When DEI Becomes Discrimination: The Case of Diemert v. City of Seattle

Anthony PericoloEmployment

As a member of CEO’s inaugural class of Fellows, and then CEO’s first Visiting Fellow, I brought my commitment to colorblind equal opportunity with me to private practice. While my practice has focused on patent law, I hoped to be able to continue to promote CEO’s mission in my pro bono work. Luckily, with the help of fantastic mentors, I was able to coordinate with Pacific Legal Foundation and the Center for Equal Opportunity to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff in Diemert v. City of Seattle. I had developed some familiarity with the facts of the case …

‘Black Scholars Matter’ program at Cal State Northridge faces civil rights complaint

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

This post originally appeared on The College Fixby Jenna Triplett – University of Tennessee Knoxville  Civil rights experts say program could be ‘violating the law’ The “Black Scholars Matter” program at California State University Northridge violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 according to a new federal complaint shared with The College Fix. Civil rights activist Mark Perry filed a complaint against the program, which he called a “racially exclusionary program that illegally excludes and discriminates against non-Black students.” He cited evidence found on the program’s website, including the program’s description, comments from the founder, and promotional videos featuring exclusively …

Roger Clegg on President Trump’s Executive Orders

Roger CleggRacial Preferences

This article originally appeared on NationalReview.com President Trump today signed three really good executive orders, the common denominator of which is an aversion to decision-making that is race-based rather than merit-based. The first targets the “disparate impact” approach to civil-rights enforcement; the second promises the reinstatement of “common sense school discipline policies”; and the third is aimed at college and university accreditation that has “improperly focused on compelling adoption of discriminatory ideology, rather than on student outcomes.” It’s nice to have the federal government on the right side rather than the wrong side on all this, which it will be now and wasn’t before, as the …

CEO Applauds Trump Administration’s Civil Rights Actions

Center for Equal OpportunityGovernment Activity, Racial Preferences

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Devon Westhill Wednesday, January 22, 2025 (352) 444-0785 (Washington, D.C) The Trump administration has issued a bevy of executive actions within the first 48 hours of Donald J.  Trump taking office. Several of these actions involve issues the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) has been active for  many years including racially preferential treatment, gender ideology, and merit-based, colorblind equal opportunity.  In his inaugural address, President Trump indicated he would this week “end the government policy of trying to socially  engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.” He continued, “[w]e …

CEO fellowship alumni featured in Federalist Society panel

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

CEO is pleased to announce the upcoming Federalist Society webinar “New Voices in Civil Rights: How Universities are Responding to SFFA” featuring four CEO Civil Rights Fellowship alumni and CEO president Devon Westhill. The webinar will take place next Thursday, January 16, at 12:00 pm ET.  From the Federalist Society release: Institutions of higher education released demographic data for their first classes admitted after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College held that the Constitution prohibits the use of race as a “bonus” in admissions decisions. The demographic data reflect a variety of …

Yale event explores role of ‘merit’ in higher education and hiring

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

Article originally appeared on CollegeFix.com NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Buckley Institute hosted a “firing line” debate on Tuesday afternoon on the role of “merit” in college admissions as well as hiring. Devon Westhill, president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Protection, argued in favor of merit, while Yale Law School Professor Daniel Markovits took the more critical approach. “Is merit a valid measure?” the debate asked, or has it outlived its usefulness. Westhill opened by emphasizing the importance of such debates in spaces like Yale, which he argued often lack intellectual diversity, functioning as echo chambers for …

Podcast: Linda Chavez moderates discussion on the legal and historical interpretation of the term “equity.” 

Center for Equal OpportunityRacial Preferences

In this podcast episode, experts GianCarlo Canaparo and Mike Gonzalez provide a legal and historical interpretation of the term “equity.” This discussion, moderated by Linda Chavez, highlights how the definition of equity extends beyond civil rights protection and how the evolving definition of the term “equity” affects the legal realm. Related posts: The Mismatch Game Linda Chavez moderates panel on Critical Race Theory Here’s Linda Chavez on The O’Reilly Factor Unkingly Discrimination

Companies Are Getting Back To Business And Away From DEI

Devon WesthillRacial Preferences

This article originally appeared on Daily Caller Classic American companies like John Deere, Harley Davidson and Tractor Supply Co. are finally reevaluating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. They are realizing that their consumers, many from rural, midwestern and working-class communities, don’t care for the DEI practices of corporate elites. They just want good service, reliable tractors and badass motorcycles. The about-face is especially timely as the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative action decision prohibiting race-based college admissions has increased scrutiny of private sector DEI practices. This new legal climate, combined with the discovery of problematic DEI programs at major American …

The Real Story Behind the Demographic Swings in MIT Admissions

Devon WesthillEducation

This article first appeared on The Federalist Society The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became the first highly selective college to release data on the racial composition of the class of 2028. Significantly, this is the first opportunity the public has had to examine the impact of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to prohibit race-based affirmative action in admissions at elite universities. The MIT report shows stark demographic changes for incoming first-year students from the previous year. While the percentage of white matriculants remained largely unchanged—a drop of just one percentage point from the class of 2027—the …

In Loving Memory of CEO Legend Althea Nagai

Center for Equal OpportunityRacial Preferences

It is with great sadness the Center for Equal Opportunity mourns the passing of Althea Nagai, longtime CEO Senior Research Fellow, who died today after a long illness. Althea was a member of the CEO family from its inception in 1995.  Her work exposing the breadth and depth of racial preferences in college admissions shaped public opinion and not only helped lay the groundwork for nine statewide ballot initiatives to ban the government’s use of race, but also the landmark Supreme Court cases against the University of North Carolina and Harvard banning preferences in college admissions. Althea was the author …