For Immediate Release:
June 1, 2026
Contact:
Edward Blum
703-505-1922
(Ft. Worth, TX) – Today, the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) has filed federal civil rights complaints against two nonprofit organizations that operate scholarship programs restricted to applicants of particular racial backgrounds.
The complaints are attached.
The complaints were submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice. Both challenge scholarship programs administered by the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) and Chi Am Circle. AAER contends that both organizations violate federal civil rights laws by limiting eligibility for scholarships based on race.
According to AAER’s complaint, SAJA offers scholarships only to students of South Asian descent pursuing journalism-related studies. The organization states that applicants must trace their heritage to specified South Asian countries or communities of South Asian origin. The complaint further alleges that scholarship recipients must agree to various obligations, including promoting the organization and maintaining membership for several years.
AAER’s second complaint challenges scholarship programs administered by Chi Am Circle, a California-based nonprofit that has awarded scholarships for more than four decades to graduating high school seniors who are of Asian descent. The complaint also challenges an additional scholarship program available only to Asian American students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The complaints argue that race-based eligibility restrictions violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and are inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s holding that racial discrimination is unlawful regardless of the race favored or disfavored. The complaints further cite recent executive branch directives encouraging federal agencies to investigate and remedy unlawful racial discrimination by organizations receiving federal benefits.
AAER has filed more than two dozen lawsuits and administrative complaints challenging race-based eligibility requirements in scholarships, fellowships, grants, internships, and other educational opportunities.
Edward Blum, president of AAER, said, “Whether the beneficiaries are white, black, Hispanic, or Asian, federal civil rights laws protect individuals, not racial categories. Organizations may support deserving young people from every background, but they may not distribute opportunities based on ancestry or skin color. We are asking federal officials to enforce the law equally and consistently.”