(DailyChive.com) – North Central University (NCU) in Minneapolis recently introduced the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship to honor the memory of George Floyd. However, the scholarship program now faces scrutiny due to a lawsuit challenging its eligibility criteria.
The scholarship offers a full four-year tuition waiver to one Black or African American student annually, but it is alleged to violate the Civil Rights Act. The complaint was filed by William Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project and Cornell University Law professor with the United States Department of Education.
Jacobson argues that the race-based requirement of the scholarship contradicts Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in schools receiving federal funding. He criticizes the scholarship’s eligibility criteria as blatantly discriminatory and calls on NCU to compensate students excluded due to this practice.
Additionally, the complaint alleges that the scholarship violates Minnesota’s Human Rights Act, prohibiting educational institutions from denying access to programs based on race. Jacobson draws parallels between recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action and the scholarship’s legality, arguing against race-based discrimination and quotas to achieve diversity.
Jacobson refers to Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion in a recent Supreme Court case involving Harvard University, emphasizing the importance of eradicating all forms of racial discrimination. He also highlights Justice Gorsuch’s concurring opinion, which dismisses justifications for discrimination within a protected class for the supposed benefit of the entire class.
While North Central University has not publicly responded to the complaint, the scholarship honors George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck despite protests that he couldn’t breathe.
The University’s President, Scott Hagan, unveiled the scholarship during the Minneapolis memorial service for Floyd on June 4, 2020. Hagan stated, as per a 2020 news release, that it was imperative to invest substantially in a new breed of young black Americans who are prepared to assume leadership roles in the nation. He further called upon university presidents to unite in this effort.
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