Congressional Black Caucus calls for DOJ investigation into anti-DEI states

On March 6, the Congressional Black Caucus, headed by Congressman Steven Horsford of Nevada, called on the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation into states whose legislatures have banned Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices at public universities.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Horsford and his colleagues said that DEI offices serve as a critical means to curb discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, and religion, while ultimately casting doubt on efforts to eliminate them. 

[RELATED: Wall Street firms pull back DEI programs as criticism mounts: ‘Inflection point’]

“For centuries, the American collegiate experience has offered the opportunity for students to expand their perspectives and wealth of knowledge, and push the boundaries of innovation and thought leadership beyond the four walls of a classroom,” the letter states. “However, this Nation’s history makes clear that such opportunities were severely limited to white male students for centuries.”

“As these university systems are in receipt of federal dollars, the Congressional Black Caucus questions the legality of the state’s actions with regard to the DEI programs,” they argue. “DEI programs have, in recent years, become a central player in ensuring the inclusion of all students on American campuses,”

The letter states that those states that have banned DEI offices at public colleges and universities may be in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which expressly prohibits “discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin,” as well as Title IX, which “protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs.” 

Horsford’s letter comes in the wake of recent controversy over Alabama’s anti-DEI bill, S.B. 129, which, if passed, would “prohibit certain public entities from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and from sponsoring diversity, equity, and inclusion programs” and “require public institutions of higher education to designate restrooms on the basis of biological sex,” among other parallel reforms.

“These attacks on DEI are coordinated, well-funded, and meant to do one thing: take our country backward. The [Congressional Black Caucus] will not sit back and allow the idea that we are not all deserving of equal opportunity to take hold again in this country,” Horsford said in a recent press release. “We will not be silent while conservative actors continue to cut off access to opportunities for the communities that we serve.”

[RELATED: Iowa House passes bill to limit DEI at public universities]

According to data collected by NBC News, over 30 states have introduced bills that would ban DEI initiatives at public universities during the current legislative session.

Republican lawmakers in favor of anti-DEI legislation have argued that DEI offices violate the spirit of higher education. Governor Ron DeSantis, after signing a bill in Florida to cut funding from DEI initiatives in 2023, said “DEI” may better acronymize slogans such as “discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination” rather than Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Campus Reform has contacted Representative Horsford and Attorney General Merrick for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.