“It’s possible to help disadvantaged students without creating racial barriers…. Our hope is that NIU will change these programs, will re-title them, will change the description of who they’re intended for and will open them up to all students.”
Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26,
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.)
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 against Northern Illinois University regarding two programs open only to black students, one of which also was limited to black males.
From the Complaint:
We make this civil rights complaint against the Northern Illinois University (“NIU”), based in DeKalb, Illinois, a public university, for sponsoring and promoting (1) a program called the Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP) which discriminates on the basis of race and color, in violation of Title VI and the 14th Amendment, and (2) a program called the Black Male Initiative (BMI) that discriminates on the basis of race and color, and sex, in violation of Titles VI and IX and the 14th Amendment.
BSAP and BMI are both official programs of NIU’s Center for Black Studies (CBS) which was “established in 1971 as part of the International Studies program as a hybrid (academic and student services) program. CBS currently operates from a nine room facility built in 1993, consisting of offices for its professional staff, some organizations, a computer lab and a smart classroom.”2 ….
The Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP)
According to NIU’s website, 4 BSAP “aims to support the retention and graduation of Black identified students … by providing:
We make this civil rights complaint against the Northern Illinois University (“NIU”), based in DeKalb, Illinois, a public university, for sponsoring and promoting (1) a program called the Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP) which discriminates on the basis of race and color, in violation of Title VI and the 14th Amendment, and (2) a program called the Black Male Initiative (BMI) that discriminates on the basis of race and color, and sex, in violation of Titles VI and IX and the 14th Amendment.
BSAP and BMI are both official programs of NIU’s Center for Black Studies (CBS) which was “established in 1971 as part of the International Studies program as a hybrid (academic and student services) program. CBS currently operates from a nine room facility built in 1993, consisting of offices for its professional staff, some organizations, a computer lab and a smart classroom.”2 ….
The Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP)
According to NIU’s website, 4 BSAP “aims to support the retention and graduation of Black identified students … by providing:
Black Male Initiative focuses heavily on encouraging academic success. We do this by highlighting and rewarding student achievement via our semesterly 3.0 club ceremony, we assist students in maintaining dialogue with professors throughout the semester for progress report updates and provide resources for academic success, such as study tables, peer collaboration and helping students find where to go when in need.
By its titling and description, BMI makes clear that the program is intended only for black male students.
BSAP and BMI, through promotional materials and program details signal race-based (both BSAP and BMI) and sex-based (BMI only) exclusiveness and exclusion. A reasonable student would understand that only blacks (both programs) and male blacks (BMI) are eligible, and others would be dissuaded from even trying to participate. See. e.g., OCR Guidance on Race and School Programming (2023).6
We then go on to explain in great detail why both programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, with the BMI program also violating Title IX.
The story was covered by Chicago Fox32 in a video segment that ran several times on the station and an article that also ran on MSN and AOL:
A new federal complaint is accusing Northern Illinois University (NIU) of discrimination based on race and sex.
“It’s possible to help disadvantaged students without creating racial barriers,” said William A. Jacobson, who heads the Equal Protection Project, a Rhode Island-based conservative legal group.
On Monday, the group filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against NIU.
The complaint focuses on the university’s “Black Student Achievement Program” and “Black Male Initiative,” both of which have been in place for decades.
The group alleges that these programs violate the Constitution because they are only available to Black students.
“Both programs discriminate on the basis of race by their titles and terminology and description of the program. Asian students can’t apply. White students can’t apply,” said Jacobson. “That’s racial discrimination. That’s about as clear as you can get.”
The legal group has targeted other universities for similar practices and said that in about half of the cases, the colleges respond by making the programs more inclusive.
“Our hope is that NIU will change these programs, will re-title them, will change the description of who they’re intended for and will open them up to all students. And, like I said, in about half the cases we file, that is the result we achieve,” said Jacobson.
The group also claimed that the Black Male Initiative program is particularly problematic because it excludes women.
A spokesperson for NIU told FOX 32 the university is reviewing the complaint.
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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