Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Condemns New Justice Department Suit Against Yale University Seeking to End Racial Diversity Efforts
(Washington, D.C.) – The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against Yale University challenging its admissions program and alleging discrimination against Asian American and white Students. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement in response:
“It is hard not to view this litigation as part of a carefully coordinated campaign seeking to terminate racial diversity efforts across our nation’s major colleges and universities. This is a Justice Department that has fully abandoned its mission when it comes to advancing equal educational opportunity and promoting racial diversity. Attempting to divide communities based on such thin allegations—allegations that have already failed in other cases—is merely the Justice Department’s latest chapter to its horrid legacy on opportunity and access for America’s highly talented Black students and other underrepresented-students of color. Race-conscious admissions programs are both lawful and indispensable for ensuring institutions are open and available to students from all walks of life, including students of color. We will fight the Justice Department’s ill-conceived effort to tear down racial diversity.”
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is the only national civil rights organization involved in all 3 of the major pending federal lawsuits challenging racial diversity efforts. Those cases, mounted by Students for Fair Admissions, involve Harvard University, the University of North Carolina (scheduled for trial in November 2020) and the University of Texas at Austin. These lawsuits seek to challenge lawful, race-conscious admissions programs despite clear Supreme Court precedent recognizing the compelling interest in the educational benefits of diversity. The Justice Department’s latest suit brings the total to 4 pending challenges against race-conscious admissions efforts.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, equal educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
