Welcome to ACRI!
Based in Sacramento, California, the American Civil Rights Institute is a nationally recognized civil rights organization created to educate the public about racial and gender preferences.
ACRI's focus is on assisting organizations in other states with their efforts to educate the public about racial and gender preferences, assisting federal representatives with public education on the issue, and monitoring implementation and legal action in California, Washington, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska and Arizona.
· Learn more about us and civil rights legislation.
· Read the latest ACRI News, speeches, book reviews, and recent op-eds published by ACRI founder Ward Connerly.
· Learn about how you can join ACRI or how to make a tax-deductible contribution.
· We also invite you to visit other sites of interest. |
Connerly Steps Out in Support of UC Berkeley "Diversity Bake Sale"
In 1996, the people of California enshrined the principle of equal treatment for all Californians in their State Constitution. Since that time, there have been many attempts to circumvent the will of the people by allowing race and ethnic preferences in college admissions. SB185, an identical version of which was vetoed by former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on two occasions, is now on the desk of Governor Jerry Brown awaiting signature. Fortunately for the people of California the Berkeley College Republicans are calling attention to this abuse of legislative power by their satirical "Diversity Bake Sale." I strongly support their efforts and will attend their event and sell baked goods alongside them as a measure of my support. It is unfortunate that Senator Ed Hernandez (author of SB 185) and the California Legislative Latino Caucus have such disregard for the people of California that they would take this back door action to thwart the will of the California electorate.
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Connerly Verifies Fairness Of Prop 107
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The concept commonly known as "affirmative action" in America has a noble beginning. Originated during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history - the "civil rights" era - affirmative action was launched in 1961 to usher in a policy of nondiscrimination.
By the mid-1960's, affirmative action had been transformed into a series of policies and programs whose purpose was to increase the number of "minorities" in the public workplace, in pubic contracting, and in public college enrollment.
Throughout its history, it has been widely acknowledged that affirmative action, as it was evolving, could not endure. In fact, at frequent times following its creation, even members of the United States Supreme Court, while affirming the continued use of race as a constitutional approach in certain areas of American life, strongly suggested that the day would come when affirmative action would have to yield to the fundamental principle of equal treatment for all Americans without regard to race or color.
A prominent Arizonan, former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, opined in 2003 that "a core purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment was to do away with all governmentally imposed discrimination based on race. Accordingly, race-conscious ... policies must be limited in time. Enshrining a permanent justification for racial preferences would offend this fundamental equal protection principle."
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| Judge upholds California's affirmative action ban
By TERENCE CHEA
ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, December 9, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging California's voter-approved ban on affirmative action in public university admissions.
U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti ruled against the challenge to Proposition 209, which barred racial, ethnic or gender preferences in public education, employment and contracting.
The plaintiffs argued that the law violated the civil rights of black, Latino and Native American students whose numbers have been reduced at the University of California's most prestigious campuses, particularly UCLA and UC Berkeley, since the ban passed in 1996.
According to the lawsuit, black, Latino and Native American students make up about one-quarter of the freshmen enrolled at UC's nine undergraduate campuses even though they comprise nearly half of all public high school graduates.
But the judge sided with Ward Connelly and other affirmative-action opponents who sought the lawsuit's dismissal. In his ruling, Conti said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already rejected a similar legal challenge to California's affirmative-action ban.
Connelly, a former UC Regent and Sacramento businessman, called the ruling a "powerful victory for fundamental rights."
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Message from the President of ACRI
Dear friends and Supporters,
The principle of "liberty and justice for all" is the centerpiece of the American way of life. This principle reinforces our creed that "all men are created equal" and drives our system of merit. Nearly fifty years ago, the concept of "affirmative action" was originated by President John F. Kennedy as a policy of nondiscrimination. As envisioned by Kennedy, this "colorblind government" policy was consistent with the American ideal of equal treatment for all. When he announced this policy, JFK said that "race has no place in American life or law." Within short order, the nondiscrimination policy was converted by President Lyndon B. Johnson into an affirmative action system of "goals" and "timetable" designed primarily to facilitate the entry of black Americans - the Negro - into the mainstream of American life.
In the fullness of time, affirmative action ceased to be nondiscrimination, or to assist blacks solely, or to be temporary. By the mid-1990s, affirmative action was benefiting women and "minorities," essentially everyone except Americans who are white and male. Affirmative action was even assisting "undocumented" individuals in many states, cities and counties, and universities because they were minorities. The rationale for affirmative action evolved from nondiscrimination against anyone into a system of "leveling the playing field" for blacks and, then, into a system of preferences (double standards in college admissions, contract set-asides and employment "quotas" for women and minorities) to achieve "diversity" in virtually all segments of American life.
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| October 7th, 2012 - Affirmative Action: A history of contention |
| October 7th, 2012 - LA Times: Do race preferences help students? |
| September 27th, 2012 - SQ 759, Oklahoma: SQ 759 Would stop affimative action |
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| September 24th, 2012 - Victory!PLF secures victory – Californians are still equal under the law |
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| September 20th, 2012 - Diversity Forever. An excellent column by my friend Heather Mac Donald. |
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| October 14th, 2011 – The Pelican Post: President Obama's Race, Gender Preferences Cut Against Growing Anti-Discriminatory Sentiments |
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| October 12th, 2011 – The Chronicle of Higher Education: A Veto for Racial Preferences |
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| September 29th, 2011 – The Chronicle of Higher Education: Baked Goods |
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| September 28th, 2011 – City Journal: Half Baked |
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| September 27th, 2011 – Cal Watchdog: Berkeley Hosts Affirmative Action Bake-Off |
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| September 27th, 2011 – The San Francisco Chronicle: Race-based bake sale attracts attention at UC |
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| Joseph D. Schulman: Merit – The Only True Standard |
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| January 17th, 2011 – Washington Examiner: To Honor MLK, President Obama should embrace Ward Connerly's ballot initiatives |
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| January 4th, 2011 – National Review: Yet Another Reason to Like Governor Christie |
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| December 24th, 2010 –AOL News: Opinion: Does Affirmative Action Help College Students? |
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| Decmeber 15th, 2010 – The Fresno Bee: Racial bias alleged in bids for Calif. rail project |
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| December 15th, 2010 – The Village Voice: FDNY's Black Firefighter Problem |
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| December 9th, 2010 – Minding the Campus: More on the Wesleyan Bake Sale |
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| December 9th, 2010 – Minding the Campus: Why Caltech Is in a Class by Itself |
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| November 28th, 2010 – State Press: Prop 107’s affirmative reaction |
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| More ACRI News... |
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