Equality and Opportunity

The Los Angeles Zoo—which is owned by the City of Los Angeles and receives 1.8 million visitors per year—selects its paid interns based on their race.   Pacific Legal Foundation sent a letter to the Zoo this week, pointing out that its discriminatory internship program likely violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause as well as ...

A student’s race should not determine their access to public educational programs. The Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause specifically safeguards against this kind of discrimination. Yet, this is exactly what is happening in New York State’s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP). Originally intended to help students prep ...

As a parent, you learn how to help your child handle rejection. It’s a dagger every time, seeing hurt and disappointment on your child’s face. But you can turn it into a “teachable moment” and tell your children that if they work hard, chase their passions, and are kind to others, they have the power … ...

In the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford decision of 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that black slaves were never intended to be United States citizens. Chief Justice Roger Taney promptly denied Dred Scott his freedom from slavery in the 7-2 decision. Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri, owned by John Emerson in Missouri. In … ...

We received heartbreaking news this week when the Supreme Court denied our petition for a writ of certiorari in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board. The case challenged the school board’s overhaul of admissions at Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology—one of the best public high schools in America—undertaken t ...

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will not hear our Thomas Jefferson High School case, a fight to determine whether public school students should be treated as individuals—on merit—or as members of racial groups. This is disappointing news for Pacific Legal Foundation and our clients, the Coalition for TJ: a group of ̷ ...

Zora Neale Hurston was a cultural icon of the Harlem Renaissance. Known for her prolific writing, especially her renowned novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston broke through racial barriers at a time when society was viewed primarily through a black or white lens. But Hurston’s artistic contributions to the countercultural zeitgeist of ...

School segregation has risen from the grave—disguised under a different name. An increasing number of school districts are offering “affinity classes” that cater to specific racial groups. Schools have long offered racially segregated options for electives such as African American history or mentorship programs. But the idea has begun ...

State emergency orders during the Covid pandemic made it possible for patients in one state to consult with doctors in another via telephone and internet. Those orders have now expired, however, and that flexibility has ended. With limited exceptions, doctors can practice medicine only in states where they are licensed and where their patients are ...