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.

· 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.

The American Civil Rights Institute is leading a national effort called Super-Tuesday for Equal Rights, which seeks to educate the American people of the harms of race preferences. With significant victories in California, Washington and Michigan our nation is choosing to take a stand in ending an era of race preferences. Targeted states for this effort are Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Super Tuesday for Equal Rights will bring our nation one step closer to realizing the promise of the 1964 Civil Rights Act – color-blind government.

Learn more at www.supertuesday2008.org

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.