A Christian organization on Wednesday filed a lawsuit alleging OpenAI discriminated against it on religious grounds.
The suit, filed by the group Holy Sexuality, accuses the California-based tech company of denying its application for a nonprofit discount because of its Christian beliefs. Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, Holy Sexuality says that OpenAI’s policies violate California law, which prevents businesses from treating customers differently based on their religion. 
“This is a lawsuit that is purely focused on corporate discrimination against a nonprofit because of its religious character,&#8221; Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Ryan Bangert told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The idea that corporations would discriminate against their customers solely because of their customers’ religious faith is really troubling, and in this case, it violates a California state law.”
Holy Sexuality is a Christian organization that promotes biblical views on marriage and sexuality. Its founder, Dr. Christopher Yuan, says that he applied for the 20% ChatGPT discount offered by OpenAI to nonprofits, but was told his organization didn&#8217;t qualify because it was religious.
“Our nation was founded on the principle of the free exercise of religion—a cornerstone of our democracy,” Yuan said. “Yet some corporations, emboldened by intersectional ideology and anti-Christian sentiment, choose to unlawfully discriminate based solely on religion. This must stop.&#8221;
Goodstack — a software company that works with OpenAI to verify groups&#8217; nonprofit status — is named alongside OpenAI. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, says that the two tech companies violated California&#8217;s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which says that businesses treat all customers equally regardless of their religious beliefs. 
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On its website, OpenAI notes that religious organizations do not qualify for its nonprofit discount, though it doesn&#8217;t explain why.
&#8220;Nonprofit discounts are available to eligible nonprofits based anywhere in the world. At this time, academic, medical, religious, or governmental institutions are not eligible for OpenAI for Nonprofits,&#8221; OpenAI <a href="https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9359041-openai-for-nonprofits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>.
Bangert says that this policy is a &#8220;brazen&#8221; example of religious discrimination.
“This categorical denial, OpenAI’s published policy, and Goodstack’s enforcement of that policy are invidious religious discrimination,” the suit says. “People of faith aren’t second-class citizens in California, and tech companies cannot provide lesser services to customers simply because they are religious.”
The suit asks a judge to declare that the tech companies violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, that OpenAI&#8217;s denial of a religious organization&#8217;s nonprofit status violates California law, and to issue an injunction blocking OpenAI from enforcing its policy toward religious organizations.
Holy Sexuality won a similar victory last month after it challenged software company Asana over a policy it had in place denying discounts to religious organizations. Asana agreed to offer Holy Sexuality the same 50% discount it gives to other nonprofits after a lawsuit from the Alliance Defending Freedom was filed.

TOPSHOT-US-TECHNOLOGY-AI-MICROSOFT-COMPUTERS

EXCLUSIVE: Christian Group Accuses OpenAI Of ‘Brazen’ Religious Discrimination

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Big Tech

California

Christianity

Discrimination

Religious Liberty

A non-profit organization that hosted an internship program that discriminated against white would-be applicants has now frozen the program in the wake of a Daily Wire investigation.
Called Silkroad, the organization’s “BIPOC internship” aimed to “diversify” the arts sector. Now the program has been renamed and put on pause after a Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-ensemble-hosts-bipoc-internship-barring-white-applicants-citing-systemic-allyship">investigation</a> revealed that the organization was engaged in anti-white discrimination.
“Applications are currently closed,” the site says of the paid internship program, adding that “Silkroad’s internship program is temporarily on pause.”
<div id="attachment_906237" style="width: 844px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906237" class=" wp-image-906237" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-300x43.png" alt="" width="834" height="120" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-300x43.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-1024x146.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-768x110.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-1536x219.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road.png 1794w" sizes="(max-width: 834px) 100vw, 834px" />Screenshot</div>
Silkroad boasted just months ago that its internship program was only open to those from certain racial backgrounds. “The Silkroad BIPOC Internship Program is a five-month remote professional development experience designed to prepare emerging arts professionals of color with fluency in non-profit arts administration and leadership,” the group previously said.
“With a commitment to systemic allyship and the diversification of the non-profit arts sector, we welcome Black, Indigenous, and other persons of color to apply,” it added.
Silk Road even produced a document bragging about the demographic balance of past intern classes, which did not include any white people. “Join us in diversifying the arts sector and providing opportunities for the next generation of arts leaders,” the group said.
Now the organization’s site says that the internship is on pause, and the downloadable internship booklet no longer includes the racial breakdown of past classes.
<div id="attachment_906239" style="width: 882px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906239" class=" wp-image-906239" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-300x108.png" alt="" width="872" height="314" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-300x108.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-1024x370.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-768x277.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2.png 1230w" sizes="(max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px" />Screenshot</div>
The change came in the wake of The Daily Wire’s investigation, which also explained that the program could be in violation of federal anti-discrimination law.
David Pivtorak, a lawyer who has active cases <a href="https://www.piv4law.com/new-blog/2022/8/23/former-american-express-employee-files-nationwide-discrimination-class-action">against</a> American Express for <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/amex-pushed-white-employees-promoted-black-colleagues-meet-racial-quotas-lawsuit-alleges">alleged racial discrimination</a> against white employees, explained why the program likely runs afoul of the law.
“It looks like it’s a paid internship so the usual state and federal laws prohibiting racial discrimination in the employment context would likely apply,” Pivtorak noted. “Any white candidate who’s otherwise qualified could potentially sue if the internship, on its face, disqualifies anyone who is not a ‘person of color.’”
Silkroad did not respond to a Daily Wire inquiry.
This isn’t the first discriminatory internship that’s been shuttered following a Daily Wire investigation. NASCAR removed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nascar-takes-down-blatantly-illegal-racial-requirement-for-internship-after-daily-wire-report">discriminatory selection criteria</a> from a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blatantly-illegal-nascar-bans-white-applicants-from-diversity-internship">diversity internship program</a> that barred white people and was called “blatantly illegal” by one lawyer.
The University of California Berkeley also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/berkeley-tries-to-rebrand-environmentalist-of-color-scholarship-after-legal-complaints?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Berkeley+Tries+To+Rebrand+%E2%80%98Environmentalist+Of+Color%E2%80%99+Scholarship+After+Legal+Complaints">reformed</a> its “environmentalist of color” scholarship after The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watchdog-challenges-environmentalist-of-color-scholarship-at-notoriously-liberal-university?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Notoriously+Liberal+University%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%98Environmentalist+Of+Color%E2%80%99+Scholarship+Is+Illegal%2C+Watchdog+Claims">exposed</a> that it, too, was discriminating against white people.

Group of People

Non-Profit Freezes Internship That Discriminated Against Whites After Daily Wire Investigation

anti-white

Diversity

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Social Issues

U.S.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and two other nonprofit organizations have come under fire for allegedly implementing scholarship and career advancement programs that discriminate against white Americans, potentially violating federal law and jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) reported three organizations, the Gates Foundation, the Lagrant Foundation, and the Creative Capital Foundation, in <a href="https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2655691/American_Alliance_for_Equal_Rights_Files_Request_to_IRS.pdf?p=pdf">letters to the IRS</a>, claiming the nonprofits have &#8220;intentionally&#8221; discriminated against white people.
These cases of discrimination, AAER says, constitute &#8220;sufficient grounds&#8221; for the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt statuses of these three organizations.
Edward Blum, the president of the AAER, blasted the groups for engaging in race-based discrimination while enjoying public subsidies on account of their tax-exempt status. “Organizations that discriminate based on race—whether their intentions are benevolent or not—are not eligible for public subsidies through the tax code,” Blum asserted. “The IRS must act to uphold the law.”
The Gates Foundation, AAER says, is “intentionally discriminating against white students by excluding them from the tuition assistance and specialized support that it provides to students of every other race or ethnicity.” The foundation’s Gates Scholarship states that the program is a “highly selective, last dollar scholarship for outstanding, minority high school students” before listing acceptable racial and ethnic backgrounds in its eligibility requirements.
A 2022 video advertising the Gates Scholarship <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxxirXy4nA4">reaffirms</a> that only &#8220;low-income, minority students&#8221; are eligible. The program is only open to students who are &#8220;African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American.&#8221;
AAER also blasted the Lagrant Foundation, which it similarly accuses of engaging in race-based discrimination against whites.
The Lagrant Foundation partners with large corporations like Walmart, Microsoft, and Charles Schwab and seeks to “increase the number of ethnic minorities in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations.” It lists the approved racial and ethnic backgrounds eligible for the program, which is limited to African Americans, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, and Hispanics.
Another organization, called Creative Capital, teamed up with the leftist Skoll Foundation to similarly engage in discrimination, AAER claimed in its letter.
Skoll and Creative Capital, which provides funding to artists, worked alongside Kickstarter “to launch a $500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Fund that backs projects by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators on the crowdfunding platform.”
Artists selected for the program were also given “access to Creative Capital’s vast educational resources and workshops at no-charge” and “strategic guidance” from “Kickstarter’s category experts.”
“These organizations are free to operate as they wish—but not with the public subsidy that tax-exempt status provides,” Blum charged. “Racial discrimination—whether in scholarships, professional development, or artistic grants—violates public policy and must not be underwritten by American taxpayers.”
The three nonprofits are far from the only organizations accused of openly engaging in blatant race-based discrimination in the name of DEI, however. One Massachusetts music nonprofit ran a “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-ensemble-hosts-bipoc-internship-barring-white-applicants-citing-systemic-allyship">BIPOC internship</a>” that similarly excluded white people, informing applicants that “we welcome Black, Indigenous, and other persons of color to apply.”
A wide range of corporations have also discriminated against white applicants, a series of Daily Wire investigations revealed. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nascar-takes-down-blatantly-illegal-racial-requirement-for-internship-after-daily-wire-report">NASCAR</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-bank-pharmaceutical-giant-participated-in-mckinsey-training-that-banned-white-people">McKinsey and Company</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oracle-internship-scholarship-opportunities-bar-whites-and-asians-on-the-basis-of-race">Oracle</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/apple-entrepreneur-camp-program-bars-applicants-based-on-race">Apple</a>, and various other corporations appear to have engaged in openly discriminatory practices in the name of DEI.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates Foundation, Other Nonprofits Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Over Anti-White Discrimination

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Politics

A male employee of Google who stated he served in such high-capacity jobs as “Global Business Leader” and “Head of Industry-Media Platforms,” has sued the company, alleging he and other male employees were discriminated against because they were men.
The <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.639423/gov.uscourts.nysd.639423.1.0.pdf">suit</a> from former employee Marco Meier accuses Marta Martinez, the Managing Director of Sales for Google, of making statements such as, “The women on my team have better leadership skills and are better prepared,” and “men are too aggressive and competitive.” The suit alleges that Meier and all the male leaders in Martinez’s department “endured a relentless campaign of hostile and disparate treatment, severe harassment, and discrimination based upon gender.”
“Indeed, over the course of a four-year period, Plaintiff witnessed the nefarious and systematic elimination of each male team leader reporting to Defendant Martinez, all of whom were exclusively replaced with female team leaders,” the suit states.
“Plaintiff and all male team leaders were continuously restricted from providing their insight during meetings, were issued lower performance reviews while female team leaders were provided with higher reviews without basis, were repeatedly denied large-scale influential projects while such projects were provided to lesser qualified female team leaders, and Plaintiffs and all male team leaders were continuously denied promotions &#8230; while female team leaders were rapidly promoted,” the suit claims.
Meier contended that he had submitted two detailed complaints of gender discrimination to Google, but no corrective action was taken or investigation conducted. Instead, he claims he was fired two months after his second complaint was closed after having worked at Google 12 and a half years.
“The accomplishments of Plaintiff were also without parallel which included closing the largest programmatic guaranteed deal in Respondent’s history with Apple,” the suit claims. “All female team leaders were promoted in less that two to three years. In stark contrast, Plaintiff was finally promoted from Level 6 to Level 7 after five and one-half years while Respondent Martinez refused to promote any other male team leaders.”
“Specifically, in or around November 2022, Defendant Google promoted fourteen employees in the Americas to Director positions. However, 13 of the promotions were provided to female employees.”

Google Chrome Requests A New Emergency Security Update

Former High-Level Google Employee Sues, Claims Discrimination Against Men

Courts

Google

Lawsuit

Hooters, a restaurant chain most famous for its all-female staff serving wings in skimpy clothing, is filing for bankruptcy, the company announced on Monday.
Hooters of America is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas after accumulating $376 million in debt, and through the bankruptcy process, plans to sell off all 100 of its company-owned restaurants to two franchisee groups that operate Hooters locations in Tampa, Florida, in an effort to keep the chain afloat.
“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in our efforts to reinforce Hooters’ financial foundation and continue delivering the guest-obsessed hospitality experience and delicious food our customers and communities have come to expect,” <a href="https://www.hooters.com/about/news/hooters-of-america-takes-strategic-action-to-continue-its-iconic-legacy">said</a> Sal Melilli, chief executive officer of Hooters of America, in a Monday press release.
The company plans to exit bankruptcy in “approximately 90-120 days.”
The bankruptcy process comes with an attempt at a rebrand, or “re-Hooterization,” of the company, Neil Kiefer, the CEO of a company that runs a group of original Hooters restaurants, told Bloomberg.
The leadership is moving toward a more PG-13 vision of the company: no more “bikini nights,” as Bloomberg put it.
“You go to some parts of the country and people say, ‘Oh I could never go to Hooters, my wife would kill me,”’ Kiefer <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-03-27/hooters-bankruptcy-founders-to-welcome-families-end-bikini-nights">said</a>. “That’s depressing to us. We want to change that.”
Hooters was founded in 1983 and became famous for its chicken wings and its female staff wearing orange short shorts and low-cut tank tops.
The chain has been the subject of numerous scandals in recent years that have severely impacted the company, including lengthy legal battles over racial and gender discrimination.
Most famous was a 1996 lawsuit where Hooters was <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/sex-discrimination-does-refusing-hire-men-food-servers-violate">accused</a> of “employment discrimination based on sex in hiring only female food servers, bartenders, and hosts, with the intent of providing a sexually stimulating aura for male patrons.”
In addition to scandals, casual dining as a whole suffered in 2024, with &#8220;TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Bucca di Beppo, and Rubio’s Coastal Grill all filing for bankruptcy last year,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/01/business/hooters-files-for-bankruptcy-as-chains-founders-seek-control/">reported</a>.
According to court filings, Hooters has approximately 5,957 employees in 151 directly owned stores in 22 states, in addition to 154 franchise locations in 19 states and 17 countries, per <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-31/hooters-files-bankruptcy-in-texas-as-brand-mulls-turnaround-plan">Bloomberg</a>.
The company confidently <a href="https://www.hooters.com/our-future">asserted</a> in an FAQ announcing the bankruptcy: ”Is Hooters going out of business? No. Hooters is here to stay.”

Hooters

No More ‘Bikini Nights’: Hooters Goes Bankrupt, Pivots To PG-13 Vision In ‘Re-Hooterization’

Culture

Economy

Gender

Restaurant

Women

An affiliate of Pennsylvania State University was hit with a federal civil rights complaint on Tuesday alleging that scholarship opportunities discriminated against white and male students on the basis of their race and sex.
The Equal Opportunity Project hit the Pennsylvania College of Technology, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania State University, over 12 different scholarships, including some that require applicants to be “a racial or ethnic minority,” “female,” or considered “previously marginalized” on account of their identities.
“Creating educational opportunities based on race, color, national origin, or sex violates Titles VI and IX of the Civil Rights Act, as well as Pennsylvania law,” said William A. Jacobson, the founder of the Equal Protection Project. “Such race-and sex-based scholarships also violate Penn Tech&#8217;s own non-discrimination policies. We are asking Penn Tech to live up to the law and its own rules, and remove the discriminatory eligibility barriers it has erected.”
The university’s Cahir Family Renaissance Scholarship only accepts applicants who “have been previously marginalized by racial, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, or other adversities,” while the “Start to Finish Minority Scholarship” tells applicants that they must be “a racial or ethnic minority.” Other scholarships named in the federal complaint only accept female applicants.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-901107 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-300x134.png" alt="" width="708" height="316" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-300x134.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-1024x458.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-768x343.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM.png 1222w" sizes="(max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px" /></div>
“Racial, ethnic, and sex discrimination is wrong and unlawful no matter which race, ethnicity, or sex is targeted or benefits. All applicants are entitled to equal treatment without regard to race, color, national origin, or sex,” Jacobson charged. “It does not matter what schools call it — &#8216;anti-racism&#8217; or &#8216;diversity, equity, and inclusion,&#8217; or something else — what matters is that no measure of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin is permitted.”
The complaint comes after the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-investigating-more-than-50-universities-for-anti-white-anti-asian-discrimination">launched investigations</a> into more than 50 universities that allegedly engaged in anti-white and anti-Asian discrimination, including Vanderbilt, Yale, New York University, Notre Dame, Duke, and Georgetown.
Most of the 52 institutions under investigation face scrutiny over their involvement in the PhD Project, which the Education Department described as “an organization that purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants.” Other colleges are under investigation for allegedly awarding discriminatory, race-based scholarships.

Graduation cap

Pennsylvania College Hit With Federal Complaint Over Anti-White, Anti-Male Scholarships

Academia

Pennsylvania

Racial Discrimination

University of Pennsylvania

Twenty major law firms received letters from the Trump administration’s Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Monday inquiring about their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
The <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-acting-chair-andrea-lucas-sends-letters-20-law-firms-requesting-information-about-dei">letters</a> from Acting Chair Andrea Lucas ask the firms to provide information detailing their DEI recruitment policies, contending that their practices could have violated civil rights law by discriminating against job applicants.
“The EEOC is prepared to root out discrimination anywhere it may rear its head, including in our nation’s elite law firms,” Lucas, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-fierce-dei-critic-leading-trumps-equal-employment-opportunity-commission">staunch opponent of DEI,</a> <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-acting-chair-andrea-lucas-sends-letters-20-law-firms-requesting-information-about-dei">remarked</a>. “No one is above the law—and certainly not the private bar.”
Cooley, one of the law firms hit by the EEOC probe, outlined its demographic goals in a now-deleted graphic scrubbed from its website. The image, referenced by the EEOC in its letter, explains that the firm sought to increase its “diversity among lawyers” from 26% to 32% from 2020 to 2026, also boosting the number of women in the partnership and the “diversity among managers” and directors during the same period of time.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-893569 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/EEOC-300x116.png" alt="" width="670" height="259" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/EEOC-300x116.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/EEOC-1024x395.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/EEOC-768x296.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/EEOC-1536x592.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/EEOC-2048x789.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px" /></div>
The EEOC’s letters ask each firm whether they engaged in anti-white, anti-male discrimination or explicitly instructed firm members or recruiters to avoid hiring members of certain demographic groups. “At any point since 2019, did any member of the firm indicate … that the firm was not seeking male or white candidates or candidates of any other particular race, ethnicity, sex, or another protected characteristic?”
The <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/Law_Firm_Letters_-_03.17.2025.pdf">letters</a> similarly asked if specific racial or demographic groups were favored in the hiring or recruitment processes. “Did any member of the firm indicate … that the firm was seeking black, Hispanic, or female candidates, ‘diverse’ candidates, or candidates of another particular race(s), ethnicities, sex, or another protected characteristic?”
“Many major law firms operate … diversity internship or diversity fellowship programs, or provide certain summer associates with additional funds characterized as a diversity &#8216;scholarship,&#8217; &#8216;bonus,&#8217; &#8216;stipend,&#8217; or &#8216;award,’” the letters go on to state.
The firms targeted include Perkins Coie, Latham &amp; Watkins, and WilmerHale. They have been instructed to provide information on their DEI programs, fellowships, and recruitment operations by April 15.

Trump

Trump Admin Hits Law Firms With Probe Over DEI Discrimination

Business

The Trump administration is investigating more than 50 universities over their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which officials say discriminate against white and Asian students.
The Department of Education announced the probes on Friday, a month after the administration <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-critical-race-theory-colleges-diversity-db8317ad37931558dd5a396cf5ab3d42">instructed</a> universities to end their DEI programs or risk losing federal funding.
“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/office-civil-rights-initiates-title-vi-investigations-institutions-of-higher-education-0">said</a>. “We will not yield on this commitment.”
Out of the 52 universities now under investigation, 45 are coming under federal scrutiny due to their involvement with a group called the PhD Project, which the Education Department described as “an organization that purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”
The investigations into the nonprofit organization target a wide range of universities across the country, including Yale, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, New York University, Notre Dame, Boise State, Clemson, Cornell, Duke, and Georgetown.
The Education Department also specified that six of the 52 institutions are now under investigation for allegedly awarding “impermissible race-based scholarships,” while another university is believed to have hosted “a program that segregates students on the basis of race.” Those colleges include the University of Alabama, the University of South Florida, and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
The investigations come on the heels of a <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf">memo</a> from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights that blasted educational institutions for engaging in anti-white and anti-Asian discrimination under the banner of DEI.
“American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families,” Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, wrote. “Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (“DEI”), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”

Trump in Oval Office

Trump Admin Investigating More Than 50 Universities For Anti-White, Anti-Asian Discrimination

Education

A professional development group sponsored by Procter &amp; Gamble and other companies has quietly altered the requirements for a race-based internship program that might flout federal non-discrimination law.
Called “BLAC,” an acronym for “Building Leaders and Creators,” the <a href="https://www.blacinternship.org/#our-mission">internship program</a> aims to diversify the advertising industry and explicitly employs racial eligibility criteria on applicants.
“Applicants to the BLAC internship program should identify as Black or BIPOC,” the program’s requirements <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241212175045/https://www.blacinternship.org/">previously read</a>. The site has been modified since The Daily Wire&#8217;s request for comment to the organization, with the site now <a href="https://www.blacinternship.org/#what">specifying</a> that applicants should &#8220;be a member of a group underrepresented in advertising or marketing.&#8221; BLAC did not respond to a request for comment.
David Pivtorak, a lawyer who has active cases <a href="https://www.piv4law.com/new-blog/2022/8/23/former-american-express-employee-files-nationwide-discrimination-class-action">against</a> American Express for <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/amex-pushed-white-employees-promoted-black-colleagues-meet-racial-quotas-lawsuit-alleges">alleged racial discrimination</a> against white employees, explained that this program may be against the law.
“Generally speaking, racially discriminatory internships are unlawful under various state and federal laws,” Pivtorak told The Daily Wire. “If the entity that created this internship or the ad agencies where the interns are sent to work are subject to Title VII, or equivalent state laws, then the program would certainly violate anti-discrimination laws as it specifically discriminates against individuals solely based on race.”
He went on to add that “the main question is whether the interns could be considered ‘employees’ under the relevant statutes” before explaining that the interns are paid “is a significant factor in determining employee status.”
A <a href="https://vimeo.com/641669799">promotional video</a> for the program calls it “a paid summer internship for black creative thinkers at independent advertising, marketing, and creative agencies across the country.” BLAC also describes itself as “a champion for the more diverse and inclusive advertising industry of the future” that seeks to “inspire and be inspired by a new generation of Black talent.” Accepted applicants participate in the 12-week-long internship opportunity at one of BLAC’s 29 advertising host agencies.
The program is one of a wide array of internship opportunities and job postings uncovered by The Daily Wire that appear to engage in racial discrimination. A number of large companies, including Apple, Oracle, Nascar, McKinsey and Company, and several others, have hosted programs that imposed racial selection criteria on applicants.
Now the incoming Trump administration will have the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-doj-could-crack-down-on-dei-fueled-discrimination-against-whites-and-asians">opportunity to crack down</a> on companies that discriminate against white and Asian applicants in service of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement.
BLAC boasts several sponsors, including Procter &amp; Gamble. The company’s logo is accompanied by a statement explaining its support for the race-based program.
“Racial inequality is the inescapable reality of America. It didn’t begin with us, but it can end with us. If we choose to act. For years, we have used our voice as a leading advertiser to shine a light on inequality, highlight bias, and spark dialogue that leads to understanding and action,” the consumer goods company states. “Through BLAC, we are proud to support an initiative that will help create more representative, equitable and powerful work across the advertising industry, shaping our world for the better.”
Procter &amp; Gamble did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the internship program, BLAC also advertises a slate of <a href="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ffc9aaa9c8615838b6941ed/6706ca8c0518034dea3e73ba_BLAC%20DEI%20Offerings%202025.pdf">DEI programming</a> options from other organizations, intended for advertising agencies. “Central to the mission of BLAC is helping advertising agencies build and sustain environments that support the success, growth, and ultimate leadership of diverse talent,” the organization says.
One consultancy offers companies on-call DEI specialists for $1,200. The group also charges over $6,000 to “develop and deliver EDI-specific employee survey to unpack the current state of the organization,&#8221; adding that it &#8220;will identify trends and provide high-level recommendations for change based on results.”

Procter and Gamble

‘BLAC’ Internship Program Quietly Alters Race-Based Application Requirements

Equity

Fired FEMA supervisor Marn&#8217;i Washington lied about her instructions in Florida for relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump,” according to a complaint filed by the Office of Special Counsel. 
The Office of Special Council filed a complaint against Washington on Tuesday, recommending that she face further disciplinary action over her guidance to skip the homes of Trump supporters in Lake Placid, Florida. The OSC found that the instructions, which were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-fema-official-ordered-relief-workers-to-skip-houses-with-trump-signs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first reported</a> on by The Daily Wire, were not based on any credible threats reported against FEMA workers as Washington claimed. 
“Washington’s instruction on October 22 to avoid homes with Trump 2024 campaign signage was not based upon any reported safety concerns from Crew 33 because, at that time, Crew 33 had not yet begun canvassing,” the OSC said in its complaint, filed to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. 
As a result of Washington’s guidance, workers skipped over 20 homes while responding to Hurricane Milton&#8217;s damage in Lake Placid. 
Washington faces two counts of violating the Hatch Act, including one count of engaging in political activity while on duty and one count of using one’s official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election. 
The special counsel&#8217;s findings undermine Washington’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fired-fema-employee-speaks-out-says-it-was-not-isolated-incident-colossal-event-of-avoidance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claim</a> that she issued the instructions because of threats from Trump supporters to FEMA workers. 
“There were no reports in Highlands County of safety concerns at properties with Trump 2024 campaign signs,” OSC attorney Eric Johnson wrote in the complaint. “No member of Crew 33 made a written report of any safety concerns at a property with Trump 2024 campaign signage.”
Additionally, Johnson said that none of Washington’s daily reports to FEMA noted any concerns about properties with Trump flags or signs. 
The complaint sheds light on other aspects of the incident, confirming that the guidance was repeated multiple times from October 22 until October 26. Five different relief workers noted that they were unable to stop by a home due to a Trump sign from October 22-27.
Crew members reported the instructions as early as October 24, but FEMA did not contact Washington until October 29, according to the complaint. Johnson said that Washington “denied” issuing the guidance, saying that they only skipped properties that had signs saying people would shoot on sight. 
“My team has registered Trump supporters however, we’ve avoided the Trump supporters that have signage stating they’ll shoot us onsite [sic],” she wrote in an email, according to the complaint. 
Washington was demobilized around November 7 and fired on November 9, one day after The Daily Wire broke the story featuring whistleblower testimony.

FEMA Headquarters in Washington

FEMA Supervisor Lied About Threats To Get Workers To Skip Trump Homes, Special Counsel Finds

Donald Trump

FEMA

Florida

Hurricane Milton

International accounting giant PwC is hosting a career advancement conference for college students that discriminates against white and Asian applicants on the basis of their race.
The program, called the <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/careers/entry-level/programs-events/career_preview.html">Career Preview</a>, is a three-day experience set to take place this summer in Orlando that imposes race-based selection criteria on applicants. Selected candidates will have the cost of their travel and accommodations covered by PwC.
“Career Preview is a chance to really see what PwC is about, how your major fits in at the firm, and begin a professional relationship with PwC employees invested in your personal and professional growth,” the company&#8217;s site says before listing off the discriminatory eligibility requirements.
The program’s “eligibility guidelines” explains that “PwC’s Career Preview is a three-day experience designed for high-performing individuals who” self identify “as a member of traditionally underrepresented group in the professional services industry.” It specifically adds that “traditionally underrepresented” means “Black or Latino/Hispanic.”
<div id="attachment_869391" style="width: 631px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-869391" class=" wp-image-869391" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-300x139.png" alt="" width="621" height="288" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-300x139.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-1024x474.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-768x356.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination.png 1136w" sizes="(max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px" />Screenshot</div>
The Career Preview application again states that applicants must be black or Hispanic and asks applicants, “Do you self-identify as a member of traditionally underrepresented groups in the professional services industry?” again explaining that the term refers specifically to those who are “Black or Latino/Hispanic.” The question is mandatory and students are not able to apply without answering it.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-869393 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-2-290x300.png" alt="" width="504" height="521" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-2-290x300.png 290w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-2-556x576.png 556w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-2-768x795.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/PwC-Discrimination-2.png 954w" sizes="(max-width: 504px) 100vw, 504px" /></div>
The company could run the risk of facing a legal challenge over its race-based selection criteria, Heritage Foundation Legal Fellow GianCarlo Canaparo told The Daily Wire.
“With respect to applicants, an employer cannot ‘limit, segregate, or classify’ them in a way that ‘deprives or tends to deprive’ anyone of an employment opportunity. The question here is not whether PwC is classifying its applicants — it is — but whether these programs increase the chances of getting hired permanently,” Canaparo explained.
“PwC will say, we only &#8216;encourage&#8217; certain groups to apply, but all are welcome,” he added.“That&#8217;s a technical nicety, not a get-out-of-jail-free card. It will provoke a fact-finding investigation into PwC&#8217;s true intentions.”
And with President Donald Trump back in office, the company could be taking on significant risk by embracing race-based selection policies.
“It&#8217;s worth remembering that abstract legal opinions are only so useful. What really matters is how the Trump administration reads the law,” Canaparo told The Daily Wire. “I am confident that the Trump administration will take an aggressive position against any programs that even seem discriminatory. So, even if the particulars of a given program are close to the line, and even if a particular judge might eventually side with PwC, the Trump Administration can put PwC through a legal and regulatory blender over these policies while it presses its reading of the Civil Rights Act.”
PwC did not respond to a request for comment.
PwC hosts another program, called the <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/careers/entry-level/programs-events/start.html">Start Experience</a>, which is also intended for people of certain racial backgrounds. The career readiness and leadership program, which the company says is “uniquely designed for high-performing college sophomores/rising juniors looking to grow their business and professional acumen, and inclusive mindset,” guarantees selected applicants an internship offer at the company. Students from all racial backgrounds are encouraged to apply, notably leaving out whites and East Asians.
“As part of the firm’s commitment to equal employment opportunity, we encourage students who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races, protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, and/or first generation college students to apply,” the program’s eligibility requirements read.
The company is also a government contractor, making it subject to Trump’s recent <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/">executive order</a> intended to bring an end to DEI in government contracting.
“That order requires contractors to agree to a term in their contracts forbidding them from engaging in DEI practices and from discriminating,” Canaparo told The Daily Wire.
“If they fail to abide by that term, they&#8217;re subject to nonpayment on their contracts, federal enforcement, and qui tam suits,” which allow individuals to sue on behalf of the federal government and receive a percentage of the damage payments.
The race-based PwC programs are part of a broader trend, however. A series of Daily Wire investigations revealed that companies like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exxonmobil-hosts-discriminatory-internship-open-only-to-hispanic-applicants">ExxonMobil</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ibm-hosts-internships-that-bar-whites-asians-and-men-with-exception-for-men-who-identify-as-women">IBM</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/apple-entrepreneur-camp-program-bars-applicants-based-on-race">Apple</a>, and more have imposed race-based selection criteria on career advancement programs.
Upon taking office, Trump signed an executive order <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/">purging DEI</a> from executive agencies of the federal government. The Trump administration now has the opportunity to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-doj-could-crack-down-on-dei-fueled-discrimination-against-whites-and-asians">quash DEI discrimination</a> among corporations and non-profit organizations by issuing consent decrees, initiating investigations, and filing lawsuits against those who run afoul of non-discrimination law.
He also appointed Andrea Lucas, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-fierce-dei-critic-leading-trumps-equal-employment-opportunity-commission">vocal critic</a> of discriminatory DEI policies, to serve as the Acting Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“Race or sex cannot be even a plus factor, a tiebreaker, or a tipping point in the employment context. People sometimes think that race or sex can be part of the equation for an employment decision if race or sex is not the sole factor, the exclusive factor, or the deciding factor,” Lucas <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/Commissioner_Lucas_Remarks_-_76th_NYU_Annual_L%26E_Conference.pdf">said in one panel discussion</a>. “That is dead wrong.”

PwC Building

Consulting Giant Bans Whites And Asians From Career Advancement Seminar

As President Trump’s <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive orders</a> have mercifully begun dismantling discriminatory and illegal DEI and CRT programs throughout the government and our educational systems, we see a sharp increase in companies and organizations joining the already snowballing trend of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/01/30/war-on-dei-deutsche-bank-stands-firmly-behind-diversity-program-as-these-major-organizations-drop-them/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dumping DEI programs</a>. Perhaps more importantly, because these orders are merely following through with his successful campaign promises, they indicate that Americans themselves finally understand and reject the damage wrought by DEI.
If you needed further evidence that DEI is in its death throes, note how the DEI Industrial Complex defends DEI as they cover its rapid demise, feeling the need to proclaim anew the baseless tropes they used to help launch it originally. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dei-diversity-equity-inclusion-corporate-programs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS</a>,<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-missing-point-dei-meritocracy-experts/story?id=117975699" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> ABC</a>,<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-is-dei-practice-trump-is-trying-dismantle-2025-01-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Time</a>,<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-is-dei-practice-trump-is-trying-dismantle-2025-01-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Reuters</a>, and others have been including something like a “What is DEI?” section to their latest articles, reasserting that DEI is an extension of civil rights, that it is about helping disadvantaged groups, or telling us that <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-executive-order-puts-stem-diversity-efforts-hold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">STEM research</a> and underrepresented scientists will suffer if DEI is eradicated.
Reuters offered this typical definition of DEI, “DEI programs have been part of workplace diversity efforts to ensure fairer representation for groups seen as historically marginalized, such as African Americans, LGBTQ+ community members, women, disabled people and other ethnic minorities in the United States.” Fortunately, despite the propaganda push, the DEI fairness mask has come off — and it is hopefully being fitted for a death mask.
<a href="https://starrs.us/dei-how-to-have-the-conversation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The hypocrisy of DEI</a> begins with the very words represented by that acronym — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
<a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-dei-corrupts-americas-universities">Christopher Rufo</a> has observed that, in practice, the policies bearing these labels usually promote precisely the opposite of what the words would imply. Diversity almost always involves implicit and explicit racial discrimination excluding or limiting some groups by their skin color or identity. Equity involves disparate and often unfair treatment of various identity groups (typically based on race, color, gender, and sex) in an attempt to equalize not opportunities, but outcomes. And Inclusion usually restricts ideas and people who oppose the prevailing doctrine of oppressed and oppressors.
DEI defenders commonly offer similar excuses as those for other failed attempts at Marxism. You might think that a piece titled <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/12/the-failure-of-the-dei-industrial-complex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Failure of the DEI Industrial Complex</a> in Harvard Business Review offers a sweeping indictment of DEI in general. Not quite. While admitting its undeniable failures in desired outcomes, it blames its downfall on the “lack of standards, consistency, and accountability among DEI practitioners.” In other words, the argument seems to be that it was a good idea, poorly implemented. Sound familiar?
The litany of slaughters, famines, gulags, and world wars was created by supposedly good ideas poorly implemented. If you start with flawed premises, things like standards, consistency and accountability only enhance the flaws. Such defective thinking includes believing that unequal outcomes are de facto evidence of discrimination; that diversity, not unity of shared values or esprit de corps is our strength; and that privilege and guilt are a function of DNA/skin color. In brief, poor implementation is the wrong epitaph.
As we close the casket, it is important to set the record straight. DEI is being buried today because enough Americans have finally realized that it has little to do with treating people fairly, combatting racism and sexism, helping the underserved, being more tolerant, or leveraging our differences. They now see that it is first and foremost about pitting groups against each other, lowering standards and eliminating meritocracy, and finding and magnifying perpetual grievances to benefit favored identity groups — and their facilitators.
They see that it grew into a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/05/dei-training-initiatives-consultants-companies-skepticism/674237/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multi-billion dollar self-serving industry</a> that was worse than ineffective; it was actually <a href="https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/dei-has-failed-we-do-not-need-more-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">counterproductive</a> — damaging all of those areas it promised to improve — often involving active discrimination and racism.
They see that our military was most profoundly impacted by DEI because, unlike the civilian world, the command structure requires immediate implementation of the destructive policies, that in just a few short years the damage done there was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cigarettes-dei-and-our-military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nothing short of tragic</a> — lowering standards, morale and combat readiness, and creating the biggest recruiting crisis in half a century.
They see that even in academia, the cradle of DEI, the multi-year, largest and most expensive DEI effort to date ($250m) at the University of Michigan utterly backfired per the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/16/magazine/university-of-michigan-dei.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a>.
They also see that in reality DEI is simple racism — institutionalizing the favoring and disfavoring of certain individuals and groups based solely on their race and/or skin color, gender, or identity group.
Scholar and author <a href="https://starrs.us/the-dei-ruse-is-imploding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victor Davis Hanson</a> noted the beginning of DEI’s demise a year ago and rightly predicted, “In the end, DEI will implode because of its many contradictions: it is racist to the core; it is illegal and violates court decisions and the Constitution; it destroys meritocracy; and it is utterly incoherent in adjudicating who and who not deserve racial preferences.”
No, DEI is not dead yet, but it will likely be forced into academic hospice for a while — hopefully never to recover. The correct epitaph for DEI is that it is warmed over Marxism camouflaged as improved sensitivity and fairness. It is not on its death bed because of too much success too fast — too much fairness, too much racial harmony, too much improvement in outcomes of all forms. No, it is dying because, like all Marxism, it aims to foment distrust, chaos, resentment, guilt, hate, discrimination, and ultimately revolution; and most Americans have woken up to and reject that. Like every other attempt at implementation of Marxist principles, it may sound good in theory, but ultimately succumbs to reality.
Like all tyrants, DEI should not rest in peace because it should serve as yet another warning for what can happen even after the failings of countless other attempts at Marxism have been demonstrated. But regardless of how it leaves us, through burial or cremation, let’s get the eulogy right so that future generations may feel less inclined to resurrect its corpse.
* * *
Dr. Greg Salsbury is former president of Western Colorado University, on the Board of Advisors for <a href="https://starrs.us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">STARRS</a>, and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Retirementology-Rethinking-American-Dream-Economy/dp/0137056532" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Retirementology – Rethinking the American Dream in a New Economy.”</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Dusk at a winter’s English cemetery seen with in-focus flowers in a burial plot.

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