Ward Connerly

No one is black, no one is white, says California businessman

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Ward Connerly and Kid Reporter Mariellen Hofland. (Photo: Courtesy Mariellen Hofland)

February 1, 2007

Ward Connerly’s office is in a restored Victorian house in Sacramento, California. Inside, behind a beautifully carved desk, is a man seeking to change the definition of race in the world.

Connerly is Chief Executive Officer of his own company, Connerly and Associates, Inc., a real estate development firm.
But it is his positions on the University of California Board of Regents, the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI), and the American Civil Rights Coalition (ACRC) that have given him the power to make a difference.

People should not be judged by their race, skin color, or gender, he told Scholastic News in a recent interview. They should be judged by who they are and their actions.

“I’m not ‘black.’ That chair you are sitting on is black,” he said. “Literally, I’m brown. You are not ‘white’ either. That folder is white.”

As President of the ACRI and ACRC, Connerly has put several ballot initiatives up for a vote in California, Washington, and Michigan. Called Proposition 209 in California, the new law requires equal treatment under the law, doing away with affirmative action measures.

Affirmative action is a set of public policies designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race or gender. Affirmative policies were put into place in 1965 under President Lyndon Johnson during the height of the Civil Rights movement. The policies were put in place to help minorities get better jobs and into better schools.

Connerly said he hopes that in the next few generations children will eliminate the thought of race and difference, and judge one another as individuals.

The Road to Success

Connerly suffered many hardships growing up, but tried to make the most of it. He was born June 15, 1939 in Leesville, Louisiana. When he was 2, his father left home. Connerly did not see him again until 58 years later.

When he was 4, his mother died. He lived with an aunt and uncle in Seattle, Washington, until he was 6. He then moved in with his grandmother in Sacramento. He has lived in the California capital ever since.

As a child, Connerly played sports including baseball, basketball, and football. He was also a good student. His grandmother used to tell him, “Make something of yourself.” He followed her advice.

As a student at California State University in Sacramento, Connerly was student body governor, student body president, and the member of a fraternity.

Connerly learned to stand up for what he believed to be right. He said he has never liked being put in a category. Everyone is someone special and should not be grouped together with other, similar people.

“Even twins have some slight difference,” Connerly said. “God somehow created this mixture of people. Races aren’t as important as the people. What does make a person a different race? If people marry over race, what are they?”

“I will do all that I can to eliminate race, but someday it will be in the hands of the kids,” Connerly said. “Treat other people how you want to be treated. I don’t want anyone treating me differently because of my skin color.”

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Mariellen Hofland is a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.

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