Dear CEO supporters,
The Center for Equal Opportunity isn’t taking a break during the D.C. doldrums and we want to bring you up to date on our recent and upcoming activities. July turned out to be another busy—and successful—month in CEO’s more than a quarter-of-a-century fight to defend the core principle of equality under law.
CEO CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP BEGINS
Tomorrow, we welcome to D.C. a dozen CEO Civil Rights fellows from some of the top law schools in the country for a week of activities and training. They’ll get instruction at a series of seminars with some of the best legal and policy minds in Washington, media training to prepare a new generation to speak out on our colorblind principles, and visits to some of our closest allies at the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, and the New Civil Liberties Alliance. The first-of-its-kind program is being led by CEO President and General Counsel Devon Westhill, who has much experience in developing and inspiring young talent. We will have a full report on the week’s activities in the coming days, so stay tuned.
CONTINUING THE FIGHT ON TITLE IX PROPOSED REGULATIONS
Later this week, CEO Chairman Linda Chavez will address a rally in front of the Department of Education to focus on the Biden Administration’s new proposed rules on Title IX, which roll back important protections CEO and others fought hard to achieve during Secretary Betsy DeVos’ tenure. We’ve been a leader in the fight to promote due process for students accused of sexual misconduct, and Ms. Chavez will be addressing this issue at the rally. CEO Senior Fellow Stuart Taylor will also be speaking on the Biden rules’ attack on campus speech.
Additionally, CEO will be formally commenting on the proposed rules later this month and we encourage others to do so by reading how to comment here. The more pushback the administration receives, the better chance we will have keeping these new rules from going forward as drafted. Advocates of free speech and due process have had tremendous success in the courts, including in recent decisions in Idaho, Iowa, and Tennessee. But we need to and will keep the pressure up.
EXPLAINING WHY RACIAL PREFERENCES AND LAX DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOL HARMS STUDENTS
Although Mr. Westhill has been busy preparing for the fellowship activities, it hasn’t stopped him from delivering speeches around the country, giving interviews in the media, and writing op-eds. One of his most important appearances was on the podcast “A Fresh Perspective with Jeff Charles,” where Mr. Westhill argued that racial preferences are not only unjust to those who are passed over because of those preferences, but are bad for minorities, too.
In a similar vein, Mr. Westhill wrote a very personal op-ed for The Washington Times in which he discussed the case of a group of black Minnesota toddlers caught on camera accosting Minneapolis police officers who were executing an arrest warrant for a murder suspect. He described the devastating consequences progressives’ misplaced objection to disciplining black children can lead.
Speaking of his own experiences growing up in a home without a dad, Mr. Westhill describes how an elementary school teacher intervened in his own life when he was caught in a minor school infraction and how that disciplinary intervention reformed his behavior, even leading to testing that landed him in a gifted student program that would start him on the path to educational excellence. “I wasn’t blessed with a father in my life, as greater than 70% of Black children similarly face today,” Mr. Westhill concluded, “but the pipeline has many points of contact. I see my young self in the painful faces of those Minnesota babies. There’s still a chance to save them.”
TAKING OUR MESSAGE ON THE ROAD
As we mentioned in a recent update, Mr. Westhill was a speaker at the Old Parkland conference in Dallas recently, addressing why affirmative action programs often hurt more than help the intended beneficiaries. The conference—which addressed ideas to advance the economic and social well-being of blacks in our society—featured some of the biggest names in our business, including CEO board member Jason Riley, Brown University economics professor Glenn Loury, award-winning author Shelby Steele, and AEI senior fellow Ian Rowe, among others. We encourage you to watch some of the highlights of the program and Mr. Westhill’s panel.
JOINING ALLIES TO PROMOTE COLORBLIND POLICIES
CEO has joined several other prominent organizations in signing onto a project of the Philanthropy Roundtable to promote “True Diversity.” Unlike the left’s definition of diversity—which means preferences for some on the basis of skin color—the principles CEO has endorsed include valuing each individual, seeking diverse perspectives, embracing conversation, and cultivating empowerment.
CEO has also joined the Heritage Foundation 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Modeled after the “Mandate for Leadership” delivered to the Reagan Administration in 1980 that led to the revolution that followed, Project 2025 will create the playbook that will equip the next administration with conservative policy recommendations and properly vetted and trained personnel ready to govern and rebuild the American way of life.
CEO will contribute to the efforts to craft thoughtful, conservative civil rights policy and to develop a pipeline of trained talent prepared to implement those policies, because no matter who is sworn in on January 20, 2025, CEO wants to present the best ideas to promote equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, sex or national origin. To learn more about Project 2025 and to stay up to date on our progress, please visit heritage.org/2025.
UNRELENTING ON THE AIRWAVES
CEO has been omnipresent across the airwaves this summer, whether on television, radio, or popular podcasts. Ms. Chavez continues making her regular appearances on national network and cable news programs. She recently joined CNN’s State of the Union with Dana Bash to discuss the news of the day and will be a guest again this Friday with Jake Tapper between 4:00-6:00 p.m ET. Please check your local listings.
Ms. Chavez also appears regularly on PBS’s To the Contrary and the Beg to Differ podcast, available on iTunes. And you can catch Mr. Westhill every week on the national airwaves as well including on the Lars Larson Show, where he recently touched on a variety of issues, such as why white progressives are not entitled to decide if Clarence Thomas is black enough.
We’re hot here in the nation’s capital and on the road fighting against the cold and misguided policies that divide Americans by race, sex or national origin, but we hope you can enjoy a few days of leisure while summer lasts.
Thank you for all your support.
Rudy Gersten
Executive Director
