American Civil Rights Institute


The American Civil Rights Institute is a non-profit organization located in Sacramento, California founded by Ward Connerly and Thomas L. "Dusty" Rhodes in opposition to racial and gender preferences. The organization describes itself as "a national civil rights organization created to educate the public on the harms of racial and gender preferences." The American Civil Rights Institute also known as The American Civil Right Coalition wasn't fully formed until 1997, in order to take the battle against affirmative action nationwide.

Ward Connerly

, the President of the American Civil Rights Institute focused on educating the public about the need to move beyond race, specifically, racial and gender preferences. Connerly has gained attention as being an outspoken advocate of equal opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, sex, or ethnic background. Ward Connerly was President and Chief Executive Officer of Connerly & Associates, a consulting firm in Sacramento, that primarily focuses on association management and land development and was founded in 1973. "If you really believe in freedom and limited government, to be intellectually consistent and honest you have to oppose efforts of the majority to impose their will on people" quoted by Ward Connerly.

Thomas L. "Dusty" Rhodes

, was President of National Review, a co-founder of the American Civil Rights Institute, and a political editor. Mr. Rhodes resigned as the President of National Review on June 30, 2010. Rhodes has been involved in the Conservative Movement for years. Being one of the founders of the Project to Republican Future, which has led to major formulated debates and impacted several public policy issues.

Goal

The American Civil Rights Institute was established in 1996 by Ward Connerly and Thomas L. "Dusty" Rhodes after leading the campaign in California to adopt Proposition 209. The organization opposes affirmative action and racial and gender preferences in federal, state and local government programs. It focuses on public education, policy research and supporting constitutional amendments in California, Washington, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska and Arizona that seek to abolish racial and gender preferences. ACRI also assists other anti-affirmative action organizations in various states in opposing racial and gender preferences in government programs and advancing the view that such racial and gender preferences are harmful. ACRI states that its members believe that "civil rights are individual rights and government policies should not uphold group rights over individual rights." The organization states that its goal is to achieve equal opportunity for everybody.

Activities and events

Funding

Ward Connerly takes in donations to help fund ACRI. In 2001, Connerly received $700,000 from Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee for his anti-affirmative action campaign in California. Connerly also gained $150,000 from Olin Foundation and $200,000 from Richard Mellon Scaife.