mentorship programs, fellowships, leadership trainings, and similar opportunities,” but could not exclude students based on race. Targeted programs in and of themselves were not necessarily a problem, the letter said.

Yet some campuses are not pushing back against legal challenges. After the Equal Protection Project filed a civil rights complaint in May 2023 charging that MSROP was discriminatory because it admitted only students of color, the University of Minnesota altered the program and whom it serves.

It is now “Pathways to Graduate School: Summer Research Program,” making no mention of race, gender, ethnicity nor “any specific populations of students,” although it does consider students’ experiences and “contribution to the cultural, gender, age, economic, or geographic diversity of the student body,” according to a statement from the University of Minnesota’s Office of Undergraduate Education shared by Andria Waclawski, director of public relations. The statement also said that MSROP dates to the 1980s and “was developed in part to address the underrepresentation of students of color at the graduate or professional level, which was considered a national issue.”

Some experts argue that it remains a pressing national issue….

Yet legal complaints have some campuses broadening who may apply.

At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the 2-year-old CRWN program—an abbreviation for Creative Regal Women of kNowledge—has a mission “to inspire undergraduate women of color.”

In May, the Equal Protection Project filed a civil rights complaint claiming the program engaged in “invidious discrimination on the basis of race, color and sex.” A video on the CRWN website features Black women attesting to the power of a gathering space for women of color, but Abby Abazorius, an MIT spokesperson, said via email that “all undergraduate students are invited to participate regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, or gender.” The website was updated in the spring, she said, “to make that more clear.”

Even groups bringing together students and alumni for career help are facing attack. After the Equal Protection Project in October challenged a BIPOC Alumni-Student Mentoring Program at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, the description was revised to say that while created “with BIPOC students in mind,” it “is open to mentors and mentees of all races, ethnicities, and national origins.”

Jacobson of the Equal Protection Project said he is glad programs are altering admissions criteria, but that it may not be enough. In the case of the University of Virginia, he said, it did not remove “BIPOC” from the name or program descriptor. “We’re glad that they put in language that it’s open to everybody.” But, he said, “that doesn’t solve the problem.”

And at the University of Arkansas, the school’s Black Graduate Student Association is under fire from the Equal Protection Project for its BIPOC Mentoring Circle series, co-sponsored by Walmart and Sam’s Club, headquartered in nearby Bentonville. John Thomas, a university spokesman, said via email that school officials are “reviewing this matter, which involves a registered student organization initiative.”

The statement also said, “The University is fully committed to ensuring that all members of the University community can fully participate in its programs and activities without regard to race or ethnicity, and requires the same of UA student organizations.” No Black Graduate Student Association members responded to interview requests….

In the place of racial, ethnic, and gender labels, some schools are embracing experiences or identities such as “low-income,” “first-generation,” and “veteran”—or simply scrapping controversial wording. After the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Creando Comunidad: Community Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Fellows program faced a complaint from the Equal Protection Project in January, it became just “Creando Comunidad.” Rather than explicitly gathering BIPOC students, applicants instead now must show “demonstrated interest or experience in promoting equity, inclusion, and social justice for communities of color.” ….

What will the New Year look liked in the DEI battles once the Trump administration takes over? What will be the role of EPP in fighting DEI discrimination?

Stay tuned, we are likely to have an online event exploring these issues in mid-December – TBA.

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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to the full extent allowed by law.