FAIR News: Challenging Arkansas Race Quotas
Newsletter
Dear Friends of FAIR,
We are proud to announce that FAIR, alongside Do No Harm, has taken a significant step in our ongoing fight against identity-based discrimination. On March 25, 2025, we filed a federal lawsuit challenging Arkansas laws that impose racial quotas for appointments to state licensing boards.
At FAIR, we believe that public service opportunities should be based on merit and qualification, not race. The current Arkansas laws mandate that at least one member of certain state licensing boards must be selected based on race—a practice that violates constitutional principles of equal protection under the law.
The Case at a Glance:
FAIR member is an applicant who qualified for a public representative seat on the Counseling Board
Despite meeting all criteria, FAIR member was disadvantaged in the selection process because they are not a racial minority
Lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Legal representation provided by Pacific Legal Foundation
This case is part of a broader national pattern that restricts service on public boards based on racial identity. Similar discriminatory quotas exist in 25 states across the country, creating barriers for qualified individuals seeking to serve their communities. Recent precedent gives us hope—last year, Pacific Legal Foundation successfully challenged a similar gender quota in Iowa's Judicial Nominating Commission.
"Public service should be based on qualifications, not immutable characteristics," says Jeff Jennings, attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. FAIR wholeheartedly agrees.
How You Can Help:
Share this information with your networks
Stay informed about the case developments
Support FAIR's ongoing efforts to promote merit-based opportunities for all
Together, we can work toward a future where individual merit, not group identity, determines opportunity.
Warmly,
The Team at FAIR
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This piece and two recent others 1) https://moreincommon.substack.com/p/what-we-get-wrong-about-each-other-527?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=907975&post_id=159864158&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=38qf13&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email 2) -rural?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=239058&post_id=159932651&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=38qf13&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email do one thing in common that I appreciate: celebrate the dignity of each individual. The More in common piece highlights that the more we associate people with things we don’t like, the more unfairly we will judge them. This FAIR piece speaking out against state-based discrimination shows how the desire to correct historical wrongs with broad strokes leads individuals to be explicitly discriminated against because of “immutable characteristics.” And in the How to Win friends piece shows simply and clearly why labeling people as stupid or angry will alienate those people. Instead, showing up, knocking on their door and caring about what they care about engenders good will and trust. The truth captured well in these pieces seems obvious to me: we all hate being talked down to ourselves. We all hate when someone assumes they know what we believe. And we enjoy when someone says “What’s on your mind? Why? How are you feeling about it?” Yet the internet and real world is littered with people denigrating strangers. Because our desire to remake the world in our own moral image – with political sanctimony – is poison. The counter action is a powerful antidote: go treat everyone with dignity and as an individua.
ARKANSAS?!? Surely you jest. And where would they find any POCs in Arkansas? Hey, that's it! It's simply a program to increase immigration to the state of Arkansas. After all, they've tried everything else...
(Good luck with your lawsuit!)