NIH ‘Lavender Lab’ for LGBTQ-based studies hit with race-bias complaint after getting nearly $700K under Trump

BS BULLETIN:

The University of Maryland’s “Lavender Lab” is facing a federal civil-rights complaint alleging some research opportunities discriminate based on race and ethnicity.
The NIH-funded lab studies health outcomes among LGBTQ people and racial minorities, including alcohol and substance use.
One of its projects received another $695,192 in federal funding for fiscal year 2026 — under the Trump administration.

A University of Maryland research lab devoted to studying LGBTQ people and racial minorities has landed in the middle of a federal civil-rights fight — while continuing to receive millions in taxpayer-funded research money.

The Equal Protection Project filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights against UMD’s Lavender Lab, alleging that some of its programs use race and ethnicity to determine who gets access to research-related opportunities.

The complaint has not resulted in a finding of wrongdoing. But EPP is asking HHS to investigate whether the lab’s “LGBTQ+ Teens of Color Advisory Board” and its selection of research assistants improperly favor non-white applicants.

The Lavender Lab studies suicide, substance abuse and other health outcomes among LGBTQ people and Black, Indigenous and other people of color.

One of its major federally funded projects examines what researchers describe as the relationship between “intersectional minority stress,” “structural oppression” and alcohol use among sexual-minority adolescents of color.

That project began in 2022 and is scheduled to continue through April 2027.

According to federal funding records cited in the complaint, approximately $3.6 million has been obligated to the project, with roughly $2.2 million spent when the complaint was filed.

And the money hasn’t stopped flowing under President Trump. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provided another $695,192 for the project for fiscal year 2026.

The complaint zeroes in on the lab’s advisory board. In recruiting members, the lab said it was specifically seeking teenagers who identify as both LGBTQ+ and Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

Board members are compensated for reviewing research and providing feedback, according to the complaint, and can receive professional-development and leadership opportunities.

EPP founder William Jacobson argues that whatever population the underlying research is intended to study, a federally funded institution cannot make access to those opportunities dependent on race.

(Video: Fox News Digital)

The complaint also raises questions about the lab’s research-assistant selection process and asks HHS to determine whether the practices violate Title VI and federal health-care nondiscrimination requirements.

Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance.

MY QUICK TAKE

There’s an almost perfect Washington circle here.

The federal government gives researchers millions to study race and identity. Researchers build programs around race and identity. Then somebody files a federal civil-rights complaint arguing they built those programs a little too much around race and identity.

And somehow the taxpayer gets a seat at every stage of the process.