Civil Rights Complaint Filed Against George Floyd Memorial Scholarship

This post was originally published on Word In Black.

By: Reasla Teague

A federal complaint has been filed against North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alleging its George Floyd Memorial Scholarship violates the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against non-Black students.

The Legal Insurrection Foundation, a conservative nonprofit focused on free expression and academic freedom, submitted the complaint on Monday to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

At the center of the dispute are the scholarship’s racial eligibility requirements. To qualify, applicants must “be a student who is Black or African American, that is, a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa,” according to the university’s guidelines.

The complaint argues that by automatically disqualifying students who do not meet this racial prerequisite, the scholarship runs afoul of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.”

“Discrimination against white applicants is just as unlawful as discrimination against Black or other non-white applicants,” stated the complaint’s authors, civil rights attorney Ameer Benno and Cornell University law professor William Jacobson. “Regardless of NCU’s reasons for sponsoring and promoting the GFMS [scholarship], it is violating Title VI by doing so.”

North Central University has not yet publicly responded to the allegations. The George Floyd Memorial Scholarship was established in 2020 “to contribute toward the educational promise of aspiring young black American leaders,” according to the university.

Applications remain open for the 2024-25 academic year, with a recipient set to be chosen by June. However, the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s complaint casts legal doubt on the scholarship’s racial eligibility criteria.

While the intentions behind creating an honor for George Floyd may have been well-meaning, the competing interests of racial equity and adhering to federal non-discrimination laws have seemingly collided over this particular scholarship program.

About Post Author

Word In Black

The Word In Black Racial Equity Fund, a component fund of Local Media Foundation, supports the work of Black-owned and operated local news media by providing critical journalism resources for Word In Black, a collaborative effort of 10 legendary Black publishers.

Soon after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Local Media Foundation established the Fund, originally called the Fund for Black Journalism. In the months after launch, donations to the Fund provided resources for LMF and 10 of the nation’s leading Black-owned local news organizations — AFRO News, The Atlanta Voice, Dallas Weekly, Houston Defender, Michigan Chronicle, New York Amsterdam News, Sacramento Observer, Seattle Medium, St. Louis American, and Washington Informer — to establish Word In Black.

Word In Black is a digital startup unlike any other in the news media industry. It is the only national brand backed by legacy Black-owned news publishers, with strong histories and deep trust in their communities. Word In Black started small, with limited funding, and has grown quickly over the past few years.

The Word In Black Racial Equity Fund supports journalism projects focused on solutions to racial inequities. Funding generally supports journalists who work for Word In Black, as well as journalists working for the 10 publishers. The Fund currently covers costs of 10 Word In Black journalists: an education reporter, education data journalist, health reporter, health data journalist, newsletter editor, climate justice reporter, community and audience engagement manager, finance reporter, religion reporter and the managing editor. The 10 publishers work with the WIB team to localize the stories in their markets, as well as producing their own original reporting.

See author's posts