Wilson, with Connerly and initiative supporters raised more than $1 million, including $350,000 from
the Republican party, by the signature filing deadline of Feb. 21, 1996. A day later, they had 1.1
million signatures, well over the 690,000 needed for validation. Wilson praised Connerly, a successful Sacramento land use consultant, as living proof that "there is no need for artificial preferences."

Connerly's opponents asserted that even though he felt well suited to lead the fight against them, that it was his skin color that made him an ideal pawn for white males, rather than the power of his speeches. Assemblyman Phil Isenberg, who chaired the Assembly Judiciary Committee that turned back the attacks on Affirmative Action in the State Legislature said, "Proposition 209's backers needed an ethnic to sanitize the issue and make it OK for whites to vote for it."

In the Bay Area, The East Bay Californians for Affirmative Action headed by Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and former Oakland City Councilwoman Dezie Woods-Jones fought the good fight by walking the precincts every Saturday morning, encouraging citizens to vote. The San Jose Bay Area Coalition for Affirmative Action was also quite effective. With activist attorney Gail Tiller they were among thousands who defended Affirmative Action against proponents who included Governor Wilson, Attorney General Dan Lundgren, Ward Connerly and two organizations, the Republican Party and the Pacific Legal Foundation. Republicans contributed $3.5 million towards the campaign. The Democratic party contributed little financially until the last week or two of the campaign, while The Feminist Majority worked independently to defeat 209, spending $800,000 of its own money on radio commercials. Yet Proposition 209 was voted into law anyway.

Jordan's book also reminds us that although Affirmative Action had been initiated to create a level playing field and color-blind environment, African Americans did not wait for it to happen, they made it happen. As General Colin Powell stated, "Each of us must find a way to reach down and back to help someone in need, someone who wonders if anyone cares, someone who wonders if the American Dream is still there for them."

Read The Lynching of the American Dream to see how the loss of Affirmative Action impacts your American Dream.