Civil rights complaint filed against MSU alleges discrimination against 'white males'

A recently formed watchdog group filed a federal civil rights complaint against Missouri State University, arguing a white man was discriminated against when he was not allowed to attend a small business training "boot camp" for women and people of color.

Formed in February, the nonprofit Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation filed the complaint June 2 with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. The group argued, among other things, that the incident should be investigated and the university should face fines, loss of federal funding and possibly more to ensure it does not happen again.

The nine-page complaint alleged Missouri State engaged in racial and gender-based discrimination when it hosted and promoted a "boot camp" solely for women or men who identify as Black, indigenous or persons of color.

MSU President Clif Smart, in an April letter to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, denied any wrongdoing and noted the university regularly offers similar training options open to anyone, regardless of race or gender.

This boot camp was specifically targeted at 10 women and people of color and ran from late February to mid-April at the university's efactory, an incubator for local businesses and entrepreneurs.

Funding came from the U.S. Bank Foundation and the nonprofit Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation. Those in the program were eligible for a $3,000 stipend to cover transportation, child care or other expenses associated with being part of the eight-session training cohort.

"The OCR should investigate this program and the circumstances under which such a blatantly discriminatory program was approved, take all appropriate action to end such discriminatory practices, and impose relief," the EPP wrote in the complaint. "This includes, if necessary, imposing fines, initiating administrative proceedings to suspend, terminate, or refuse to grant or continue federal financial assistance, and referring the case to the Department of Justice for judicial proceedings to enforce the rights of the United States."

William Jacobson, founder and president of the Equal Protection Project, said the nonprofit filed the complaint on its own and is not representing a specific client. Jim Robinette, a white veteran, was interested in attending but did not sign up after figuring he was not eligible.

"Our concern is that discrimination is taking place under the umbrella of diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe that the answer to past discrimination is not new discrimination. We don't accept that discriminating, in this case against white males, solves any problem. We think it compounds problems in society," Jacobson told the News-Leader.

"We stand for the principle of the American Civil Rights Movement, which is that each person is entitled to be treated with full, equal protection of the law regardless of their skin color and when we see a public entity — particularly a major public university — engaging in what we consider to blatantly discriminatory conduct, we felt it was within our purview to file this complaint."

In the interview, Jacobson said the group wants Missouri State to issue a formal apology and take other steps.

"There needs to be an official university statement accepting responsibility for what they did, accepting that it was wrong to do it. We also think they need to make amends to people who were excluded," he said.

"We'd like to see an investigation of how a program like this happens at an institution like Missouri State, which has a very substantial anti-discrimination infrastructure."

Jacobson called for an investigation into the university's diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI programming.

"Do they believe that discriminating against white males is OK? Do they believe that is somehow less offensive than discriminating against other people?" he said.

The News-Leader reached out to MSU about the federal complaint.

Suzanne Shaw, vice president for marketing and communications, responded "we have not received notification of the complaint from the OCR so we have no comment at this time."

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MSU denies allegation it engaged in 'illegal discrimination'

Jacobson said Robinette complained to the university and the state Attorney General.

In a response to the AG complaint, Smart sent a letter in late April. It stated, among other things, that the "university denies the allegation that it is, or has been, engaging in illegal discrimination on the basis of race or sex."

"The efactory offers an Early-State Business Boot Camp Program on an ongoing basis that is open to small businesses irrespective of race, sex, or any other legally protected class," he wrote.

Smart wrote that in addition to those programs, the university received external funding to offer the spring program in question, which was aimed at helping "women and/or minority-owned small businesses."

"This was done in response to Gov. Mike Parson's Show-Me Strong Recovery Taskforce," Smart wrote.

He noted recommendations of the governor's task force included enhancing existing state programs and services to "support small, women, and minority owned businesses."

"While the spring cohort has now completed the program, the efactory continues to make the Early-Stage Business Boot Camp Program available to additional cohorts of small-business owners — including white small-business owners," Smart wrote.

"As with the spring cohort, the program continues to be offered at no cost to the small business owner and continues to include the same $3,000 stipend offered to the spring cohort."

He concluded: "On an ongoing basis, such programs — and all other university programs and initiatives — are not and will not be organized in cohorts on the basis of race, sex, or any other protected class."

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Civil rights complaint alleges MSU discriminated against 'white males'