An Exclusive Interview with Ward Connerly
A RaceFreeZone exclusive interview with Ward Connerly
Diane Carey interviews Ward Connerly about recent events:
From Diane: I’ve been working to pass the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative for more than 2 years now, first by participating in collecting signatures for the petition campaign. I knew who Ward Connerly was and admired him very much for his daring work to pass the California and Washington Civil Rights Initiatives, but did not meet him until very recently.
Many American revolutions are sparked by one person, and the revolution to finally put race relations out of their misery by treating all Americans as individuals has been led by Ward Connerly. Because of his unremitting devotion to equality, he has constantly come under fire by those who want to keep American divided by race. Ad hominem attacks on Connerly have been savage, accusing him of being an “Uncle Tom,” an “Oreo” and a white people’s patsy, all because he is black. Lately he has been attacked for fees he is paid by his non-profit organizations, the American Civil Rights Institute and the American Civil Rights Coalition.
The Interview:
RaceFreeZone: David Waymire of One United Michigan, an organization leading the fight against MCRI, trying to keep race preferences going, claims that “this campaign was developed and is being run by out-of-state millionaire using out-of-state money.” That means you. In fact, I am a native Michigan citizen, as were almost all the others who circulated the petition, and the petition had to be signed by Michigan registered voters. Over 500,000 Michigan voters signed the petition to get MCRI on the ballot. That is hardly an “outside” effort. I also know that you were asked by people in Michigan, specifically Jennifer Gratz, to help launch a ballot initiative. You didn’t come to us—we came to you.
Ward Connerly: I’m also fighting for an American Constitutional principle. I’m an American. We’re all Americans. I’m fighting for equality in our nation as a whole.
RaceFreeZone: I’ve read your book, Creating Equal. You grew up as a poor black boy in the true Jim Crow era. I was fascinated by your stories of having to wait in the car while your aunt went out to the back of restaurants to get food in paper bags, because blacks were not allowed in the restaurant itself. We’ve put several quotations from the book on RaceFreeZone, but recommend our readers to read the whole book, to see your story of growing up in a world of true segregation, yet coming out without the taint of victimhood that plagues so many minorities today.
Ward Connerly: I appreciate that very much. The adults in my life never allowed me to act the part of a victim.
RaceFreeZone: There has been much hay made by MCRI’s opponents that somehow we who support ending race and gender preferences are making money on the effort, and that’s why we’re doing it. They attacked the petition gatherers as being “hired” or “paid,” and while that’s a common practice in petition drives, I know that I did it completely because I believe in the result of true equality. I never made a dime, and in fact have invested my time and money into this effort. Thousands of others also collected signatures without any pay, may more than were ever paid to collect signatures. Now you’re being attacked because you are paid speaking fees. Congressmen John Conyers and Charles Rangel have asked the IRS to investigate your finances. This is meant to imply that you have collected monies without paying taxes, and that you are involved in the struggle against race preferences in order to make money.
Ward Connerly: Like every public speaker, I receive speaking fees. Those fees could go to me directly, and no one would ever know about them except the IRS and me. However, to ensure that everything is above board, I route all of my speaking engagements through ACRI, which reimburses me when they receive the fees. This inflates my “compensation,” but is the height of ethical behavior. Our opponents are just looking for something to attack me about because they feat that I might be successful in eliminating their way of life.
The only way that Conyers and Rangel would know that I have received such fees is by looking at ACRI tax returns, which fully disclosed all payments to me. Neither ACRI nor I have anything to hide. That is why we included all of this on our form 990s.
RaceFreeZone: Also there was recently an IRS complaint filed against One United Michigan for running contributions through a non-profit façade, so this rings of retaliation to my ears.
Ward Connerly: Of course it is. One United Michigan, a 501 C (4) organization, is having contributions sent to a 501 C (3) organization called Michigan United, to evade having its contributors pay taxes on their donations. As soon as a complaint was made and it started showing up in the media, suddenly they were interested in my finances.
RaceFreeZone: Your detractors have claimed that you are paid $1 million dollars for working only about 30 hours a week. Is that true?
Ward Connerly: I give about 100 speeches annually, many of them pro bono. I travel 80% of the time. During August (2006) I will be home four days for the entire month. The contention that I work 30 hours a week is ludicrous. My typical week of work is over 80 hours. Ask Jennifer Gratz and Doug Tietz, the MCRI campaign staff, what a typical week is like for me when I come to Michigan.
RaceFreeZone: Have you been paid for being involved in the California, Washington or Michigan Civil Rights Initiatives?
Ward Connerly: No, I don’t receive one penny from any initiative in which I’ve been involved. In fact, I have personally contributed substantial funds out of my own pocket toward those initiatives. As the campaign finance reports confirm, I contributed about $465,000 to help qualify MCRI for the ballot. If this is what that goofy guy Waymire characterizes as “lining my pockets,” then I need better lining.
RaceFreeZone: Conyers and Rangel’s letter to the IRS claims that the ACRI and ACRC organizations are “padding the pockets of its executives,” meaning you. The IRS complaint implies that there’s something being hidden.
Ward Connerly: Again, I personally contributed, out of my own pocket, $465,000 for the signature-gathering operation of MCRI. That is a matter of public record. That contribution is not tax-deductible, by the way, so I paid over $250,000 in taxes on that contribution. If you do the math, there’s not much left of that $1 million which they are complaining about.
RaceFreeZone: We at RaceFreeZone are challenging the Ford Motor Company to explain why it magically maintains the Jaguar dealership supposedly “owned” by John Conyers’ brother Nathan, even though the dealership has apparently never made money. Ford put up the money to build the Novi dealership, then to put its inventory there. They continue to support it, despite its lackluster record for actually selling cars. To us, that smacks of a pay-off to a powerful congressman. It’s interesting in light on Conyers’ sudden fascination with your “ethics.” Do you have a comment?
Ward Connerly: Also, what about the ethical behavior of Conyers’ having his taxpayer-paid staff doing his babysitting and other personal tasks? Who is investigating that? Every penny that I receive is accounted for, with an abundance of taxes paid on it.
RaceFreeZone: One United Michigan says that “without the Michigan ballot initiative, Ward Connerly would have trouble making that $1 million this year.” What do you have to say about that?
Ward Connerly: Over 10 years ago, before I ever got involved in this movement, my annual salary was $1.8 million. So, I don’t need this in order to earn a living. I can earn far more money, with a lot less grief, working for my firm at Connerly & Associates.
I recognize that an income of over $1.0 million annually is a lot of money to the average person. But, put this in context. I own my own firm, which enabled me to make far more than a million dollars per/year, as far back as ten years ago. The firm is still going strong. My income is now less than it was ten years ago; I give over 100 speeches a year and probably an equal number of interviews; I am on the road 80% of the time; I contributed $450,000 of personal funds to help qualify MCRI; and I suffer more public abuse – physical threats, name-calling – than anyone should have to endure. Does this sound like someone who is involved in this movement for his own personal financial gain? I sometimes believe that Waymire gets paid according to how many lies he can tell and the extent to which he distorts the record. His sneaky little footprints are all over the lawn leading up to Conyers’ doorstep on this issue. Consider the source.
RaceFreeZone wants it known openly that we agree with Ward Connerly’s efforts and believe that he is a true courageous American of the noble old-style, of which we need more in this nation. Ward Connerly rejects the categorization of Americans by race. He is a prime exemplar for America as a race-free zone.
Diane Carey interviews Ward Connerly about recent events:
From Diane: I’ve been working to pass the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative for more than 2 years now, first by participating in collecting signatures for the petition campaign. I knew who Ward Connerly was and admired him very much for his daring work to pass the California and Washington Civil Rights Initiatives, but did not meet him until very recently.
Many American revolutions are sparked by one person, and the revolution to finally put race relations out of their misery by treating all Americans as individuals has been led by Ward Connerly. Because of his unremitting devotion to equality, he has constantly come under fire by those who want to keep American divided by race. Ad hominem attacks on Connerly have been savage, accusing him of being an “Uncle Tom,” an “Oreo” and a white people’s patsy, all because he is black. Lately he has been attacked for fees he is paid by his non-profit organizations, the American Civil Rights Institute and the American Civil Rights Coalition.
The Interview:
RaceFreeZone: David Waymire of One United Michigan, an organization leading the fight against MCRI, trying to keep race preferences going, claims that “this campaign was developed and is being run by out-of-state millionaire using out-of-state money.” That means you. In fact, I am a native Michigan citizen, as were almost all the others who circulated the petition, and the petition had to be signed by Michigan registered voters. Over 500,000 Michigan voters signed the petition to get MCRI on the ballot. That is hardly an “outside” effort. I also know that you were asked by people in Michigan, specifically Jennifer Gratz, to help launch a ballot initiative. You didn’t come to us—we came to you.
Ward Connerly: I’m also fighting for an American Constitutional principle. I’m an American. We’re all Americans. I’m fighting for equality in our nation as a whole.
RaceFreeZone: I’ve read your book, Creating Equal. You grew up as a poor black boy in the true Jim Crow era. I was fascinated by your stories of having to wait in the car while your aunt went out to the back of restaurants to get food in paper bags, because blacks were not allowed in the restaurant itself. We’ve put several quotations from the book on RaceFreeZone, but recommend our readers to read the whole book, to see your story of growing up in a world of true segregation, yet coming out without the taint of victimhood that plagues so many minorities today.
Ward Connerly: I appreciate that very much. The adults in my life never allowed me to act the part of a victim.
RaceFreeZone: There has been much hay made by MCRI’s opponents that somehow we who support ending race and gender preferences are making money on the effort, and that’s why we’re doing it. They attacked the petition gatherers as being “hired” or “paid,” and while that’s a common practice in petition drives, I know that I did it completely because I believe in the result of true equality. I never made a dime, and in fact have invested my time and money into this effort. Thousands of others also collected signatures without any pay, may more than were ever paid to collect signatures. Now you’re being attacked because you are paid speaking fees. Congressmen John Conyers and Charles Rangel have asked the IRS to investigate your finances. This is meant to imply that you have collected monies without paying taxes, and that you are involved in the struggle against race preferences in order to make money.
Ward Connerly: Like every public speaker, I receive speaking fees. Those fees could go to me directly, and no one would ever know about them except the IRS and me. However, to ensure that everything is above board, I route all of my speaking engagements through ACRI, which reimburses me when they receive the fees. This inflates my “compensation,” but is the height of ethical behavior. Our opponents are just looking for something to attack me about because they feat that I might be successful in eliminating their way of life.
The only way that Conyers and Rangel would know that I have received such fees is by looking at ACRI tax returns, which fully disclosed all payments to me. Neither ACRI nor I have anything to hide. That is why we included all of this on our form 990s.
RaceFreeZone: Also there was recently an IRS complaint filed against One United Michigan for running contributions through a non-profit façade, so this rings of retaliation to my ears.
Ward Connerly: Of course it is. One United Michigan, a 501 C (4) organization, is having contributions sent to a 501 C (3) organization called Michigan United, to evade having its contributors pay taxes on their donations. As soon as a complaint was made and it started showing up in the media, suddenly they were interested in my finances.
RaceFreeZone: Your detractors have claimed that you are paid $1 million dollars for working only about 30 hours a week. Is that true?
Ward Connerly: I give about 100 speeches annually, many of them pro bono. I travel 80% of the time. During August (2006) I will be home four days for the entire month. The contention that I work 30 hours a week is ludicrous. My typical week of work is over 80 hours. Ask Jennifer Gratz and Doug Tietz, the MCRI campaign staff, what a typical week is like for me when I come to Michigan.
RaceFreeZone: Have you been paid for being involved in the California, Washington or Michigan Civil Rights Initiatives?
Ward Connerly: No, I don’t receive one penny from any initiative in which I’ve been involved. In fact, I have personally contributed substantial funds out of my own pocket toward those initiatives. As the campaign finance reports confirm, I contributed about $465,000 to help qualify MCRI for the ballot. If this is what that goofy guy Waymire characterizes as “lining my pockets,” then I need better lining.
RaceFreeZone: Conyers and Rangel’s letter to the IRS claims that the ACRI and ACRC organizations are “padding the pockets of its executives,” meaning you. The IRS complaint implies that there’s something being hidden.
Ward Connerly: Again, I personally contributed, out of my own pocket, $465,000 for the signature-gathering operation of MCRI. That is a matter of public record. That contribution is not tax-deductible, by the way, so I paid over $250,000 in taxes on that contribution. If you do the math, there’s not much left of that $1 million which they are complaining about.
RaceFreeZone: We at RaceFreeZone are challenging the Ford Motor Company to explain why it magically maintains the Jaguar dealership supposedly “owned” by John Conyers’ brother Nathan, even though the dealership has apparently never made money. Ford put up the money to build the Novi dealership, then to put its inventory there. They continue to support it, despite its lackluster record for actually selling cars. To us, that smacks of a pay-off to a powerful congressman. It’s interesting in light on Conyers’ sudden fascination with your “ethics.” Do you have a comment?
Ward Connerly: Also, what about the ethical behavior of Conyers’ having his taxpayer-paid staff doing his babysitting and other personal tasks? Who is investigating that? Every penny that I receive is accounted for, with an abundance of taxes paid on it.
RaceFreeZone: One United Michigan says that “without the Michigan ballot initiative, Ward Connerly would have trouble making that $1 million this year.” What do you have to say about that?
Ward Connerly: Over 10 years ago, before I ever got involved in this movement, my annual salary was $1.8 million. So, I don’t need this in order to earn a living. I can earn far more money, with a lot less grief, working for my firm at Connerly & Associates.
I recognize that an income of over $1.0 million annually is a lot of money to the average person. But, put this in context. I own my own firm, which enabled me to make far more than a million dollars per/year, as far back as ten years ago. The firm is still going strong. My income is now less than it was ten years ago; I give over 100 speeches a year and probably an equal number of interviews; I am on the road 80% of the time; I contributed $450,000 of personal funds to help qualify MCRI; and I suffer more public abuse – physical threats, name-calling – than anyone should have to endure. Does this sound like someone who is involved in this movement for his own personal financial gain? I sometimes believe that Waymire gets paid according to how many lies he can tell and the extent to which he distorts the record. His sneaky little footprints are all over the lawn leading up to Conyers’ doorstep on this issue. Consider the source.
RaceFreeZone wants it known openly that we agree with Ward Connerly’s efforts and believe that he is a true courageous American of the noble old-style, of which we need more in this nation. Ward Connerly rejects the categorization of Americans by race. He is a prime exemplar for America as a race-free zone.
posted by Jack Lifton at 5:41 PM
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