Curve Balls

Bradley Foundation gives $250,000 to 'The Bell Curve' co-author

The Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation helped propel the career of conservative scholar Charles Murray, who famously argued in a 1994 book that genetic differences between white and black people were a partial cause for differences in IQ.
Now Murray, 73, is getting another prize from the Bradley Foundation — a $250,000 check.

Bradley Foundation Gives $250,000 To Racist Charles Murray

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the Bradley Foundation gave a million dollars to Charles Murray to research and write "The Bell Curve." This book argued that African Americans are genetically inferior to whites and thus are not as smart. It further argued that for this reason, it didn't pay to spend a lot of money to try to educate black children

Who is Backing The Bell Curve?

The explosive conclusions of The Bell Curve are now common knowledge. What is less well known is that the country's leading conservative foundation paid co-author Charles Murray $1 million to write the book. Foundation funding of research is nothing new. But Murray's support from the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation is an example of the highly ideological research that conservative foundations favor as they seek to mold public policy. Even in the marketplace of ideas, it takes money to compete. 

The Bell Curve's key educational policy recommendation dovetails with the Bradley Foundation's top education priority: support for school choice, including public funds for private and religious schools. This bolsters the case of those who argue that despite the rhetoric of choice, many voucher advocates have abandoned the vision of a quality education for all children.