ProEnglish is an American

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

lobbying organization that is part of the

English-only movement The English-only movement, also known as the Official English movement, is a political movement that advocates for the use of only the English language in official United States government operations through the establishment of English as the o ...

.Domenico Maceri
Multilingualism: Americans are embracing Spanish
''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

'' (June 24, 2003). The group supports making English the only

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.Miriam Jordan
Testing 'English Only' Rules: Employers Who Require Workers to Speak English Can Face Discrimination Suits
''Wall Street Journal'' (November 8, 2005). The group has also campaigned against immigration reform and

bilingual education In bilingual education, students are taught in two (or more) languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The t ...

. The

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...

(SPLC) and

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

, which track extremist groups in the United States, identify the group as an anti-immigrant group.Anti-Immigrant Group ProEnglish Fails With English-Only Effort in Maryland
''Hatewatch'',

(August 27, 2015).Oren Segal
ProEnglish Attacks Super Bowl Ad Promoting America's Diversity

(February 5, 2014). The SPLC designated the organization as a

hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race (human classification), race, Ethnic group, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any o ...

.Active Hate Groups in the United States in 2015
Southern Poverty Law Center (February 4, 2016).Active Hate Groups 2016
''Intelligence Report'' (February 15, 2017).

Founding and leadership

The group was founded in 1994 as English Language Advocates.Christina Ziegler-McPherson, "English Only Groups" in ''Anti-Immigration in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia'' (Vol. 1: ed. Kathleen R. Arnold: Greenwood, 2011), p. 182. The group was established by

John Tanton John Hamilton Tanton (February 23, 1934 – July 16, 2019) was an American ophthalmologist, white nationalist and anti-immigration activist. He was the founder and first chairman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an anti-im ...

, a leading figure in the anti-immigration movement, along with several of his associates from the organization

U.S. English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

,Rosemary C. Salomone, ''True American'' (

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 2010), p. 148. from which Tanton had resigned after a controversy over racially-charged memos that he had written. The organization is part of Tanton's broader "loose-knit" network of anti-immigration organizations; others include

Californians for Population Stabilization Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) is a non-profit California organization founded in 1986 which works to "preserve California's future through the stabilization of our state's human population". CAPS was the former Californian branch ...

, the

Center for Immigration Studies The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an anti-immigration think tank and a SPLC designated hate group. It favors far lower immigration numbers, and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Graha ...

NumbersUSA NumbersUSA is an anti-immigrationExplaining 'Chain Migration'

, and

Social Contract Press The Social Contract Press (SCP) is an American publisher of white nationalist and anti-immigrant literature. It is a program of U.S. Inc., a foundation formed by John Tanton, who was called by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) "the racist fou ...

. As of 2015, ProEnglish "is one of the few remaining groups in Tanton's network in which he remains actively involved." ProEnglish is a project of US Inc., a Petoskey, Michigan-based 501(c)(3) group that is also part of the Tanton network. Dr. Tanton died in July 2019. The group was originally based in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, where it shared office space with NumbersUSA. Its headquarters are now located in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Robert D. Park was the first chair of the group. Later, Rosalie Pedalino Porter became chair of the group. The group's former executive directors are K.C. McAlpin and Robert "Bob" Vandervoort. Robert W. Sussman, ''The Myth of Race: The Troubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea'' (Harvard University Press, 2014), p. 299. In 2016, Sam Pimm, former executive director of

Young Americans for Freedom Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians on American college campuses. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...

and former executive director of a pro-

Ben Carson Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgeon and politician who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. A pioneer in the field of neurosurgery, he ...

super PAC, became executive director of the group. Subsequently, Stephen D. Guschov, a lawyer who formerly worked at

Liberty Counsel Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt religious liberty organization that engages in litigation related to evangelical Christian values. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 by its chairman Mathew Staver and its president Anita L. Staver, who ...

, became executive director of the group.

Beliefs and activities

ProEnglish has been a major part of the "English-as-official-language movement."Michael S. Rosenwald
Frederick County makes English its official language
''Washington Post'' (February 22, 2012). The group also has opposed comprehensive immigration reform. Jennifer Rubin
Gang of Eight moves forward
''Washington Post'' (May 14, 2013). The chief purpose of the organization at the time of its founding was to defend the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

"Official English" ballot initiative, which was adopted in 1988, overturned by the

Arizona Supreme Court The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice i ...

in 1998, and re-enacted in revised form by Arizona voters in 2006. The group has also supported federal English-only legislation, specifically the

English Language Unity Act The English Language Unity Act was first introduced in 2005. It hoped to establish English language, English as the official language of the federal government of the United States. If enacted it would require that all official functions and procee ...

. In addition to seeking the enactment of laws and policies declaring English to be the official language, ProEnglish "seeks to end

, repeal federal mandates for the translation of government documents and voting ballots in languages other than English." Among ProEnglish's key priorities is the rescission of

Executive Order 13166 On August 11, 2000, United States President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13166, "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English proficiency". The Executive Order requires federal agencies to examine the services they provide, ...

, an

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

signed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

which states that any entity that receives federal funds "must provide whatever services it offers in any foreign language spoken by anyone likely to receive those services." ProEnglish also opposes

Puerto Rican statehood The Puerto Rico statehood movement ( es, movimiento estadista de Puerto Rico) aims to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territorial possession of the United States acquired in 1898 following the Spa ...

unless

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

were to adopt English as its official language. The group's reported ties to the

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

movement have drawn scrutiny.Desiree Evans
Largest funder of Nashville's failed English-only amendment had links to hate groups
''Facing South'',

Institute for Southern Studies The Institute for Southern Studies is a non-profit media and research center based in Durham, North Carolina, advocating for progressive political and social causes in the Southern United States. Publishes include: ''Southern Exposure'' (1973 to ...

(January 27, 2009). The

wrote in 2014 that the group had a "nativist agenda and xenophobic origins and ties." Robert Vandervoort of Illinois, the former executive director of ProEnglish, was head of the Chicagoland Friends of ''

American Renaissance The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance hu ...

'', the racist magazine led by

Jared Taylor Samuel Jared Taylor (born September 15, 1951) is an American white supremacist and editor of ''American Renaissance'', an online magazine espousing such opinions, which was founded by Taylor in 1990. He is also the president of ''American Ren ...

that serves as an outlet for white nationalist ideology. In 2012, ProEnglish hosted a panel discussion at the

Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; ) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). ...

(CPAC) on "The Failure of Multiculturalism," on which one of the panelists was

VDARE VDARE is an American far-right website promoting opposition to immigration to the United States. It is associated with white supremacy,Sam FrizellGOP Shows White Supremacist's Tweet During Trump's Speech Time, July 21, 2016 white nationalism, ...

founder

Peter Brimelow Peter Brimelow (born 13 October 1947) is a British-born American White nationalism, white nationalist and White supremacy, white supremacist writer. He is the founder of the website VDARE, an anti-immigration site associated with white supremacy ...

. The

, which tracks extremist groups in the United States, designated the group as a

in its 2014, 2015, and 2016 annual reports. The group has dismissed such criticism.Carol Ann Alaimo
Student suit vs. Pima College draws support of ProEnglish group
''Arizona Daily Star'' (July 14, 2013). ProEnglish was a major backer of the unsuccessful 2009

Nashville Charter Amendment 1 Nashville Charter Amendment 1 of 2009 (also known as the Nashville English Only Amendment or Nashville English First Amendment) was a proposed amendment to the charter of Nashville, Tennessee which, if passed, would have restricted the use of for ...

, a local "English First"

ballot referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, which would have generally required government communication and publications to be printed in English only.Juanita Cousins
Nashville voters reject 'English First' proposal
Associated Press (January 22, 2009). ProEnglish donated $82,500, about 92% of the total amount raised by the referendum's supporters. The referendum was rejected by Nashville voters. In 2012, ProEnglish was the leading force behind a successful effort to make English the official language of

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...

; the county enacted an ordinance closely based on one drafted by the group. However, in 2015, the country repealed the ordinance, marking a defeat for the organization. In 2013, ProEnglish vocally opposed the comprehensive immigration reform bill sponsored by the " Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. ProEnglish carried out a radio ad campaign against U.S. Senator

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee ...

, who was part of the Gang of Eight. In 2014, ProEnglish criticized

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

for airing a

Super Bowl commercial Super Bowl commercials, colloquially known as Super Bowl ads, are high-profile television commercials featured in the U.S. television broadcast of the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). Super Bowl commercia ...

that showed people of different ethnicities singing "

America, the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never m ...

" in a variety of languages. ProEnglish condemned Coca-Cola (saying the ad fostered "disunity") and urged its supporters to contact the company to express opposition.

Litigation history

In 2005, ProEnglish was helping pay the legal fees of at least two employers who had an "English-only rule" requiring employees to speak only English while on the job. ProEnglish paid the legal fees of Terri Bennett, a former nursing student at

Pima Community College Pima Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Pima County, Arizona. It serves the Tucson metropolitan area with a community college district consisting of five campuses, four education centers, and several adult education learnin ...

(PCC) in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, "who claimed she was wrongly suspended for complaining when fellow students spoke Spanish to one another in class."Carol Ann Alaimo
Ex-student who sued Pima College must pay $111K
''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...

'' (October 15, 2015). At trial, the evidence showed that Bennett had called

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

classmates "spics, beaners and illegals" and the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

"gibberish." A jury unanimously rejected Bennett's claims, and in 2015 ordered her to pay $111,000 in attorney's fees to PCC. In 2008, ProEnglish, along with the

Pacific Legal Foundation Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is a libertarian public interest law firm in the United States.Zumbrun, Ronald A. (2004). "Life, Liberty, and Property Rights," in ''Bringing Justice to the People: The Story of the Freedom-Based Public Interest La ...

, filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging 2004 U.S. Department of Health and Human Service regulations that required federally funded healthcare providers to provide translation services for patients who do not speak English. The challengers claimed that the regulations were an "illegal intrusion" on healthcare providers. U.S. District Judge

Barry Ted Moskowitz Barry Ted Moskowitz (born August 17, 1950) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Education and career Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Moskowitz received a Bachelor of ...

dismissed the suit in 2009. In ''EEOC v. Kidmans'' (2005), ProEnglish helped fund the litigation costs of a small

drive-in restaurant A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...

Page, Arizona Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247. History Unlike other cities in the area, Page was founded in 1957 as a housing com ...

, that was sued by the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

after it refused to retract an English-on-the-job rule. The restaurant said that the rule was adopted to stop "trash talking" in the

Navajo language Navajo or Navaho (; Navajo: or ) is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States ...

among employees, most of whom are

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

. The EEOC and the restaurant owners ultimately negotiated a settlement, in which the employees "may require employees to speak English while dealing with the public, but not at other times."Dennis Barron
Not just freedom fries at this English-only drive-in?
''The Web of Language'' (November 23, 2007).

References

External links

* {{official website 501(c)(3) organizations English-only movement Organizations established in 1994 Anti-immigration politics in the United States Conservative organizations in the United States

Founding and leadership

Beliefs and activities

Litigation history

See also

References

External links