American Civil Rights Institute

The American Civil Rights Institute is an American conservative non-profit organization that opposes affirmative action.[2] It was founded by Ward Connerly and Thomas L. "Dusty" Rhodes in 1996 in Sacramento, California.[3] As of 2017 it operates from a mailing address in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.[1] It has also been called the American Civil Rights Coalition.[4]

American Civil Rights Institute
Established1996
52-2004697 (EIN)
Key people
Ward Connerly
Revenue (2017)
$266,575[1]
Websitewww.acri.org

The organization describes itself as "a national civil rights organization created to educate the public on the harms of racial and gender preferences."[3] It argues that programs intended to help minorities discriminate against non-miniority people.[5] Ward Connerly describes his work as "fiercely committed to the ideal of a color-blind America."[6] The organization's central goals are opposed by a majority of civil rights activists.[7]

The organization pays an unusually large amount of money to its executive, at times exceeding half the organization's total revenue. The American Conservative observed that "Connerly cashes in" on affirmative action, making millions of dollars.[2]

Goal

The American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) was established in 1996 by Ward Connerly and Thomas L. "Dusty" Rhodes (President of Review) after leading the campaign in California to adopt Proposition 209.[8] 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.[9]

The organization's primary goals are opposed by a majority of civil rights activists.[7]

Activities and events
Year Event
1998 Washington state voters approve "Initiative 200" which bans the state form using race, gender or sex to give preferential treatment in employment, contracting or public education admissions.
1999 Connerly petitioned in support of a 2000 ballot initiative to overturn affirmative action in Florida. Supporters of the "Florida Civil Rights Initiative" gathered signatures, then waited for the Supreme Courts decision to approve the ballot.
2000 Thousands of Civil Rights Supporters march in Tallahassee, Florida in response to Gov. Jeb. Bush's own anti-affirmative action plan "One Florida".
2002 ACRI's "Racial Privacy Initiative", a proposed constitutional amendment which would ban state and government from collecting racial data.
2003
2006
  • "Michigan Civil Rights Initiative", placed an anti-affirmative action ballot on the 2006 ballot.
  • Michigan voters approved the affirmative action plan ban by a 58-42 percent win.
2008
  • Nebraska Initiative 424 outlawed affirmative action in the Nebraska constitution.[4]
  • On the November 2008 ballot (Same Sex Marriage), sponsored petition drives in up to five states-Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. The Initiative failed to make it on the ballot in Arizona, Missouri, and Oklahoma and was rejected in Colorado.

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.

High executive pay

Ward Connerly's personal financial gain from his organization is unusually high for a nonprofit. In 2006, Connerly was paid $1.6 million dollars by the American Civil Rights Institute, 66% of the organization's total revenue,[2] making him the second-highest paid nonprofit executive in greater Sacramento.[10] Some of this pay comes from Connerly hiring himself as a consultant and speaker.[2][10]

Congressmen John Conyers and Charles Rangel directed the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the possibility that Connerly's compensation violates law against using nonprofits to enrich oneself.[2]

References
  1. "American Civil Rights Institute". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  2. "Connerly Cashes In". American Conservative Magazine. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008.
  3. "American Civil Rights". americancivilrights.org. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  4. Bratton, Anna Jo (August 16, 2008). "Questions rise over money in ballot issue". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  5. Giegerick, Steve (May 21, 2003). "Colleges change summer program plans for minority students". The Ithaca Journal. Associated Press. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. Connerly, Ward (2008). Lessons from My Uncle James. Encounter Books. ISBN 9781594032219.
  7. Reed, Pamela D. (July 12, 2017). "Heirs to Despair-ity: New Orleans, African Americans, and the Inconvenient Historical and Present-Day Truths Laid Bare by Hurricane Katrina". In Conyers, Jr., James L. (ed.). African American Consciousness: Past and Present. Africana Studies. Routledge. ISBN 9781351533676. OCLC 999629854.
  8. Ayres, Jr., B. Drummond. "Foes of Affirmative Action Form a National Group".
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Reese, Phillip; Okada, Sharon (May 14, 2006). "Cashing in on nonprofits". The Sacramento Bee.
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