Affirmative Action
Floridians Representing Equity and Equality (F.R.E.E.)
If you are a Floridian, a woman or an ethnic minority concerned about the
state of your equality, now is the time to address this issue by actively
seeking involvement in challenging those who have started an
anti-affirmative action crusade in Florida.
Floridians are being misled, deceived and confused into believing that an
anti-affirmative action measure called the Florida Civil Rights Initiative
supports equality and ends discrimination.
Not so! If passed, the Florida Civil Rights Initiative would make any
government-sponsored program targeted to help minorities and women
illegal.
That is why Floridians Representing Equity and Equality, a grassroots
coalition, is working to preserve affirmative action by challenging the
anti-affirmative action ballot initiative.
FREEšs mission is to educate the people of Florida about the importance of
preserving and protecting current legislation that ensures equal
opportunity in employment, education, housing, procurement, and
contracting opportunities for all Floridians.
Made up of over 20 groups throughout the state of Florida, FREEšs
membership includes the Florida Association of Minority Business
Enterprise Officials (FAMBEO), Florida State Conference of Branches,
NAACP, the Florida National Organization for Women, Inc, FL NOW, League of
United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Chapter of the National Bar
Association, the Florida Womenšs Consorium, and the Filipino-American
Political Aggregation.
FREE is working hard to educate and register voters, build coalitions,
raise funds, and create its own ballot language to make sure Florida does
not face the same devastating effects of Ward Connelyšs crusades. Connely,
a black California businessman and founder of the American Civil rights
Institution, has successfully led drives to eliminate affirmative action
programs in California and Washington. Now he has his sights set on
Florida.
California's Proposition 209 instantly reduced minority student enrollment
in Californiašs public university system, and Washington's I-200 misled
people by casting affirmative action exclusively in racial terms.
These initiatives were not passed because the voters of these states
wanted to end affirmative action. They were passed because Connerly
presented a sham and created confusion for voters by using deceptive and
misleading language on the ballot. FREE will give voters an alternative.
Connerly, the Florida Association of General Contractors of America, and
other supporters of the Florida Civil rights Initiative would like for
everyone to believe that racism and prejudice has ended. This in not true.
FREE has compiled statistical data showing that there continues to be
great disparity between race and gender when economic status and social
opportunities are measured.
Affirmative action is not a racial or minority preference program. It is
not about quotas, set-asides, or programs that allow the hiring of
unqualified people for jobs, admitting unqualified people to college, or
receiving underserving contracts. The citizens of California and
Washington were duped into to believing this is true.
Affirmative action is about opening the door of opportunity and giving
equal and fair opportunities to women and minorities so they can compete
for public jobs, have access to good colleges, and fair competition for
government contracts. Other opponents of the Florida Civil Rights
Initiative include the Republican Party of Florida, who said it would not
support or endorse the anti-affirmative action initiative should it be
placed on the 2000 ballot. Al Cardenas, chairman, said, The effects of
ending affirmative action will spark emotional turbulence fracturing
communities, drawing racial lines and will forever change the heart and
soul of Florida.
Governor Jeb Bush said the effort is divisive and will spawn bitterness
that will divide Florida by race and ethnicity while keeping the state
from focusing and building the consensus necessary to solve the many
critical issues facing us.
FREE will continue to work to ensure the voters of Florida will have
adequate education on affirmative and fair chance to voice their opinion
on this issue. But we can not do it alone. FREE needs the citizens of
Florida to help educate others in Florida about affirmative action, to
help fight to preserve affirmative action and to help finance the
campaign. This is an equal opportunity to take action that will benefit
you. Minorities and all citizens in the state of Florida.