Exclusive | Trump admin pushed to probe CUNY ‘Black Male’ program for blocking out other students

Nypost · Jun 01, 2026 · 522 words · By Carl Campanile

Affirmative Action Civil Rights and Discrimination Legal Advocacy

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Ready to play

Daily briefing

What to know about Affirmative Action

Metro exclusive Trump admin pushed to probe CUNY ‘Black Male’ program for blocking out other students See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Metro exclusive Trump admin pushed to probe CUNY ‘Black Male’ program for blocking out other students See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleA legal advocacy group wants the Trump administration to step in to probe CUNY‘s Black Male Initiative over claims it discriminates against white students.

Common ground

The Equal Protection Project claims the CUNY program violates federal civil rights laws by giving preference to minority male students while shutting out others.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, False Equivalence: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Affirmative Action story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that William Jacobson, president and founder of the group, which filed a complaint with the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon?
How does this story connect Affirmative Action with Civil Rights and Discrimination over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/01/us-news/trump-justice-dept-urged-to-probe-cuny-bla…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

False Equivalence 70% confidence

Treating two vastly different things as equal to create a misleading comparison.

Why it matters: Recognizing false equivalence helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3

info Single Source 3

verified Verified By Reference 2

check_circle

Claim 1: “William Jacobson, president and founder of the group, which filed a complaint with the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from Newsmax and TotalNEWS identify William Jacobson as the leader/founder of the Equal Protection Project and confirm the filing of complaints with the Justice Department.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — William A. Jacobson is an American lawyer, Cornell Law School clinical professor, and conservative blogger. He is the president and founder of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, and founding director …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Jacobson

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_v._Gore

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Legal Insurrection Foundation (abbreviated LIF) is an American nonprofit conservative advocacy organization which focuses on free-speech and academic freedom issues. Launched in 2019, LIF is based…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_Insurrection_Foundation

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 2: “the US Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that college and university affirmative action programs that consider race a factor in admissions are unconstitutional.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (The Guardian and other news reports) confirm that in June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions programs (specifically Harvard and UNC) are unconstitutional.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court's decision may impact the way the public, employees, the judiciary, and government agencies evaluate such programs.On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Harvard’s and U…
https://www.cbia.com/news/featured/supreme-court-race-consci…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The court concluded that race could be factored in the admissions process but stopped colleges from setting racial quotas. In 2003, in the case Grutter v Bollinger, the US supreme court ruled that hig…
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/jun/29/us-supreme-court…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 11 July 2023. U.S. Supreme Court Rules Race-Conscious College Admissions Are Unconstitutional.Article. The Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions Programs: Key Takeaways For Higher Educa…
https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/education/1337194/us-sup…

info

Claim 3: “New York’s lawmakers have allocated millions of dollars over the years to fund BMI”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results discuss general New York state budgets and funding for MWBEs or charter schools, but none specifically mention millions of dollars allocated to the Black Male Initiative (BMI).

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 12, 2026 · We dive into what New York lawmakers are proposing to help ... Federal funding to the state has decreased by about 16 billion dollars ...
https://www.facebook.com/NewYorkNOW/videos/minority-and-wome…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 12, 2026 · • More than $400 million in state grants have been provided to the state's most distressed municipalities through the Community Investment Fund ...
https://www.facebook.com/cityandstateny/posts/with-additiona…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mar 17, 2016 · Andrew Cuomo has proposed a budget that can begin to close this funding gap for charter schools by restoring the funding formula, a material ...
https://www.cityandstateny.com/nyn-media/2016/03/eradicate-r…

info

Claim 4: “In 2012, the Obama Department of Education determined that the initiative was consistent with federal law.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result explicitly mentions a 'legally ridiculous 2012 decision by the Obama Department of Education' regarding the program. Other sources do not provide independent confirmation of this specific ruling.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first Afri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Ed…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States federal executive departments are the principal units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States. The executive departments are the administrative arms of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_executiv…

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 5: “A legal advocacy group wants the Trump administration to step in to probe CUNY‘s Black Male Initiative over claims it discriminates against white students.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources (iHeart, Newsmax, and another exclusive report) confirm that the Equal Protection Project urged the Trump administration's Justice Department to probe CUNY's Black Male Initiative for discrimination against white students.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. Trump, a Republican, previously served as the 45th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_presidency_of_Donald_Tr…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 6: “The mission of the Black Male Initiative is to bolster the enrollment, retention, grade point average and graduation rates of minority male students in 22 senior and community colleges within the CUNY system.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While web search results confirm the existence of the Black Male Initiative and its general goal to support students, the specific details regarding '22 senior and community colleges' and the specific metrics (GPA, retention) are not explicitly corroborated in the provided evidence snippets.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public research university within the City University of New York …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_College_of_New_York

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients whi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malnutrition

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American civil rights activist. She is best known for her 1955 refusal to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “It has been in place for 20 years.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Two separate web search results explicitly mention the 20-year duration: one stating 'For 20 years' and another titled 'Black Male Initiative at CUNY celebrates 20 years'.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York is a public community college in the South Bronx, New York City. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) syste…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostos_Community_College

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “EPP has filed cases against more than 120 institutions challenging over 550 discriminatory scholarships and programs — including at the State University of New York campuses, the New York State Education Department, as well as Fordham and Rutgers universities.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence does not contain the specific numbers (120 institutions, 550 programs) or the list of specific targets (SUNY, Fordham, Rutgers) associated with the Equal Protection Project's filings.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In fact, the Excelsior. Scholarship Program is one of the biggest reasons Joselyn's college list con- tains mostly State University of New York (SUNY) system ...
https://jgrj.law.uiowa.edu/sites/jgrj.law.uiowa.edu/files/20…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data is a critical step for higher education institutions to understand their community of students ...
https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/SOGI+Data+C…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — This report evaluates the efforts of the U.S. Department of. Education and its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to enforce Title VI of the.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED449581.pdf

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.