A county-backed race-based medical program in Ohio that only admits Black students is under fire from legal experts who say it likely violates federal civil rights laws and the Constitution. Franklin County, home to Columbus, has funneled more than $600,000 since 2023 into the “Made for Medicine” initiative, which aims to “increase Black representation in the medical field.” The program explicitly states that participants must “identify as African American or Black,” a policy attorneys say is “perishingly unlikely” to be lawful.
Dan Morenoff, executive director of the American Civil Rights Project, told the Washington Free Beacon that “if there is a state or local government that is funding a program that is racially exclusive, that is a straightforward 14th Amendment problem.” He added the county’s funding could also violate Title VI, which bans race discrimination by recipients of federal money.
William Trachman, general counsel for the Mountain States Legal Foundation, warned the race-based medical program may run afoul of other federal laws. “It looks a lot like the discriminatory and unlawful programs that have already gotten the attention of the Justice Department’s civil rights division,” he said.
Franklin County’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion distributes the funding while claiming “success should be shaped by a person’s character, determination, and ideas—not limited by their background, race, or socioeconomic status.” Yet its chosen partner, the Columbus Medical Association, maintains a program that explicitly excludes non-Black students.
Following questions from reporters, the Made for Medicine website quietly revised its FAQ section, removing language requiring applicants to be Black. The move comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on race-based programs in education and hiring across the country.
