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's Proposition 209 and Michigan's Proposal 2.

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(Today) – Ward Connerly of the American Civil Rights Institute released the following statement about the New Haven firefighters’ case.  
 
This is one more step forward in our national campaign to end the consideration of race in the public arenas of education, employment and contracting.

Justice Kennedy, wrote "after the tests were completed, the raw racial results became the predominant rationale for the city's refusal to certify the results."  The 5-4 majority that Kennedy wrote for struck down this rational. Connerly added,
 
Engineering equal outcomes based on race is not the same as guaranteeing equal opportunity.  Every citizen should be guaranteed an equal opportunity to compete for good paying jobs, college admission, and public contracts and they should be judged on character, merit, and accomplishments – not skin color or sex.

In addition to these rulings, the recent vote by the Arizona legislature to place the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, sponsored by The American Civil Rights Coalition, (an initiative to end the use of preferential treatment and discrimination in public contracting, public education, and public employment) on the 2010 general election ballot demonstrates that America has turned the corner on race preferences.  
 
The days of racial set-asides are over.  Citizens demand their government treat each of us fairly and equally regardless of race, ethnicity, color, gender, or national origin.

June 23, 2009- Phoenix AZ – Ward Connerly, President of the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) applauded the Arizona legislature for its courage and foresight. In a 17-11 vote the Arizona State Senate completed the process to place a constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot prohibiting racial and gender preferences.

The language mirrors initiatives passed in California, Washington state, Michigan and Nebraska.

36. Preferential treatment or discrimination prohibited; exceptions; definition

Section 36. A. This state shall not grant preferential treatment to or discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.

“What’s happening in Arizona is the continuation of a trend that began over a decade ago in California,” observed ACRI founder Ward Connerly, who led the successful passage of California’s Proposition 209 in 1996. “There is simply no place for race or gender preferences in American law and public institutions,” he added.

Thirty-three prominent individuals joined Ward Connerly and the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) in an advertisement in this week’s Chronicle for Higher Education titled, From Preferences to Preparation.  The advertisement reminds the public that race preferences are living on borrowed time.  And, according to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s 2003 opinion in Gratz and Grutter, race preferences should no longer be necessary in less than 20 years. Beyond that, the American people are growing exceedingly troubled by the idea of discriminating against one in order to prefer another based on skin color.  As ACRI continues to educate the public about the harms of race preferences, we are also taking the necessary steps to advocate for new programs to be introduced to guarantee that all students have an equal chance to compete.  For instance, students who come from schools that do not offer honors and AP courses, but get good grades and take school seriously have no way of earning above a 4.0 and they deserve a way to compete with kids who are taking AP classes and earning GPAs above a 4.0. 

One thing I have learned from more than 13 years of fighting for equal treatment for every American regardless of race, sex, color, or ethnicity is that politicians can triangulate more about this issue than almost any other — and get away with it. A few days ago, Sen. John McCain gave his support to our effort in Arizona to prohibit preferences through a constitutional amendment. In explaining his reason for doing so, McCain said, “I have always opposed quotas.” Instantly, Sen. Barack Obama pounced.

With all my heart – and for the betterment of my country – I desperately wanted to believe that Sen. Barack Obama was not one of the same tired voices who peddle arguments about "institutional racism."

I have heard him say that America is not about "black and white." I was inspired when his supporters chanted at his rally on the night of his victory in South Carolina that "race doesn't matter." I thought his March 18 speech about race had the potential to become a defining moment in our endless struggle to confront and conquer this issue. I was encouraged by his perceptive acknowledgment that affirmative action breeds resentment and hostility. As millions of whites cast their votes for him in predominantly white states, I held out hope that, perhaps, he truly was a transformative leader.

The ad, which lasts 60 seconds, contrasts Reverend Wright’s racially divisive “God damn America” rhetoric with the vision of most Americans who embrace hard work, sacrifice, fairness, and colorblind government. Listen to the newly released radio ad that the American Civil Rights Institute is playing on station’s around Nebraska.

For Immediate Release
March 18, 2008
Contact: Jennifer Gratz; 916-444-2278

Today Judge Lawson dismissed all claims against the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative and ruled that the Initiative is constitutional. Jennifer Gratz, who was the executive director of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative and is now with the American Civil Rights Institute said, “Despite numerous attempts to thwart the will of the voters by the radical group, By Any Means Necessary, and their allies, the people of Michigan will finally have their voices heard. Fairness and equality are now unequivocally Michigan law.”

More than a decade after voters enacted Proposition 209, the constitutional measure outlawing race- and gender-based discrimination by public agencies in California, the effort to enforce it continues to meet resistance from government officials.