Connerly discusses his life, views on race in America

Ward Connerly is black and a strong opponent of affirmative action -- a position that may seem contradictory to some, but logical for him. "I see affirmative-action as unconstitutional, it is contrary to the 14th Amendment," he said. "The government should not be subdividing people, these policies build resentment and will only get us into trouble." Affirmative action marginalizes minorities by implying that without help they are not good enough to succeed, he said. Connerly, a member of the Board of Regents of the University of California, urged his fellow regents to eliminate race as a factor in admissions decisions before leading a California-wide campaign for Proposition 209. Adopted in 1996 by a vote of 56 percent in favor, Proposition 209 eliminated affirmative action in public employment, public education and public contracting in California. After the Californian referendum, Connerly founded the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) to spread his message against race-based affirmative action across the country. This organization recently helped pass a similar initiative in Washington State and is currently campaigning in Florida. During his campaign for Proposition 209, a reporter accused Connerly of being a hypocrite, saying that his firm, Connerly and Associates Inc., had benefited from affirmative action. According to Connerly, this claim was later retracted. However, the accusation stuck. Connerly has also often been accused of being a traitor to his race because of his stance against race-related affirmative action. "These people [who say that] want black people to be sheep," he said. "They suppose there is a black agenda, and if you don't support it, you are not a true black." "Does this mean I'm not eligible to be a black guy?" Connerly asked. "What about white people who support affirmative action? Are they traitors to their race?" "In a democracy, people should argue issues on the merits of the arguments," said Connerly, who has had a bodyguard ever since receiving death threats because of his controversial views. Connerly has had to deal with race-related bias due to his interracial marriage. (He is married to an Irish-American woman.) However he and his wife raised their two children, without addressing the subject. "When you tell kids that they will experience problems, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy," he said. Connerly is a also a supporter of domestic partnership benefits to homosexual employees. He has received criticism for this stance from both liberals and conservatives. "We have to learn to deal with difference," he said. "This is not the same as tolerance. That implies that you have passed judgement, and that your viewpoint is right," he added. Connerly and his wife founded Connerly and Associates, Inc., a housing association management consulting firm, in 1973. He is also regarded as one of the industry's top experts in housing and development issues. After graduating from a predominantly black high school, Connerly attended American River Junior College before transferring to and graduating in 1962 from Sacramento State College.