America First Legal (AFL) is suing Northwestern University and Northwestern University Law Review for allegedly discriminating against white men.
Northwestern University “discriminat[ed] against white men in its faculty hiring” and its law school discriminated against white male faculty candidates, an AFL press release alleges. The AFL, co-counsel Jonathan F. Mitchell and Stone Hilton PLLC announced the lawsuit today.
“Candidates with preferred identities are awarded substantial advantages and chosen over white men who have vastly superior publication records and far more impressive educational and professional credentials,” the lawsuit alleges.
/1🚨RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN ACADEMIA🚨
We just filed a lawsuit against Northwestern University and the Northwestern Law Review for discriminating against white men when:
‼️Hiring faculty
‼️Selecting articles, editors, and members of the law reviewAll the details below: pic.twitter.com/5YvIzk05So
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) July 2, 2024
The document goes on to allege that for “at least the last twelve years” under then-Dean Daniel Rodriguez, Northwestern Law School has “propagated and enforced a mandate” to hire faculty candidates with “preferred identities.” It further alleges that “Rodriguez knew that this discriminatory hiring edict was illegal and would expose the university to lawsuits.”
/6 Dean Rodriguez knew that this discriminatory hiring edict was illegal and would expose the university to lawsuits. So he ordered members of the Northwestern faculty members to never discuss candidates for hiring over the faculty listserv, and explicitly mentioned litigation… pic.twitter.com/9HZAQ2s4Bs
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) July 2, 2024
The lawsuit also alleges Northwestern University Law Review’s student editors discriminated on the basis of sex and race, violating U.S. law. The school allegedly gave preference to racial and sexual minorities and “reject[ed] far better articles” submitted by white men. (RELATED: University Donors Feel ‘Betrayed’ Scholarships Can No Longer Be Based On Race)
AFL pointed to the Law Review’s “Diversity and Inclusion” statement in the lawsuit. The publication states it “does not discriminate on the basis of race,” or “sexual orientation, gender orientation and identity,” among other characteristics.
AFL alleges in the lawsuit that the statement is “false” because the Law Review employs “affirmative action to select its members, editors, and articles.”
AFL Executive Director Gene Hamilton noted that discriminating against race or sex is prohibited by federal law.
“No one should receive an advantage because of their immutable characteristics, and no one should be disadvantaged,” he said. Hamilton elaborated, emphasizing the need for merit based decisions.
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against race-based admissions in two lawsuits against the University of North Carolina and Harvard. Since the ruling, the Biden administration has continued to advocate for diversity in higher education. The Department of Education published a report advising higher education institutions on how to increase “diversity” following the Supreme Court’s decision.
AFL has also announced it is suing CBS for allegedly terminating a news anchor for being a “white, straight, older” man. The lawsuit alleges that anti-male and anti-white discrimination violates Civil Rights law.
