21 Facts About Ward Connerly

Wardell Anthony "Ward" Connerly was born on June 15,1939 and is an American political and anti-affirmative action activist, businessman, and former University of California Regent.

Ward Connerly is the founder and the chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute, a national non-profit organization in opposition to racial and gender preferences, and is the president of Californians for Equal Rights, a non-profit organization active in the state of California with a similar mission.

Ward Connerly is considered to be the man behind California's Proposition 209 prohibiting race- and gender-based preferences in state hiring, contracting and state university admissions, a program known as affirmative action.

Wardell Anthony Connerly was born in Leesville, Louisiana in 1939.

Ward Connerly grew up in an African-American community, but the children met some discrimination in school because of their light skin.

The young Ward Connerly lived first with Bertha and James Louis, his maternal aunt and uncle.

Ward Connerly next lived with his maternal grandmother, Mary Smith Soneia, who had moved to Sacramento.

Ward Connerly attended Sacramento State College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors in political science in 1962.

Since 1962, Ward Connerly has been married to Ilene Crews, a woman of European-American descent, whom he started dating in college.

Ward Connerly worked for the Sacramento re-development agency, the state department of housing and urban development, and the State Assembly committee on urban affairs.

Ward Connerly started his own consulting and land-use planning company, known as Connerly and Associates, Inc.

Ward Connerly became convinced that affirmative action, as practiced by UC, was another kind of racial discrimination.

Ward Connerly proposed abolishing the controversial racially based programs, while allowing the university to consider social or economic factors.

In 1995, Ward Connerly became the chairman of the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign and helped get the initiative on the California ballot as Proposition 209.

In 2003, Ward Connerly helped place Proposition 54 on the California ballot, which would prohibit the government from classifying any person by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, with some exceptions, such as for medical research.

In three of the states, Ward Connerly's initiatives failed to make it onto the ballot.

Ward Connerly identifies as a Republican with a libertarian philosophy.

In January 2008, Ward Connerly endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.

Ward Connerly began to ally with prominent members of what has become known as the multiracial movement.

Ward Connerly believes affirmative action is a form of racism and that people can achieve success without preferential treatment in college enrollment or in employment.

Ward Connerly thinks that selective affirmative action discriminates against minorities such as Asian Indians and South East Asians, as some of their people have experienced discrimination in the past, but they do not receive the benefits of race-based admissions.