This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A lawsuit has been filed against the state of Alabama for installing a racist ideology in the requirements for state boards.
According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, its action against Alabama is on behalf of the American Alliance for Equal Rights, and it calls for an end to the state's "unlawful racial quota for appointments to the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board."
"It’s wrong for the government to make offensive assumptions about people’s experiences and qualifications based on race. And it’s unconstitutional to exclude some citizens from public service with arbitrary race quotas," explained Glenn Roper, a lawyer with the foundation.
The state board is required to oversee the licensing and regulation of real estate appraisers statewide.
Its nine members are appointed by the governor, but under a state law that insists on race quotas: At least two members must be race minorities.
There's one opening on the board now, and there's a qualified candidate.
But that person is "automatically disqualified" because she's not the race demanded by the state.
AAER president Edward Blum noted, "There are unfortunately dozens of government boards and commissions that exclude people because of their race or ethnicity. No one’s race should be used to include them, or exclude them, from service on government boards."
The foundation has released a report documenting how at least 25 states have established in law such discrimination against those who are not a "minority."
The organization explained it is "working to defeat race and sex board quotas in Alabama and everywhere else the unconstitutional practice is used."
The action charges the state is violating the Constitution's equal protection guarantee.
The filing states, "Alabama has a strong tradition of citizens offering their unique talents to serve on government boards or commissions. Sadly, Alabama governors are sometimes required to discriminate based on a candidate’s race when making appointments to state boards, commissions, and committees. The Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board (AREAB) is one such board. AREAB regulates, licenses, and investigates real estate appraisers to ensure they meet the high standards of the profession. However, Alabama law requires the Governor to consider the race of potential board members when making appointments to AREAB, and to exclude from consideration anyone who will not satisfy AREAB’s racial quota of at least two members 'of a minority race.' …. Such blatant racial discrimination against individuals who could otherwise sit on AREAB serves no legitimate government purpose. It is demeaning, patronizing, un-American, and unconstitutional."
The case seeks a court ruling that the racial mandate violates the Constitution as well as a permanent injunction preventing enforcement of the racist rule.
The filing states: "Governmental classifications based on race violate the Equal Protection Clause unless they are narrowly tailored to a compelling governmental interest. The racial mandate in Ala. Code § 34-27A-4 and Ala. Admin. Code 780-X-1-.02 does not serve a compelling government interest. The racial mandate in Ala. Code § 34-27A-4 and Ala. Admin. Code 780-X-1-.02 does not remediate any specific instances of racial discrimination that violated the Constitution or statutes. Even if the racial mandate in Ala. Code § 34-27A-4 and Ala. Admin. Code 780-X-1- .02 served a compelling government interest, it is not narrowly tailored to remediating past, intentional discrimination. The racial mandate in Ala. Code § 34-27A-4 and Ala. Admin. Code 780-X-1-.02 stereotypes individuals based on race, mandates racial quotas, requires racial balancing, has no 'good faith exception,' and has no end date."
