Episode 186: DEI and the First Amendment

Right-wing operatives continue to target diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Through a growing web of hostile executive orders, state bans, and private lawsuits, enemies of diversity are using law to chill discussion of race, gender, sexuality, and other "divisive" concepts. In the face of these attacks, diversity defenders are turning to the First Amendment — and in many cases, they are winning. Taonga Leslie is joined by practitioners from across the country to explore strategies for using First Amendment principles and precedent to strengthen DEI programs going forward and highlight recent wins.

Host: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy and Program for Racial Justice

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Katy Youker, Director, Economic Justice Project, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Chicago Women in Trades v. Trump)

Guest: Lawrence Lustberg, Director, John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest & Constitutional Law, Gibbons P.C. (Saadeh v. New Jersey State Bar Association)

Guest: Robert McDuff, Director of the George Riley Impact Litigation Initiative, Mississippi Center for Justice (Jackson Federation of Teachers v. Fitch)

Link: The First Amendment in Flux, ACS 2025-2026 Program Guide

Link: Using the First Amendment to Uphold DEI Initiatives, by Christopher Lucca and Vanessa Huber

Link: Protecting Our Purpose

Link: The Legal DEI Project