Anti-Affirmative Action Nonprofit Accuses New York School District of Systemic Discrimination
The Equal Protection Project (EPP), a nonprofit organization opposed to affirmative action, has filed a civil rights complaint against a New York school district, accusing it of discriminating against white students.
The complaint centers on an event hosted earlier this year at Ithaca High School called the “Students of Color Summit,” which was advertised as an event for “Students of Color in grades 6-12.” After receiving backlash, the Ithaca City School District issued an apology for using what it termed “exclusionary language” and clarified that all students were ultimately welcome to attend.
However, the EPP’s complaint to the Department of Education alleges that the district has been discriminating against white students for years, not just with this particular event.
In the complaint, the EPP accused the district of systematically excluding white students from these summits over the past four years. They claim that this was done “with the knowledge and the participation of dozens of teachers and administrators, knowledge of the Board of Education, and despite multiple complaints about the racially discriminatory practices from members of the community.”
“The Frequently Asked Questions section of the official SOCU Summit website even included an explanation as to ‘Why aren’t White students invited?’ and required that registering students ‘acknowledge that this is a Student of Color ONLY event,’” the complaint said, according to Fox News.
“The discrimination was not a mere ‘communication’ problem, it reflected systemic discrimination against White students as to SOCU Summits,” it continued. “It is hard to imagine more open, prolonged, and intentional racial discrimination, despite ICSD’s denials.”
The EPP has urged the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to investigate and take action to address what they describe as “systemic racial discrimination” by the district. They also questioned whether the district made material misrepresentations to the department last year when it claimed that the event was open to all participants regardless of race, despite excluding white students.
“Promotional materials for SOCU summits, and post-event postings on social media make clear that the events were racially exclusionary, and open only to students of color,” the complaint noted.
William A. Jacobson, the founder of the EPP and a professor at Cornell Law School, emphasized that there is overwhelming evidence that white students have been systematically excluded by the district.
“The 4-year-long open discrimination against White students for ‘Students of Color’ summits in the Ithaca City School District is shocking because it was so brazen and had the support of dozens of teachers, administrators, and even the Board of Education. This was not a student group or individual staff member gone rogue, this was an entire school district gone rogue, ignoring clear federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws,” Jacobson said, according to Fox News.
Jacobson added, “When members of the community complained about the discrimination, their legitimate concerns about unlawful conduct were brushed aside. The Board of Education was aware of the problem and helped try to sweep it away.”
