WASHINGTON— The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, along with partner organizations, filed an amicus brief in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Hispanic Scholarship Fund in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia urging the court to reject an attempt to use a landmark civil rights law to dismantle a scholarship and support program that helps students of Hispanic heritage access higher education and economic opportunity.
The Alliance’s lawsuit asks the court to treat scholarships as “contracts” so the plaintiffs can bring a claim under Section 1981, a Reconstruction-era law that protects equal rights in contracting. The brief explains that educational scholarships are grants meant to expand opportunity, and that stretching Section 1981 to attack this program runs against the law’s purpose and would threaten support students rely on.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights filed the brief with Latino Justice PRLDEF, Excelencia in Education, Afro Latino Forum, El Puente and pro bono co-counsel Crowell & Moring LLP.
The brief highlights how Section 1981, a Reconstruction-era civil rights law was passed shortly after the end of the Civil War to ensure that Black people and all people in the United States had equal rights to make and enforce contracts as “enjoyed by white citizens”. The Alliance’s lawsuit seeks to recast Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Scholars Program as “contracts” in order to bring a Section 1981 claim.
But the HSF Scholar Program, which provides support services and scholarships to students, advances the purpose of Section 1981 by addressing ongoing barriers to higher education and economic mobility for Hispanic students. Using a law rooted in the Thirteenth Amendment to invalidate the program would be a cynical irony and further entrench inequalities.
Maya Brodziak, senior counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Educational Opportunities Project, said, “The Hispanic Scholarship Fund helps ensure students of color have the opportunities and support they need to thrive in school and in the workforce. Our history—and today’s realities—make clear that the legacy of discrimination continues to shape access to education and opportunity for communities across this country. Scholarships designed to expand opportunity and address persistent barriers align with Congress’s remedial purpose in enacting Section 1981.”
Sabrina Talukder, senior counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Economic Justice Project said, “Hispanic communities have long faced systemic discrimination in this country, through violence, segregationist policies like ‘Juan Crow,’ and laws that limited access to economic opportunity. The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is one important avenue to help address enduring economic barriers and move our country toward a more equitable society. While government policies have too often entrenched inequality, Congress also enacted laws like Section 1981 to protect equal rights in economic life and prevent racial discrimination from denying anyone a fair chance.”
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