Dear CEO supporters,
Fall arrived with a flurry of activity, and while the temperature may be dropping, things aren’t cooling down anytime soon at the Center for Equal Opportunity. It’s been another extremely busy period, here’s our latest:
CEO CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP: A RESOUNDING SUCCESS
As you know, we recently hosted a dozen CEO Civil Rights fellows from some of the top law schools in the country for a week of activities and training in Washington, D.C. They received instruction at a series of seminars with many of the best legal and policy minds in the country, 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, pioneered by CEO President and General Counsel Devon Westhill, was a huge hit among fellows, instructors, and our staff.
The program sparked media reports as well, and we received great feedback from participants. Most of our young fellows have returned to law school for the semester but they are staying engaged and have officially joined the fight against misguided policies that divide Americans by race, sex and national origin. As just one example, check out CEO fellow alum and current Harvard law student Anthony Pericolo’s excellent column in The Washington Times: “Harvard must end its race-centered selection process.”
We are working behind the scenes to imbed our fellowship alumni in key positions. Three of them, for example, have already been placed on the Federalist Society’s Civil Rights Executive Committee as student liaisons We intend for this to be an annual fellowship and are actively seeking funding to support and expand the program next year.
CHALLENGING BIDEN’S TITLE IX PROPOSED REGULATIONS
CEO recently submitted comments on the Biden Administration’s proposed changes to Title IX regulations. The new regulations undo important due process rights of those accused of sexual harassment or sexual assault in contravention of the most fundamental principles of justice in our society. In addition, the proposed regulations confer new protections for sexual orientation and gender identity that were not envisioned in the law the regulation ostensibly implements. We also commented on two other important problems: the overbroad and vague definition of sexual harassment in the proposed regulations and liability standards for peer harassments under Title IX for student behavior over which schools have no control.
We’ll keep you posted as the administration considers the more than 200,000 comments that were filed.
COORDINATING WITH ALLIES
CEO has been very active in working with our allies to promote our issues and advance our mission. CEO Chairman Linda Chavez, who chairs the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project’s “Race & Sex Working Group,” recently held a meeting with members to discuss the Supreme Court oral arguments coming up at the end of the month on the Harvard and University of North Carolina affirmative action cases (see more below). Ms. Chavez and Mr. Westhill are briefing reporters on the cases in advance of oral arguments. In addition, the working group plans to put together some “explainer” videos on Critical Race Theory, equity vs. equal opportunity, and what “social justice” really means.
Mr. Westhill recently participated in Pacific Legal Foundation’s “Reclaiming Civil Rights: Equality & Opportunity Conference” and the Federalist Society’s webinar: “Litigation Update: Faust v. Vilsack – Race Discrimination in the American Rescue Plan.” This is the case challenging race discrimination in the American Rescue Plan’s provision to offer loan forgiveness based on racial categories. The plaintiffs are farmers and ranchers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Oregon, and Kentucky, who would each be eligible for the federal loan forgiveness program, but for their race. We encourage you to watch the webinar and get caught up on the case.
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 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 is creating 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 is contributing 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 wins in 2024, CEO wants to present the best ideas to promote equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, sex or national origin.
TAKING OUR MESSAGE ON THE ROAD
In addition to working closely with our allies, Mr. Westhill has been busy delivering speeches around the country, testifying before Congress, meeting with donors, and giving interviews in the media to promote our message. In just the last few weeks, he has been quoted in a wide range of national media outlets from Education Week to CBS News to the American Bar Association Journal.
This month, Mr. Westhill took part in TakeCharge Minnesota’s “Law Enforcement and the Black Community Gala” with Brandon Tatum and Michele Tafoya, and he was also recently featured in an important Federalist Society event previewing the U.S. Supreme Court’s October 2022 term, which includes the landmark University of North Carolina and Harvard affirmative action cases. We believe these cases will put an end to racial preferences in college admissions once and for all. CEO has joined amicus briefs at every stage of these cases and argued in numerous op-eds and media interviews that the Court’s 2003 Grutter decision should be overturned and race-conscious admissions policies should be banned at colleges and universities. Check out Mr. Westhill’s preview of the cases, which are set for argument on October 31st.
Ms. Chavez recently addressed a rally in front of the Department of Education to focus on the Biden Administration’s new proposed rules on Title IX which, as noted, 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 addressed this issue at the rally. CEO Senior Fellow Stuart Taylor also spoke on the Biden rules’ attack on campus speech.
CEO Executive Director Rudy Gersten also spoke at an event in front of the U.S. Capitol recently to call attention to human rights violations in the wake of the attack on Salman Rushdie. And CEO board member and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley gave an address at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga this past month entitled “Why Thomas Sowell Matters.”
CEO ON THE AIRWAVES
You can catch CEO staff frequently on cable and network news, popular podcasts, and radio Ms. Chavez recently appeared on Dan Abrams Live and is a frequent guest on PBS’s To the Contrary She continues her weekly appearances on the Beg to Differ podcast, where she recently described CEO’s studies detailing discrimination against Asians at Harvard in the podcast’s preview of the upcoming Supreme Court docket with Mona Charen and Bill Kristol.
Mr. Westhill was a guest on The Steve Gruber Show where he articulated our viewpoint that the purported beneficiaries of affirmative action in college admissions are actually getting mismatched. They are not as well prepared to compete with their white and Asian counterparts. And as a result, often struggle academically, take longer to graduate, and drop out at higher rates—which reenforces ugly stereotypes and causes a negative ripple effect. You can catch Mr. Westhill on his regular appearances on the nationally syndicated Lars Larson Show, where he recently discussed new Supreme Court Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson’s potential impact on race-related cases.
FROM THE CEO VAULT
Some things never change. Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West is back in the news again, this time for his anti-Semitic comments. We thought you might appreciate this 2005 op-ed by Mr. Gersten on West’s decades-long racism and the double standards we too easily accept. We have been calling out racial double standards and challenging the Left’s radical civil rights agenda for over a generation at the Center for Equal Opportunity.
Our work at CEO never stops. We’ll always fight the misguided policies that divide Americans by race, sex or national origin. Your donations make our efforts possible, thank you for all your support. We couldn’t do without you.
Have a safe and happy Halloween.
Rudy Gersten
Executive Director
