The Legal Insurrection Foundation, sometimes abbreviated LIF, is an American

not-for-profit organization A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

founded in 2008 and based in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. The foundation is a conservative advocacy organization which focuses on free-speech and academic freedom issues. It has been

tax-exempt Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

since March 2018, and as of 2023 its president is William A. Jacobson. The foundation has participated in

2020s controversies around critical race theory Since 2020, efforts have been made by people, most notably Conservatism in the United States, American conservatives, to challenge critical race theory (CRT) in schools in the United States. Following the George Floyd protests, 2020 protests of ...

and has criticized diversity initiatives which it alleges have discriminated against white people.

Initiatives

The foundation maintains the website Critical Race Training in Education at the domain CriticalRace.org. The website compiles a list of U.S. universities that teach

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...

and their

diversity and inclusion Diversity, in a business context, is hiring and promoting employees from a variety of different backgrounds and identities. Those characteristics may include various legally protected groups, such as people of different religions or races, or ...

initiatives. The project, which has been featured on ''

Tucker Carlson Tonight ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American conservative talk show and current affairs program hosted by political commentator Tucker Carlson. The show aired on Fox News from November 14, 2016, to April 21, 2023, replacing '' On the Record'' ho ...

'', included as of 2021 over 300 colleges and universities in the United States. In 2022 LIF criticized a 2022

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

mandate that requires "education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism" from its accredited schools, In 2023 it sent a cease-and-desist letter to

Albany Public Library Albany Public Library (APL) is a public library system serving the city of Albany, New York. APL also operates as the Central Library for the Upper Hudson Library System, a resource sharing consortium which unites public library services across tw ...

for its two-month privately-funded internship program offered to black-only library school graduates. The library also had several unfilled positions open to any applicant.

Equal Protection Project

In February 2023 the Foundation started the "Equal Protection Project" (EPP), which the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' later described as "a legal organization that opposes race-based affirmative action." The Project accused Missouri State University of discriminating against white males for hosting a privately-funded a boot camp program for minority or women small business owners. The University responded that it would implement changes to the program in the future in response to the allegation. In July 2023, the EPP filed a complaint with the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...

regarding a whites-only anti-racism seminary offered by New York University. Over a dozen of these complaints were filed in 2023. In 2024,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

responded to a federal discrimination complaint filed by EPP regarding a program run by MIT's “Office of Minority Education” exclusively for women of color by altering its website the following day. The following month, following an EPP complaint, the

Ithaca City School District The Ithaca City School District (ICSD) is a public school district centered in Ithaca, Caroline, Danby, and Enfield. Approximately 600 teachers work in the district, along with 300 other professional staff members, 275 paraprofessionals, ...

apologized for organizing a "students of color"-only event.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ny-school-district-apologizes-for-exclusionary-language-to-promote-event-for-non-white-students/ar-BB1nEZhv

References

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External links

Equal Protection Project
Anti-racism Legal advocacy organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Rhode Island Organizations established in 2008 2008 establishments in Rhode Island