Surprise,
surprise,
another
ABA
diversity
loss.
Right
after
SFFA
v.
Harvard,
the
timer
started
ticking
against
structural
attempts
to
correct
racial
disparities
in
the
legal
profession.
Rules
like
“Hey,
we
should
make
sure
that
underserved
communities
are
aware
of
the
opportunities
we’re
offering”
or
suggestions
like
“Maybe
the
profession
shouldn’t
look
like
a
Hanson
concert”
became
even
more
suspect
than
usual.
The
ABA
tried
to
wiggle
out
of
being
sued
for
some
of
their
pro-diversity,
equity,
and
inclusion
offerings
by
changing
some
of
the
wording,
but
they
weren’t
prepared
to
go
to
bat
in
the
long
run.
They’ve
recently
settled
a
case
about
who
is
eligible
for
one
of
their
scholarships.
Law.com
has
coverage:
The
American
Bar
Association
has
settled
a
lawsuit
brought
forth
last
year
by
the
American
Alliance
for
Equal
Rights
(AAER)
over
the
ABA’s
Legal
Opportunity
Scholarship
Fund
(LOSF),
agreeing
to
offer
the
scholarship
on
a
“race/ethnicity-neutral”
basis.The
ABA
agreed
to
“refrain
from
including
any
eligibility
requirement
for
LOSF
based
on
particular
group
identities,
including
race
or
ethnicity,”
according
to
the
Joint
Stipulation
of
Dismissal
filed
in
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Northern
District
of
Illinois
Eastern
Division
on
Monday.The
ABA
also
agreed
to
“apply
the
eligibility
requirements
for
LOSF
on
a
race/ethnicity-neutral
basis”
and
to
clarify
that
demographic
information
in
the
LOSF
application
is
“solely
for
data-tracking
purposes
and
will
not
be
considered
as
part
of
the
eligibility
for
the
scholarship,”
according
to
court
records.
The
LOSF
is
now
reserved
for
first
years
“committed
to
enhancing
the
diversity,
equity,
and
inclusion
of
the
legal
profession.”
Great,
now
the
money
can
go
to
the
law
school
equivalent
of
this
guy:
Appeals
to
inclusion
without
a
historical
basis
for
why
that
inclusion
matters
are
just
excuses
to
parade
mainstream
dogma.
There’s
nothing
particularly
new
or
enhancing
about
Amy
Wax
platforming
White
supremacists
or
minimizing
Asian
and
Black
law
students,
but
the
discursive
justification
that
she
or
FedSoc
bros
parroting
PragerU
talking
points
are
“encouraging
debate”
or
“promoting
the
free
exchange
of
ideas”
ignores
that
these
ideas
have
been
circulating
for
a
very
long
time.
Debates
on
if
Black
people
are
as
intelligent
as
their
White
peers
(“people”
and
“peers”
are
of
course
stretches
of
the
historical
imagination
in
this
context)
go
back
centuries
—
there’s
a
well-documented
example
of
Thomas
Jefferson
shitting
on
an
award-winning,
formerly
enslaved
poet
for
only
being
capable
of
mimicry.
What’s
so
novel
about
a
professor
evenhandedly
assuming
poorly
of
them
despite
the
evidence
to
the
contrary?
Will
the
next
round
of
LOSF
recipients
include
some
equivalent
of
the
student
who
sued
his
school
over
removing
his
Charlie
Kirk
flyers?
Because
if
not,
there
will
suits
alleging
that
the
scholarships
discriminate
against
the
real
minority:
conservative
viewpoints.
It
is
very
popular
for
conservatives
to
argue
that
their
viewpoints
are
in
the
minority
and
that
their
shoehorning
Ayn
Rand
quotes
in
Con
Law
are
the
classroom
discussions
needed
to
balance
out
the
overwhelming
liberalism,
even
if
the
data
shows
that
the
nation
skewed
rightward
in
2019,
and
stayed
about
the
same
in
2020.
More
up-to-date
polling
shows
opinions
are
changing,
but
1)
they
aren’t
drastic
changes
and
2)
it
is
naive
to
pretend
that
all
the
conservatives
on
speaking
tours
about
how
they’re
being
silenced
comport
with
reality.
Conservative
viewpoints
are
always
present
in
these
classrooms
—
they’re
the
damn
case
book.
Whoever
gets
the
money,
I
hope
they
actually
need
it.
Double
points
if
they
aren’t
some
grifter.
ABA
Settles
Lawsuit
Over
Diversity
Scholarship
[Law.com]
Earlier:
ABA
Diversity
And
Inclusion
Standard
Looks
Like
It’s
On
Its
Last
Legs
Law
Professors
Argue
Abandoning
The
Diversity
Rule
Will
Hurt
The
ABA’s
Reputation
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boat
builder
who
is
learning
to
swim
and
is
interested
in
rhetoric,
Spinozists
and
humor.
Getting
back
in
to
cycling
wouldn’t
hurt
either.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at
[email protected]
and
by
Tweet/Bluesky
at @WritesForRent.