University of Nebraska faces civil rights complaint over exclusive black residency program.
The University of Nebraska Faces Federal Civil Rights Complaint Over Residency Program for Black Filmmakers
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been hit with a federal civil rights complaint for its sponsorship of a residency program specifically for black filmmakers. The complaint, filed by the nonprofit legal organization Equal Protection Project, alleges that the Black Public Media residency program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Challenging Discrimination in Education
“UNL’s creation, ongoing sponsorship and active promotion of a program giving admissions preference based on race and skin color violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (‘Title VI’) and its implementing regulations,” the complaint stated.
The Black Public Media residency program, according to the University of Nebraska website, is a collaboration with the New York-based nonprofit group Black Public Media. Launched in the summer of 2022, the program aims to provide opportunities for black filmmakers, creative technologists, and artists who require access to emerging technology, studio time, or work space.
William Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project and a professor at Cornell Law School, emphasized that the university’s partnership with Black Public Media does not excuse racial discrimination. He stated that universities cannot shift the responsibility of discrimination, especially when it occurs on campus.
“While the law has been clear for decades that racial discrimination in education is unlawful, after the Supreme Court’s Harvard decision, there can be no doubt that universities may not even take race into account to advance diversity objectives,” Jacobson said. “Yet that is exactly what the U. Nebraska-Lincoln program does; it reserves a spot on program teams for black students in order to foster diversity, creating a disadvantage and lessening of opportunities for others.”
Jacobson further criticized the program for requiring student teams to organize themselves around race, with one team member being required to be black. He described this practice as offensive and troubling, as it forces students to choose their peers based on race.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the University of Nebraska for comment.
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