For more than 20 years, Ramona Bessinger has been a teacher in Providence, Rhode Island. After raising concerns about curriculum changes in Rhode Island schools, the mother of four became interested in serving on advisory committees that steer public policy decisions that affect students. That’s when she found the Commission for Health, Advocacy & Equity (CHAE).
The Rhode Island Department of Health created CHAE in 2011. By law, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health appoints members to CHAE on the basis of race and sex. A majority of members must represent racial and ethnic minorities.
But Rhode Island’s race- and sex-based laws are flatly unconstitutional. Requiring officials to consider the race and sex of potential appointees violates the Fourteenth Amendment.
“I just can’t sit back and allow equity to usurp our constitutional rights to free speech and fairness and the right to be individuals as our great historians and leaders have talked about,” Ramona said.
With the help of Pacific Legal Foundation, Ramona filed a lawsuit against the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health for restricting her from serving on CHAE based on her race.
What’s At Stake?
- Rhode Island cannot set racial criteria for membership on public boards. Excluding individuals from eligibility based on their race is unjust, demeaning, and a violation of the Citizenship and the Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Limiting opportunities for citizens based on race creates a government-imposed racial hierarchy among its citizens and violates the very notion of equality before the law.
