University Slapped with Civil Rights Lawsuit over Racially ‘Discriminatory’ Scholarships

Western Kentucky University (WKU) has been hit with a federal civil rights complaint over a scholarship program deemed to be racially discriminatory.

The Equal Protection Project (EPP) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation with a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights over the weekend.

In its complaint, the EPP says that two WKU scholarships – the WKU Athletics Minority Fellowship (AMF) and the WKU Distinguished Minority Fellowship (DMF) – “are only available to non-white students.”

The EPP says WKU’s promotion of these scholarships 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.

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Per WKU, the AMF provides “at least four undergraduate scholarships in the 2023-2024 school year for students interested in careers focusing in collegiate athletics.”

The aim is to “enhance the success of students of color – excluding student-athletes on athletic scholarships – within the athletic department’s administrative areas.” Those selected receive a $1,000 scholarship per semester.

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Eligible students must have a “minority status,” meaning “African American, Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, two or races or Hispanic/Latino.”

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