(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Big Pharma giant Pfizer changed the application requirements for one of its fellowships after a nonprofit group filed a lawsuit, stating that the fellowship was racist toward white and Asian people.
Before the lawsuit, the “Breakthrough Fellowship Program” allowed only “Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, and Native American” students to apply, with the winner getting an opportunity to take numerous internships, earn a master’s degree that is fully funded by the company and sell your soul by working for several years at Pfizer, according to the Daily Signal.
In September, Do No Harm, a medical watchdog group that says it seeks to “protect health care from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology,” filed a lawsuit saying the fellowship discriminates against qualified white and Asian applicants, with Asian applicants being discriminated only by coincidence since they are outperforming any other race group in the academic world.
A leftist federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in December, saying that Do No Harm did not have standing to bring the suit, even though Pfizer violated Title VI of the 1965 Civil Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in any program receiving federal assistance, by implementing these kinds of racist requirements.
Do No Harm filed an appeal and Pfizer, to avoid even more scandal, has since then quietly changed the requirements.
“You are eligible to apply for the Breakthrough Fellowship Program, regardless of whether you are of Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, or Native American descent,” the application form now states.
The nonprofit responded to the recent change in application requirements.
“Do No Harm is pleased that Pfizer recognizes its blatant racial discrimination is unlawful and immoral,” Do No Harm board Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb said. “It is important to recognize that this significant change was made only after Do No Harm’s lawsuit, and only because Pfizer knows its fellowship is in jeopardy on appeal.”
When the nonprofit filed the lawsuit, the fellowship’s website also said the program “works to advance students and early-career colleagues of Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic and Native American descent with a goal of developing 100 fellows by 2025.”
“We remain committed to the goals of the Breakthrough Fellowship Program, which is designed to cultivate a pipeline of diverse talent at Pfizer,” a company’s spokesperson said. “We believe that the support of a broad coalition committed to [diversity, equity, and inclusion] strengthens our ability to meet these goals.”
