A new federal lawsuit is putting the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation under scrutiny, with an anti-affirmative action group claiming one of the organization’s scholarship programs illegally excludes students based on race.
According to The Washington Post, the complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues that the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s CBC Spouses Education Scholarship violates the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because it is limited to Black students who live or attend school in districts represented by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The scholarship awards range from $2,500 to $20,000 and support roughly 300 students each year.
The suit was brought by the American Alliance for Equal Rights, a group led by longtime conservative activist Edward Blum. The organization says it is representing two students — one Asian and one Hispanic — who were unable to apply because they do not meet the scholarship’s racial eligibility requirements.
The group is asking the court to block the current program, require the foundation to reopen the application process, and force it to consider applicants under race-neutral criteria.
According to the lawsuit, the scholarship has operated since 1988 and has awarded more than $11 million to Black students. The complaint also challenges the requirement that applicants come from congressional districts represented by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, arguing that the geographic rule functions as another racial barrier because CBC membership is predominantly Black lawmakers.
“Racial discrimination is wrong no matter which group it favors or harms,” Blum said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
He added that students should not be denied the chance to compete for a scholarship because of “their race, and the race of their representatives.”
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation declined to comment directly on the case. However, president and CEO Nicole Austin-Hillery said the organization remains focused on expanding opportunity. “CBCF remains committed to these goals and to providing opportunity for all who can benefit from our work and programs,” she said in a statement.
The Congressional Black Caucus was founded in 1971 and has long served as one of the most influential political groups in Washington, advocating for voting rights, education, criminal justice reform, and economic opportunity.
Five years later, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation was created as its nonprofit and educational arm. The foundation’s scholarship, internship, and fellowship programs have helped thousands of students pursue careers in government, business, and public service.
The case is the latest in a long series of legal challenges tied to Blum, who has spent decades targeting race-conscious programs in education and business. Blum has said his activism was shaped in part by antisemitic discrimination he allegedly experienced as a child.
Since the 1990s, he has been involved in major court battles over redistricting, voting rights, and affirmative action, including the Supreme Court cases against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina that helped end race-conscious college admissions in 2023.
In 2024, one of those cases ended with the Fearless Fund shutting down a grant program created specifically for Black women entrepreneurs.
