SMITHSONIAN BACKTRACKS ON 'LATINX' INTERNSHIPS AND OPENS SCHEME UP TO ALL RACES AFTER LEGAL CHALLENGE: LATEST BLOW TO DIVERSITY HIRING AT US INSTITUTIONS

The Smithsonian's museum for Latino history has opened up its 'Latinx' internship scheme to applicants of all races following a lawsuit, in the latest conservative-led effort against diversity-hiring schemes.

The National Museum of the American Latino says it will no longer use racial or ethnic preferences in deciding who is selected for an internship, following a legal complaint by activist Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER).

The settlement is the latest example of conservative groups pushing back on so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which critics say may be well-intentioned but ultimately blow back on straight, white men.

'Every student who is interested in this area of museum studies should have the opportunity to compete for an internship without their race being a factor,' Blum said in a statement.

'Cultural institutions must end these kinds of unlawful, racially exclusive programs and policies.'

Blum, the legal strategist behind last year's Supreme Court ruling to dismantle affirmative action in college admissions, filed his complaint against the Smithsonian on February 22.

Though the world-famous museum's internship application process did not explicitly bar non-Latinos, Blum alleged that all 30 interns since 2022 had all been Latino — a clear indication of racial preference.

According to the AAER, this violated the Constitution's equal protection clause.

'When the Alliance sued, the museum said the internship was 'for Latina, Latino, and Latinx-identifying undergraduate students' and focused on 'increasing the representation of Latina and Latino museum professionals,' the group said.

The Washington DC-based museum in legal papers asserted that its selection process had been colorblind.

Since the settlement, the museum now makes it clear that race and ethnicity is not a factor in recruitment.

'The undergraduate internship is equally open to students of all races and ethnicities, without preference or restriction based on race or ethnicity,' it says, under the terms of the settlement. 

'The museum does not use racial or ethnic classifications or preferences in selecting awardees for the undergraduate Internship.'

David Coronado, a museum spokesman, told CNN that the settlement 'spells out what had been our practice already.'

The Smithsonian lawsuit was the latest among a series of legal challenges Blum filed since the Supreme Court case that gutted affirmative action.

The high court last month denied a request from Blum's group to temporarily block the US Military Academy at West Point from race-conscious admissions.

His group has sued the law firms Morrison & Foerster LLP and Perkins Coie LLP over fellowship programs, which were only open to minorities and effectively discriminated against whites.

Both firms have since eliminated those diversity rules.

Drug firm Pfizer nixed race-related requirements from a similar fellowship scheme after a suit challenging it had been dismissed.

America First Legal (AFL), a legal action group founded by Stephen Miller, a former senior adviser to President Donald Trump, has filed complaints with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over corporate DEI schemes.

Filings against more than 20 companies, including American Airlines, Macy's, McDonald's, and Salesforce say their efforts to hire and promote more women and non-whites amount to discrimination.

Advocates say DEI schemes bring more black, brown, female, and queer talent into offices and colleges and raise morale across the board.

But critics say they're a 'woke' virtue-signaling exercise that fosters backlash discrimination against straight, white men.

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2024-03-28T15:41:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd