‘Emerge’: Philanthropists and Affirmative Action

With help from conservative philanthropists and Ward Connerly, a black California businessman, a well-organized force of activists is aggressively seeking to undo affirmative-action laws around the nation, says Emerge magazine (March).

Meanwhile, defenders of the laws are struggling for money and direction, according to the article.

“Opponents have mounted a focused and well-financed national movement,” says Emerge. “They are attacking on three fronts: statewide ballot initiatives, lawsuits, and federal legislation. Money and media have been the double-barreled approach that’s given the movement its momentum, and its leaders are smelling blood.”

The magazine says the battle over California’s successful Proposition 209, which eliminated affirmative action in state hiring, contracts, and public-college admissions, has set the pace for the national fight over affirmative action. Mr. Connerly’s group, Yes on Proposition 209, raised $5.2-million and spent $4.4-million, the magazine says. The Campaign to Defeat 209, the biggest of 26 registered opposition organizations, raised $2.2-million and spent slightly more than that, according to the magazine.

Jennifer L. Nelson, executive director of the American Civil Rights Institute, in Sacramento, Cal., said that the magazine’s story was flawed and did not take into account the fact that Yes on Proposition 209 had to spend more than $1-million to qualify the measure for the California ballot.