EPISODE · Oct 28, 2025 · 53 MIN
Episode 186: DEI and the First Amendment
from Broken Law · host American Constitution Society
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.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy and Program for Racial JusticeGuest: 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 GuideLink: Using the First Amendment to Uphold DEI Initiatives, by Christopher Lucca and Vanessa HuberLink: Protecting Our PurposeLink: The Legal DEI ProjectVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: [email protected] ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.
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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...
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Episode 186: DEI and the First Amendment
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