The University of the District of Columbia refused to host a debate organized by the groups on the grounds of race and viewpoint.
Two advocacy organizations have filed a federal civil rights complaint against the University of the District of Columbia after the publicly-funded school refused to host a debate organized by the groups on the grounds of race and viewpoint.
The Our America Foundation and Fair For All filed the complaint through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging the University of the District of Columbia violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Gabriel Nadales, the national director of the Our America Foundation, said he spoke with Assistant Professor Monique Gamble at the university about the possibility of hosting a debate on the topic, “Is The American Dream Alive for Black Americans?” He said he reached out to several universities in the attempt to find a venue in D.C.
The debate would center on what diversity really means and how to best achieve diversity, according to Fair For All Executive Director Monica Harris, one of the proposed panelists for the debate.
Gamble declined to host the event in an email after speaking with Nandales, the complaint alleges.
“Thank you for considering our great university to expand the reach of your organization’s mission and ideas,” Gamble wrote. “However, we are passing on this opportunity. Our university is comprised of many students whose identities actually do put them at risk in a society that has a known history of criminalizing race, gender, sexuality, immigration and socio-economic status. In my view, it’s not enough to be ‘part of the conversation.’ These conversations should unequivocally acknowledge the risks that people with marginalized and politicized identities face in their lives daily. At UDC, we do not entertain these realities as debatable.”
Nadales and his organization allege that UDC’s denial of the debate was based on racially motivated reasoning in violation of Title VI, citing Gamble’s reference to students’ “identities” that “put them at risk.” Additionally, the complaint says UDC violated the First Amendment by enforcing a view-point discriminatory policy.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Nandales said the university engaged in discrimination based on race and color.
“It is basically saying ‘it’s too dangerous for our students to hear these types of ideas because we’re black, because we’re people of color,’” Nandales told National Review.
Fair For All is a non-partisan, non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to advancing civil liberties and civil rights, according to Harris. “This case interests us because when a public university excludes speakers based on their race and their perspective, we feel it violates fundamental principles we defend and also the law,” Harris told National Review.
“It violates Title VI and it violates the First Amendment. And that’s exactly what happened here at the University of the District of Columbia.”
Harris said the university’s conduct blatantly displays a pattern of ideological conformity present in the nation’s university system at large.
“They’re rendering the First Amendment and Title VI meaningless,” Harris said. “Every institution could claim their discrimination serves some protective purpose, but that would effectively gut the laws for the premise of equal treatment.”
The two organizations are seeking a public apology and a change to university policy that limits facility access to groups aligning with the university’s mission.
The complaint comes amid growing concerns about free speech protections on college campuses and a federal crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at universities across the country.
Universities do students a disservice by limiting their exposure to challenging ideas, Harris said.
“The intellectual fortitude is not being cultivated in them that will allow them to be truly powerful and innovative and creative and effective leaders,” Harris said. “That sort of leadership only comes with viewpoint diversity.”
Gamble and the University of the District of Columbia did not respond to several requests for comment from National Review.