Ward Connerly Defeated in Missouri!

Affirmative Action Preserved!

On Sunday May 4 2008 the New Civil Rights Movement scored a great victory against the political forces that are trying to re-segregate our nation. For months, right-wing racist forces such as the anti-immigrant Minute Men, the Klan and others aligned with Ward Connerly gathered petition signatures to get thier anti-affirmative action measure on the ballot in Missouri this November. Today they failed to even turn in their petitions to the Secretary of State by the deadline of 5 P.M.

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BAMN is announcing our intention to follow up the victory against Connerly in Missouri by sending organizers to Arizona and Nebraska to defeat him there as well. DONATIONS ARE NEEDED NOW TO GET ORGANIZERS TO THESE STATES AND TO SUPPORT THEM FOR THE TWO MONTHS CONNERLY HAS TO OBTAIN THE REQUISITE NUMBER OF SIGNATURES TO CERTIFY HIS INITIATIVES FOR THE BALLOT.

BAMN united with AWAKE, ACLU and others in Oklahoma, and progressives in SEIU, ACORN, and WeCan in Missouri. By using mass mobilization and direct action we stopped the petition drive in its tracks. Following last month's success in Oklahoma, this victory strengthens the overall movement for civil rights and equality.

We are turning Ward Connerly's so-called Super Tuesday into his Super Lose-Day.After we challenged his phony signatures in Oklahoma, he wa forced to withdraw his petitions, knowing that an examination of his fraudulent tactics would be too damaging.

As part of a strategy to build a new coalition of the far-right, Connerly organized and paid racists and anti-immigrantbigots to descend on Missouri to gather signatures for the so-called Missouri Civil Rights Initiative (MoCRI), which was a carbon cop of the measures passed in California, Washington State and Michigan. BAMN organized activists from Michigan and California, and together in action with our allies, won a great victory for civil rights.

"Two down and three to go", said BAMN National Chairperson Shanta Driver, refering to Connerly's attempts to get anti-affirmative action measures on the ballotin Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri and Nebraska this November. She further stated, "Both Oklahoma ad Missouri prove that BAMN's perspective of focusing on exposing the racist fraud in Connerly's signature gathering will keep proposals off the ballot and provide the key to victory."

"We organized high school and college students to show up where ever the signature gatherers appeared. We asked people to refuse to sign MoCRI's racist, sexist petitions, informing people that the anti-affirmative action campaign was endorsed by the KKK and designed to re-segregate Missouri's universities and American society.", said Detroit BAMN organizer Tristan Taylor who spearheaded BAMN's Missouri campaign in the 9th Congressional District, "When confronted with the truth about MoCRI, even voters in rural Missouri refused to sign the petitions."

Yvette Felarca, BAMN West Coast Coordinator and Bekeley public school teacher said, "BAMN will be mobilizing high school and college students in California and throughout the west to defeat Connerly in Arizona and Nebraska."

Michael Mulholland, long-time Detroit union and civil rights activist, and Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME Local 207 said, "The combined effortss of many progressive forces organized for direct action was the winning formula. If we stand together and fight together we will keep on winning."