by Sonia Peña Although this country just elected its first Black President, ballot measures to ban affirmative action such as those in Colorado and Nebraska will continue to put issues of race up front. Join our allies at the Equal Justice Society for a call to learn from the experiences of activists at the forefront of these fights. In Nebraska, Initiative 424 to Ban on Affirmative Action passed 52-48%. In the fight against Colorado Amendment 46, the race has not yet been called, but it looks like it might lose! **Save the Date ** December 2nd: Post-Election Analysis of National Efforts to Preserve Equal Opportunity Tuesday, December 2nd 2008 2pm – 4pm (ET)/11am-1pm (PT) Please join us for a web-based discussion about the national status of Equal Opportunity in the wake of the 2008 elections, and the outcome of anti-opportunity ballot measures called "Civil Rights Initiatives" * Representatives from Nebraskans United and Colorado Unity, the state-based coalitions working to protect racial and gender equity; * Anurima Bhargava, Director of the Education Practice of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund; * Alan Jenkins, Executive Director of the Opportunity Agenda; * Joel Foster, Deputy Director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center; * Ellen Buchman, Vice-President for Field Operations and Anjali Thakur, Director of Americans for a Fair Chance project of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund. You’ll also learn about what you can do to support state and national efforts to promote racial and gender equality. To RSVP, please contact Sara Jackson at [email protected] by November 14th 2008.