Legal Insurrection Foundation

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The Legal Insurrection Foundation, sometimes abbreviated LIF, [1] is an American not-for-profit organization founded in 2008 and based in Rhode Island. [2] The foundation is a conservative advocacy organization which focuses on free-speech and academic freedom issues. [3] [4] It has been tax-exempt since March 2018, [5] and as of 2023 its president is William A. Jacobson. [6] The foundation has participated in 2020s controversies around critical race theory and has criticized diversity initiatives which it alleges have discriminated against white people.

Contents

Initiatives

The foundation maintains the website Critical Race Training in Education at the domain CriticalRace.org. [7] [8] The website compiles a list of U.S. universities that teach critical race theory and their diversity and inclusion initiatives. [8] [3] The project, which has been featured on Tucker Carlson Tonight , [7] included as of 2021 over 300 colleges and universities in the United States. [9]

In 2022 LIF criticized a 2022 American Bar Association mandate that requires "education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism" from its accredited schools, [10] In 2023 it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Albany Public Library for its two-month privately-funded internship program offered to black-only library school graduates. The library also had several unfilled positions open to any applicant. [11]

Equal Protection Project

In February 2023 the Foundation started the "Equal Protection Project" (EPP), [12] [11] [13] which the Washington Post later described as "a legal organization that opposes race-based affirmative action." [14] The Project accused Missouri State University of discriminating against white males for hosting a privately-funded a boot camp program for minority or women small business owners. The University responded that it would implement changes to the program in the future in response to the allegation. [15] In July 2023, the EPP filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education regarding a whites-only anti-racism seminary offered by New York University. [16] Over a dozen of these complaints were filed in 2023. [17] In 2024, MIT responded to a federal discrimination complaint filed by EPP regarding a program run by MIT's “Office of Minority Education” exclusively for women of color by altering its website the following day. [18] [19] [20] The following month, following an EPP complaint, the Ithaca City School District apologized for organizing a "students of color"-only event. [21]

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References

  1. ↑ Renu Mukherjee (12 October 2022). "Without a "Diversity" Leg to Stand On". City Journal . Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023. the Legal Insurrection Foundation (LIF) says "no."
  2. ↑ Liz Navratil (30 May 2023). "University of Minnesota revises criteria for summer research program amid discrimination concerns". Star Tribune . Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023. a Rhode Island-based nonprofit called the Legal Insurrection Foundation
  3. 1 2 Jonathan Friedman; James Tager. "Educational Gag Orders". PEN America . Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2023. the conservative Legal Insurrection Foundation, has created CriticalRace.org, which attempts to document colleges and universities that teach CRT in trainings and programming
  4. ↑ Jan Resseger (18 November 2021). "Janresseger: National Education Policy Center's New Brief on Critical Race Theory Is a Must-Read for All Americans". National Education Policy Center . Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023. advocacy organizations such as Parents Defending Education and the Legal Insurrection Foundation
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2023-04-22. Retrieved 2023-06-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ Gus Chan (7 June 2022). "Legal education could take a hit from critical race theory controversy". Crain Communications . Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023. William Jacobson, a clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School and president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation
  7. 1 2 Daniel Golden (3 January 2023). "'IT'S MAKING US MORE IGNORANT'". The Atlantic . Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023. the Critical Race Training in Education website, which has been featured on Tucker Carlson Tonight [...] the website was a project of something called the Legal Insurrection Foundation
  8. 1 2 Ana Radelat (5 June 2023). "U of M summer internship program was targeted by outside conservative activists". MinnPost . Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023. Another project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, called CriticalRace.org, has compiled a database of universities that it says teach critical race theory, but also details all efforts at diversity and inclusion at a school
  9. ↑ DAVID THEO GOLDBERG (1 August 2021). "Meet Christopher Rufo — leader of the incoherent right-wing attack on "critical race theory"". Salon.com . Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023. Critical Race Training in Education is a watchdog-style website [...] report on "more than 300 colleges and universities" nationwide
  10. ↑ Ilana Kowarski (21 October 2022). "How U.S. Law Schools Are Preparing Students For Racial Justice Work". U.S. News & World Report . Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023. representatives of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on academic freedom and free speech issues, published an op-ed describing the policy as an "instance of woke ideology being forced on the nation."
  11. 1 2 Kathleen Moore (5 April 2023). "Albany library criticized for saying only Black librarians could apply to internship". Times Union (Albany) . Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023. the library received a cease and desist letter from the Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation
  12. ↑ Brian Flood; David Rutz (20 March 2023). "Central Florida professor fired for disputing systemic racism and White privilege fights back, files lawsuit". Fox News . Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023. Legal Insurrection Foundation president William A. Jacobson [...] Jacobson started the Equal Protection Project (EPP)
  13. ↑ Claudette Riley (8 June 2023). "Civil rights complaint filed against MSU alleges discrimination against 'white males'". Springfield News-Leader . Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023. Formed in February, the nonprofit Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation
  14. ↑ Julian Mark (29 April 2024). "Can this firm invest in only Black women? This case will decide". Washington Post . Retrieved 7 June 2024. the Equal Protection Project, a legal organization that opposes race-based affirmative action
  15. ↑ Cory Matteson (1 May 2023). "MSU president says lessons learned after small-biz boot camp accused of excluding white men from applying". Springfield Daily Citizen. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023. our plan would be to not to duplicate this again," Smart said
  16. ↑ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten (18 July 2023). "NYU opens anti-racist class only to White public school parents: report". Fox News . Fox News. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023– via MSN. The Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation (EPP) is calling for the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to investigate NYU's ongoing summer program
  17. ↑ Joseph Ax (22 September 2023). "Anti-affirmative action group, emboldened by US Supreme Court, targets scholarships". Reuters . Retrieved 1 July 2024. A non-profit group opposing race-based education policies has filed more than a dozen U.S. civil rights complaints this year
  18. ↑ Matt Lamb (22 May 2024). "MIT makes slight edits to 'women of color' program after federal complaint". The College Fix . Retrieved 7 June 2024. A federal civil rights complaint has been filed against a Massachusetts Institute of Technology program that excludes white students
  19. ↑ https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/20/metro/civil-rights-complaint-against-mit/
  20. ↑ https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-institute-of-technology-accused-racial-gender-discrimination-federal-complaint/60847744
  21. ↑ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ny-school-district-apologizes-for-exclusionary-language-to-promote-event-for-non-white-students/ar-BB1nEZhv


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