Court of Appeals Approves Anti-Civil Rights Initiative for 2006 Michigan Ballot

Despite great controversy over the legitimacy of Ward Connerly’s “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative” (MCRI), late Tuesday the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled to place the proposed [state] constitutional amendment on Michigan’s 2006 ballot.

“The so-called ‘Michigan Civil Rights Initiative’ is a sham,” said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition. “The signatures collected by Connerly and his paid canvassers are, at best, suspect while the true intent of MCRI is outright reprehensible.”

“If passed MCRI would make a mockery of equal opportunity for Michigan women and minorities and chip away at the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger to defend equal opportunity for all Americans,” said Henderson.

“Connerly can name his initiative whatever he chooses, but everyone knows that a skunk – no matter what you call it – is still a skunk,” added Henderson. “Michigan voters are too savvy to be fooled by word games and deception. Once voters discover the true intent of MCRI, it doesn’t stand a chance.”

LCCR has launched a new web site – lcprd.actbot.co/campaigns/michigan – that provides educational and grassroots action tools for Michigan voters and activists who support and want to protect equal opportunity in their state.

A broad, bipartisan coalition of national, state and local organizations opposed to Connerly’s deceptive initiative have organized under One United Michigan ( www.oneunitedmichigan.org). The coalition includes the Michigan Catholic Conference, Business & Professional Women, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Michigan Education Association, NAACP, Detroit Renaissance, ACLU, Michigan Federation of Teachers, American Association of University Women, National Council of Jewish Women, YWCA, AFL-CIO, and AFSCME, among others. Over the next several months One United Michigan will work hard to make sure Michigan voters understand the true intent of MCRI.