Category Archive

Dear CEO Supporters, As part of CEO’s 5th Annual Civil Rights Fellowship, our fellows spent their second session diving deep into the foundational principles that shape American liberty. Following our opening session on post-Civil War constitutional amendments led by Gail Heriot and Maimon Schwarzschild, the class gathered for a special presentation and discussion led by Senior Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on “All Men Are Created Equal”: The Contested Relevance of the Declaration Today. Having prominent jurists engage directly with our fellows is a cornerstone of the CEO Civil Rights Fellowship. From hosting Fifth Circuit …

Dear Supporters, We kicked off our 5th Annual Civil Rights Fellowship in Washington, D.C. this past week with a clear focus: equipping and mentoring the next generation of legal leaders. To defend colorblind equality effectively, aspiring lawyers must master the constitutional foundation that underpins individual liberty. That is why, for the fifth year in a row, we launched our fellowship legal sessions with Gail Heriot, Professor of Law Emeritus and former Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, alongside Professor of Law Maimon Schwarzschild. Laying the Constitutional Groundwork Professors Heriot and Schwarzschild guided our fellows through an intensive, two-part exploration of …

Dear CEO Supporters, Our 5th Annual Civil Rights Fellowship is in full swing here in Washington, D.C., and our cohort just took an inspiring trip to the National Archives. The fellows explored our nation’s founding charters and spent time in the David M. Rubenstein Gallery: Records of Rights, where they stood face-to-face with an original 1297 Magna Carta and other primary documents that shaped the American struggle for equal rights under the law. Connecting these historical principles directly to our seminar discussions gives our future legal leaders a profound perspective on defending individual liberty and equal opportunity. The visit was a wonderful reminder …

Dear Supporters, Today marks a major milestone for the Center for Equal Opportunity as we officially launch our 5th Annual CEO Civil Rights Fellowship! Outstanding law students and future leaders from across the nation are arriving in Washington, D.C. to take part in CEO’s flagship program. Now in its fifth year, the fellowship is designed to equip the next generation of attorneys and aspiring leaders with a deep understanding of colorblind equal opportunity, constitutional law, civil rights jurisprudence, and public policy discourse. A Record-Breaking, National Cohort This year’s class represents one of our most competitive applicant pools to date. Our …

Dear Supporters, It has been an absolutely blistering season of impact here at the Center for Equal Opportunity. From critical shifts in federal policy to a record-breaking incoming class of future leaders, our work is driving the national conversation on colorblind equality and constitutional fidelity. Here is how your support is helping: Preparing for Our Largest Fellowship Class Yet The future of the conservative legal movement is converging on Washington, D.C., as we prepare to welcome our Fifth Annual Civil Rights Fellows. The 2026 class represents our largest, most competitive, and record-breaking class to date, selected from an unprecedented pool …

We need to make life better for young people and instill in them an appreciation for the genius of American democracy. By Linda Chavez and William A. Galston In 1776, the authors of the Declaration of Independence proclaimed a new republic founded upon revolutionary ideas about individual liberty and political equality. Two hundred and fifty years later, however, many Americans—particularly young Americans—seem disillusioned with the world’s longest-running experiment in representative democracy. Polling shows a sharp generational divide on questions of patriotism and democracy. A 2025 poll found only 37 percent of Gen Zers said they are proud to be an American (compared with …

Dear CEO Supporters, As we head into Memorial Day weekend, all of us at the Center for Equal Opportunity join you in pausing to honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation, our freedom, and the constitutional principles we hold dear. It is in that very spirit of preserving America’s founding principles that we look to the future of our movement. As CEO continues its critical work defending colorblind equal opportunity and merit-based public policy, strengthening our legal pipeline remains a top priority. Today, we are thrilled to introduce the newest …

The Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) is proud to highlight the continued impact of our alumni, as former intern Joel Mowbray makes significant waves in the national conversation on civil rights and religious freedom. Mowbray, a Georgetown graduate and an alumnus of CEO’s internship program, was recently featured in both Commentary Magazine and The Jerusalem Post for his tireless advocacy against antisemitism. His work as an investigative journalist, syndicated columnist, and attorney has been featured in major outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, National Review, and Fox News. Mowbray led a high-profile investigation into Alhurra, the U.S. …

The Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) is proud to announce that Ladisa Onyiliogwu, a distinguished alumna of our 2022 Civil Rights Fellowship, has been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Ms. Onyiliogwu, who holds a Master of Arts in Government from Johns Hopkins University, now holds the second-highest leadership position within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR). In this role, she will collaborate with Assistant Secretary Devon Westhill, a former CEO President and General Counsel, to shape and implement civil rights policies that impact millions of Americans. The …

Promoting colorblind equal opportunity and merit-based public policy This year the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) is thrilled to celebrate 30 years as one of the only conservative organizations specifically dedicated to issues of civil rights, race, and ethnicity. CEO was founded in 1995 in Washington, D.C. to promote merit-based, colorblind equal opportunity. The organization has produced more than 80 studies on racial preferences at colleges, universities, law schools and medical schools and been instrumental in every effort to overturn racial preferences. CEO staff have prepared counsel and provided legal theories used in landmark cases; given expert testimony before local, state, and federal …