Supreme Court Decision Spurs Optimism

Contact: Jennifer Bollenbach, American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI), 916-261-3612, jb@acri.org

SACRAMENTO, June 28 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today, Ward Connerly, of the American Civil Rights Institute, declared the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Seattle and Louisville school district racial preference scheme as a "glorious victory."

In the cases Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education and Parents Involved in Community Schools (PICS) v. Seattle School District a majority of justices voted to again limit the use of race preferences in American life, with 4 of the justices advocating for a total elimination of race as a factor in public institutions.

"The Supreme Court today made a glorious decision that directly fits with our plans to eliminate race in all facets of American public life. This victory is a logical step in our preparation for Super Tuesday for Equal Rights," said Connerly.

Connerly is leading a national effort called Super-Tuesday for Equal Rights, which seeks to educate the American people of the harms of race references. Targeted states for this effort are Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

"This Supreme Court decision shows that the era of race preferences is quickly coming to an end. The Court is finally starting to catch up with what the American people have known for years: Race has no place in American public life," said Connerly

Jennifer Gratz, plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Gratz v. Bollinger, joined Connerly in his optimistic response to the Court's decision.

"America is quickly moving beyond race preferences, set-asides, and quotas. Within my lifetime I believe we will see a sunset on the idea of race preferences. Our government institutions should judge people on character and merit, not skin color or sex," said Gratz.