The man behind the landmark Supreme Court challenge against race-based college admissions policies is now suing to prevent an Alabama licensing board from imposing a “racial quota.”
The lawsuit marks conservative anti-affirmative action litigant Edward Blum’s first case against race-based criteria for membership on a state regulatory board. Blum’s group, American Alliance for Equal Rights, named Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) as one of the defendants because she is tasked with making appointments to the real estate appraiser board.
According to the complaint, there has been an opening on the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board for a public member since 2021 that has not been filled because state law currently demands that at least two AREAB members must be racial minorities.
“No one’s race should be used to include them, or exclude them, from service on government boards,” Blum told the Washington Examiner. “It is to be hoped that the State of Alabama ends this policy immediately.”
The lawsuit is being litigated by the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation, another major firm that has challenged race- and sex-based preferences for public boards and commissions in at least 25 states.
Glenn Roper, senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, told the Washington Examiner that “government should not use race or ethnicity to decide who can serve the public.”
“But Alabama’s Real Estate Appraisers Board does just that, excluding interested Alabamians from a currently open position on the board if they are not racial minorities. Put simply, that is unconstitutional,” Roper added.
Blum’s group contends that AREAB’s requirement to appoint at least two minorities to the board violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by forcing the governor to make decisions on the basis of a board member applicant’s race.
The Pacific Legal Foundation has handled similar lawsuits, including one out of Arkansas last year that resulted in the state repealing a requirement that its Social Work Licensing Board have at least two black members.
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Anti-affirmative action litigants such as Blum say the Students For Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision at the Supreme Court last year made clear that such policies cannot exist in institutions that receive public funding, and they have also sought to combat similar diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in private industries.
The Washington Examiner contacted Ivey’s office for a response.
