XIV
Equal Treatment is the Essence of Civil Rights
Jennifer Gratz is a modern-day civil rights leader. In 1997 she
challenged race preferences (also known as affirmative action) at the
University of Michigan and was victorious at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ms. Gratz was the lead plaintiff in the landmark case Gratz v.
Bollinger which challenged affirmative action at the University of
Michigan. On June 23, 2003 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Ms.
Gratz was discriminated against and U-M’s admission policy was
unconstitutional. However, in a companion case decided the same
day (Grutter v. Bollinger), the Supreme Court allowed race
preferences to continue at U-M’s law school. Ms. Gratz called the split decision flawed and
continued the fight for equality in her home state. She spearheaded the Michigan Civil Rights
Initiative (MCRI), a state constitutional amendment that made race and gender preferences
unconstitutional in public education, employment and contracting. In Nov 2006 Michigan voters
approved MCRI by a 16-point landslide.
At CPAC following the Michigan vote, Ms. Gratz was honored with the prestigious Ronald
Reagan Award from the American Conservative Union for leadership. Jennifer has spent many
years working to end programs that grant preferential treatment based on race or sex and
because of Ms. Gratz’s leadership eight states have now banned race and gender preferences.
Recently, Ms. Gratz co-founded the XIV Foundation (XIV) and Equal Protection Advocates
(EPA). XIV, named after the 14th amendment, is a not-for-profit 501c3 dedicated to teaching the
personal and societal advantages of fair and equal treatment. EPA is a 501c4 dedicated to
advocating for fair and equal treatment without regard to race or gender for all Americans.
Ms. Gratz’s story and work has been featured in nearly every major media outlet – Fox News,
CNN, MSNBC, Dateline, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, Wall Street Journal, NY Times,
Washington Post, Washington Times, LA Times, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, National
Review, US News and World Report, Newsweek, Time Magazine, People Magazine, Glamour
Magazine – to name a few.
Coming Soon: www.XIVfoundation.org
Email: [email protected]