How the Equality Movement Defeated Racial Preferences
In 1996, voters in California passed Proposition 209, which prohibited racial preferences in public employment, contracting, and education. In 2020, when the Democratic supermajority in the state legislature sought to overturn Prop 209 by placing Proposition 16 on the ballot, voters in California overwhelmingly rejected the effort by a margin of 57 to 43 percent.
In an age of rampant woke-ism and identity politics, many have wondered how the “No on 16” campaign managed to prevail against California’s political, business, and media establishments. Ward Connerly, renowned national advocate for equality regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, color, or national origin, recently offered–through a series of Tweets (reproduced below)–an explanation of the “No on 16” victory and a short history of the equality movement he has led for the past quarter of a century.
Ying Ma served as Bay Area outreach coordinator of the Prop 209 campaign in 1996, and as communications director of “No on 16” in 2020.
With the current consideration of affirmative action by the US Supreme Court, there is heightened new interest in the dramatic and improbable defeat of Prop 16 back in 2020. How was it possible to defeat the political establishment and their never-ending desire to restore race
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 10, 2022
3/ in 1995. A year later, the voters of CA approved Prop 209, a statewide ballot measure that enshrined the principle of true equality of opportunity into the CA Constitution by a 55-45% vote. Joining me in that campaign were Gail Herriot, Manny Klausner and a host of other
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 10, 2022
5/With the passage of prop 209, I realized the importance of energizing the American people to defend the principle of a quality, because race preferences were rapidly becoming a way of life in our country. So, those of us who were part of the American civil rights institute
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 10, 2022
It took over 2 yrs, but ultimately prevailed in Michigan, and off we headed to Florida, Texas and Colorado. We scored partial victories in FL & TX with administrative changes in policies but we were narrowly defeated in Colorado in 2008, the year that America elected its first
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 11, 2022
9/give the appearance of not bring pro black. My party, the Republican party, may have read the Constitution but lacks the spine to defend it. Rare was it that any Democrat elected official would support equal rights & equal treatment for everyone. And equally rare was it that
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 11, 2022
11/and got the language of 209 enacted in Arizona, Oklahoma, Nebraska & Idaho. New Hampshire embraced it legislatively.
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 11, 2022
13/ shortage of relevant experience in the field of equal rights. Thanks to the energy and dynamic leadership of people such as those identified in this release, we succeeded.
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 11, 2022
In 2020. we prevailed by 57% to 43% against the forces of racial equity and discrimination. It was an honor to lead the fight, and this was the team that made it all possible: https://t.co/gH6UjKv9ae.
— Ward Connerly (@tobeequal) July 11, 2022
