Alliance Alert: The Alliance for Rights and Recovery strongly opposes the latest memo from the U.S. Department of Justice declaring minority scholarships, mentorships, and leadership initiatives that consider race, gender, or other protected characteristics as potentially “unlawful.” This memo is yet another coordinated attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at a time when historically marginalized communities still face systemic barriers to opportunity, health services, housing, education, and leadership.
The DOJ’s July 29 memo, authored by Attorney General Pam Bondi, expands scrutiny of DEI programs across nonprofits, universities, and contractors receiving federal funding—targeting scholarships for students of color, women-led leadership initiatives, and even diversity statements that acknowledge the lived realities of race, gender, and disability.
This is a political, not legal, assault on decades of progress made through civil rights organizing and community-based advocacy. As legal experts have noted, the memo is non-binding and stretches well beyond established legal precedent. But it signals this administration’s intent to chill equity efforts and dismantle programs specifically designed to level the playing field for communities that have been excluded from power, education, and economic mobility.
The Alliance’s Response
At the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, we remain unwavering in our commitment to DEI—in our programming, our partnerships, and our values. Our work is grounded in the lived experiences of people with mental health, substance use, and trauma-related challenges, many of whom are also navigating the effects of racism, sexism, poverty, ableism, xenophobia, and discrimination based on sexual orientation.
We believe equity is not “nice to have”—it is essential for recovery, inclusion, and justice.
Upcoming Conference: Continuing the Work for Equity
We are proud to announce that our upcoming annual conference this fall will feature:
- Workshops and keynote sessions focused on DEI, intersectionality, and disability justice in the face of growing federal threats;
- Legal and advocacy strategy sessions to help organizations continue equity-focused programming while navigating shifting federal guidance;
- Peer-led spaces to discuss the impact of these policy shifts on BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disabled communities.
We will not let intimidation or fear silence the critical work of creating systems that are equitable, just, and inclusive.
DEI is not discrimination—it is a response to generations of exclusion.
Equity is not unlawful—it is the foundation of civil rights.
And our movement will not be rolled back.
We invite all allies to join us in solidarity at this year’s conference as we continue to uplift communities, defend civil rights, and advance equity across all our systems.
See below for registration details and stay tuned for full agenda announcements.
Unbreakable! Harnessing Our Power, Building Our Resilience, Inspiring Hope and Courage
Alliance for Rights and Recovery 43rd Annual Conference
Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center | September 29-October 1, 2025
Register Today Here!
Together, we will keep building a future rooted in justice, recovery, and inclusion for all.
DOJ Memo Says Minority Scholarships, Diverse Slates Unlawful
By Simone Foxman | Bloomberg News | July 31, 2025
(Bloomberg) — A memo from the US Department of Justice ramps up the pressure on government contractors, universities, nonprofits and other entities doing business with the government to pare back any scholarship programs or leadership initiatives that incorporate references to things like race and gender.
The new guidance dated July 29 marks an escalation of previous efforts to stamp out what it says are “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion programs, further limiting what’s permitted and expanding who government officials should scrutinize. Employment lawyers have regarded such memos as a roadmap to determine what policies may draw investigations.
“In recent years, the federal government has turned a blind eye toward, or even encouraged, various discriminatory practices, seemingly because of their purportedly benign labels, objectives or intentions,” the memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi states. “No longer. Going forward, the federal government will not stand by while recipients of federal funds engage in discrimination.”
Specifically, the memo says scholarship funds, as well as mentorship and leadership initiatives, that are seen as being designed “exclusively for students of a specific racial group,” are “unlawful.” The memo also says that so-called diversity statements that provide advantages to applicants who “discuss experiences intrinsically tied to protected characteristics” also may be potentially unlawful.
The memo stretches beyond race, saying that any program that uses “race, sex or any other protected characteristic as a selection criteria” is out of bounds. The language calls into question the viability of scholarships or programming for women, people of a certain national-identity background, or even members of a particular religious group.
“The guidance is non-binding and doesn’t have the force of law, but it reflects how DOJ interprets and intends to apply federal anti-discrimination statutes,” lawyers from Gibson Dunn wrote Wednesday in a note to clients.
Some recipients of government grants and contracts have been scrubbing webpages and renaming programs in an attempt to eliminate language that could be associated with DEI, even when they’ve made few changes to the underlying programs. An earlier, non-binding advisory from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission put companies on notice that diversity offerings, including training and employee-affinity groups, might draw scrutiny if they excluded people based on a protected characteristic like race, sex or disability status. Challenges to company diversity fellowships have seen mixed results in court, with many companies choosing to resolve lawsuits by opening up such programs to all.
But some elements of the memo impugn practices that aren’t necessarily seen to violate the law. The department says “diverse slate” recruitment practices, which require employers to interview a minimum number of candidates from underrepresented groups, are illegal. The National Football League’s Rooney Rule, which requires clubs to interview at least two minority or female candidates for any general manager or head coaching position, is regarded as a model of such a policy.
The new guidance on scholarships and mentorship programs goes beyond established jurisprudence in the academic sphere, where scholarships or other awards limited to applicants of color, women or specific heritage remain commonplace. University admissions are governed by a slightly different set of anti-discrimination rules than employment decisions under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Moreover, the memo’s warning on diversity statements adds a new wrinkle to interpretations of the Supreme Court’s ruling against Harvard College in the case that overturned affirmative action in 2023. At the time, justices effectively ruled that universities couldn’t use race as a discrete factor in college admissions, but said they could still consider how race had affected the lives of individual applicants. The memo says programs that use such statements “in a manner that advantages those who discuss experiences intrinsically tied to protected characteristics” are likely running afoul of the law.
(Adds comment from Gibson Dunn in sixth paragraph and more details from the DOJ memo throughout.)
DOJ Memo Says Minority Scholarships, Diverse Slates Unlawful