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American Civil Rights Institute
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<h2 id="goal">Goal</h2> <p>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 <a href="/facts/Proposition_209/9aDJwKCl">Proposition 209</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> 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[<i>which?</i>] in <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a>, <a href="/facts/Washington_(state)/7tCrTFnN">Washington</a>, <a href="/facts/Florida/cF245A3Q">Florida</a>, <a href="/facts/Michigan/bCurmfT2">Michigan</a>, <a href="/facts/Nebraska/g9hHfRFU">Nebraska</a> and <a href="/facts/Arizona/6ayM3swJ">Arizona</a> 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."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>The organization's goals are diametrically opposed to those pursued by the majority of civil rights organizations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="funding">Funding</h2> <p>Ward Connerly takes in donations to help fund ACRI. In 2001, Connerly received $700,000 from <a href="/facts/Lynde_and_Harry_Bradley_Foundation/HSjWJhM7">Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation</a> of Milwaukee for his anti-affirmative action campaign in California. Connerly also gained $150,000 from Olin Foundation and $200,000 from <a href="/facts/Richard_Mellon_Scaife/EHTwP4f2">Richard Mellon Scaife</a>. </p> <h2 id="high-executive-pay">High executive pay</h2> <p>Ward Connerly's personal financial gain from his organization is unusually high for a nonprofit. In 2006, Connerly was paid $1.6 million by the American Civil Rights Institute, 66% of the organization's total revenue,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> making him the second-highest paid nonprofit executive in greater Sacramento.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> Some of this pay comes from Connerly hiring himself as a consultant and speaker.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> </p><p>Congressmen <a href="/facts/John_Conyers/nUCr53Dm">John Conyers</a> and <a href="/facts/Charles_Rangel/K3SYD0lQ">Charles Rangel</a> directed the <a href="/facts/Internal_Revenue_Service/GBdRoslU">Internal Revenue Service</a> to investigate the possibility that Connerly's compensation violates law against using nonprofits to enrich oneself.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.acri.org/">Official website</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Connerly Cashes In". American Conservative Magazine. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"American Civil Rights". americancivilrights.org. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150811184857/http://americancivilrights.org/aboutacri.asp" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150811184857/http://americancivilrights.org/aboutacri.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"American Civil Rights Institute". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. 9 May 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2020. <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522004697" target="_blank">https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522004697</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Bratton, Anna Jo (August 16, 2008). "Questions rise over money in ballot issue". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved November 21, 2020. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63741269/funding-for-nebraska-initiative-424/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63741269/funding-for-nebraska-initiative-424/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Drummond Ayres, B. Jr. (16 January 1997). "Foes of Affirmative Action Form a National Group". The New York Times. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/16/us/foes-of-affirmative-action-form-a-national-group.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/16/us/foes-of-affirmative-action-form-a-national-group.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Nicol, Donna J (17 February 2022). "Racism and the roots of conservative philanthropy in the US". Al Jazeera. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/2/17/racism-and-the-roots-of-conservative-philanthropy-in-the-us" target="_blank">https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/2/17/racism-and-the-roots-of-conservative-philanthropy-in-the-us</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Brooks, Erinn (16 March 2017). "Examining the Reach of Color Blindness: Ideological Flexibility, Frame Alignment, and Legitimacy among Racially Conservative and Extremist Organizations". The Sociological Quarterly. 58 (2): 254–276. doi:10.1080/00380253.2017.1296340. S2CID 148879378. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00380253.2017.1296340" target="_blank">https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00380253.2017.1296340</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"American Civil Rights". americancivilrights.org. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150811184857/http://americancivilrights.org/aboutacri.asp" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150811184857/http://americancivilrights.org/aboutacri.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Giegerick, Steve (May 21, 2003). "Colleges change summer program plans for minority students". The Ithaca Journal. Associated Press. Retrieved November 21, 2020. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/255863851/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/image/255863851/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Connerly, Ward (2008). Lessons from My Uncle James. Encounter Books. ISBN 9781594032219. <a href="9781594032219" target="_blank">9781594032219</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Connerly Cashes In". American Conservative Magazine. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Ayres, B. Drummond Jr. (16 January 1997). "Foes of Affirmative Action Form a National Group". The New York Times. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/16/us/foes-of-affirmative-action-form-a-national-group.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/16/us/foes-of-affirmative-action-form-a-national-group.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"American Civil Rights Institute | About ACRI". Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-28. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090416085207/http://acri.org/about.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090416085207/http://acri.org/about.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Drummond Ayres, B. Jr. (16 January 1997). "Foes of Affirmative Action Form a National Group". The New York Times. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/16/us/foes-of-affirmative-action-form-a-national-group.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/16/us/foes-of-affirmative-action-form-a-national-group.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Nicol, Donna J (17 February 2022). "Racism and the roots of conservative philanthropy in the US". Al Jazeera. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/2/17/racism-and-the-roots-of-conservative-philanthropy-in-the-us" target="_blank">https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/2/17/racism-and-the-roots-of-conservative-philanthropy-in-the-us</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Brooks, Erinn (16 March 2017). "Examining the Reach of Color Blindness: Ideological Flexibility, Frame Alignment, and Legitimacy among Racially Conservative and Extremist Organizations". The Sociological Quarterly. 58 (2): 254–276. doi:10.1080/00380253.2017.1296340. S2CID 148879378. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00380253.2017.1296340" target="_blank">https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00380253.2017.1296340</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"Connerly Cashes In". American Conservative Magazine. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Reese, Phillip; Okada, Sharon (May 14, 2006). "Cashing in on nonprofits". The Sacramento Bee. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/649346118/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/image/649346118/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Connerly Cashes In". American Conservative Magazine. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Reese, Phillip; Okada, Sharon (May 14, 2006). "Cashing in on nonprofits". The Sacramento Bee. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/649346118/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/image/649346118/</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Connerly Cashes In". American Conservative Magazine. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080918034208/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00016/</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>