A Letter from NAS

National Association of Scholars (NAS) has been a strong supporter of Reject R-88 campaign. Not only they worked to bring national attention to the fight to protect equality for all in Washington, but also they called on their members to provide much needed financial support in October. We are grateful to have such a national ally on our side.

Mr. Peter Wood, president of NAS, sent below congratulation letter after we defeated R-88 this month.

Congratulations on the successful effort to stop Referendum 88. You voted against this effort to restore racial preferences in Washington. I couldn’t vote because I live and work in New York City. But I did the next best thing. My organization, the National Association of Scholars (NAS), worked to bring national attention and financial support to the Stop 88 campaign. NAS can’t take credit for the campaign’s success—that credit belongs to you and other sensible voters. But we did our part.
The campaign succeeded despite the intentionally confusing language of the bill and despite what looks like a substantial number of suspicious ballots that were counted. That makes the victory even sweeter.
The NAS isn’t new to this fight. We were the folks who originally proposed what became California’s Proposition 209, the successful ballot proposition in 1996 that ended racial preferences in that state and that became the model for what Washington did two years later. We have helped to carry the fight to other states as well, most recently Michigan. We believe that college admissions, jobs, public contracts, and all public decisions should be based on merit, not on race or ethnicity.
And we know this fight isn’t over. The Pro Referendum 88 crowd in Washington will sooner or later try again, and the fight will continue in other states and nationally. Please consider joining us. We welcome all who support us in this important struggle for genuine civil rights, and against race-based favoritism.
Yours,
Peter Wood
President
National Association of Scholars