Journalism scholarship only open to African Americans; history scholarship gives preference to ‘minority’ students
Middle Tennessee State University is facing a federal civil rights complaint alleging it offers 17 scholarships that “discriminate based on race, color, and/or national origin.”
One example cited in the complaint is the Whitney Stegall scholarship, which states, “Preference will be given to students who are African-American or Native- American.”
“Racial and ethnic discrimination are wrong and unlawful no matter which race or ethnicity is targeted or benefits,” William Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project, told The College Fix.
“All applicants are entitled to equal treatment without regard to race, color, or national origin,” the Cornell University law professor said in a recent interview.
The Equal Protection Project, which is part of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, filed the complaint earlier this month. EPP’s mission is to pursue “fair treatment of all persons without regard to race or ethnicity.”
When contacted by The Fix about the complaint, the university media relations office declined to comment.
“The University has not received a copy of any such complaint from the organization or notice of any official inquiry into the matter,” the office responded in an email. “That’s the extent of the University’s comment at this time.”
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, any “program or activity” that receives federal financial assistance is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The public university is subject to Title VI because it receives federal funds.
Examples take from the university’s website include the Al Wilkerson Endowed Scholarship, which states that, “Preference shall be given to African American students,” and both the Cornelia Freeman Cooper Endowed Scholarship and Dr. Robert E. Eaker Scholarship, which give “first preference” to “underrepresented minorities,” according to the complaint.
Meanwhile, the Karla Winfrey Broadcast Journalism Scholarship states that the “recipient must be an African-American.”
Others include a “textiles, merchandising, and design” scholarship and a history scholarship that give preference to “minority” students.
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The complaint against Middle Tennessee State alleges the scholarships also violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
To support the claim, EPP mentions the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it …. The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color. If both are not accorded the same protection, then it is not equal.”
The complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, whose purpose is to enforce federal civil rights laws. The office did not respond to two emails from The Fix within the past two weeks, asking if it is investigating the complaint.
In the complaint, EPP asks the office to open a formal investigation and impose “remedial relief” for students who have been “illegally excluded from MTSU’s various scholarships based on discriminatory criteria.”
Jacobson told The Fix, “The February 14, 2025, Civil Rights Guidance issued by OCR reiterates and makes crystal clear what has always been the law, that ‘under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.’”
He also requested direct action from the university.
“The Equal Protection Project calls on the senior administration of MTSU to make sure nondiscrimination standards are upheld throughout the institution,” Jacobson said. “MTSU should know better than to run scholarships that exclude students based on race, color, or national origin.”
The complaint against the public university is not a unique case. The Equal Protection Project has filed nearly 100 cases challenging more than 300 discriminatory scholarships and programs.
These include a similar complaint filed against the University of Rhode Island late last year, alleging 51 of its scholarships illegally discriminate on the basis of sex and race, The Fix reported at the time.
“Unfortunately, there is a culture on many campuses that excuses some forms of racial discrimination, and that needs to stop,” Jacobson said.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A list of scholarships are named in a civil rights complaint against Middle Tennessee State University; Middle Tennessee State University/Facebook, Equal Protection Project
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