The American Civil Rights Institute is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

non-profit organization that opposes affirmative action. It was founded by

Ward Connerly Wardell Anthony "Ward" Connerly (born June 15, 1939) is an American political and anti-affirmative action activist, businessman, and former University of California Regent (1993–2005). He is also the founder and the chairman of the American Ci ...

and Thomas L. "Dusty" Rhodes in 1996 in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. As of 2017 it operates from a mailing address in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical ...

. It has also been called the American Civil Rights Coalition. The organization's goals are diametrically opposed to those pursued by the majority of civil rights organizations. It describes itself as "a national civil rights organization created to educate the public on the harms of racial and gender preferences." It argues that programs intended to help minorities discriminate against non-miniority people. Ward Connerly describes his work as "fiercely committed to the ideal of a color-blind America." The organization pays an unusually large amount of money to its executive, at times exceeding half the organization's total revenue. ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...

'' observed that "Connerly cashes in" on affirmative action, making millions of dollars.

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. 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 Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

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's goals are diametrically opposed to those pursued by the majority of civil rights organizations.

Funding

Ward Connerly takes in donations to help fund ACRI. In 2001, Connerly received $700,000 from

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that primarily supports conservative causes. The foundation provides between $35 million and $4 ...

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 Richard Mellon Scaife (; July 3, 1932 – July 4, 2014) was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. In 2005, Scaife was n ...

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, making him the second-highest paid nonprofit executive in greater Sacramento. Some of this pay comes from Connerly hiring himself as a consultant and speaker. Congressmen

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit ...

and

Charles Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the ...

directed the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

to investigate the possibility that Connerly's compensation violates law against using nonprofits to enrich oneself.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.acri.org/ Civil rights organizations in the United States Opposition to affirmative action Conservative organizations in the United States