From the Declaration of Independence to modern-day America, equality has been at the heart of the American experience.
The American Ideals PAC is committed to promoting and defending this principle.
Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence, 1776“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Abraham LIncoln
Gettysburg Address, 1863“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I Have a Dream” Speech, 1963“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed — ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ … I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
In 1996, the voters of California passed Proposition 209, which declared: “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” This language is now part of Article I, Section 31 of the Constitution of the State of California.
Today, nine states in the union have banned racial preferences—some through ballot initiatives modeled after Prop 209, and others by legislation or executive order. These states are California, Washington, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Idaho.
Political forces focused on racial division placed initiatives on the ballot to overturn the ban on racial preferences in Washington and California, in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Embracing equality, the voters of each state rejected these attempts at returning to the days of racial discrimination.
In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in. In the landmark ruling of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the high court struck down race-based affirmative action in college admissions.
Though the American people have repeatedly declared their commitment to equal rights and have been resoundingly affirmed by the Supreme Court, misguided activists, opportunist politicians, the mainstream media, and academia loudly condemn America as a systemically racist country. These same voices frequently denounce ordinary Americans as racists due to their skin color, and they teach young children that they are either oppressors or oppressed because of their race.
As a result, far too many public policies—from local to state to federal level—are premised on race and group identity. This must stop. The American Ideals PAC supports candidates and legislation that seek to defeat these modern-day injustices and deviations from the American Creed.