As revealed by The Associated Press on Monday (Dec. 2), California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan plans to introduce a bill granting admission priority to descendants of slaves at the state’s public universities. The proposal, set to be unveiled as lawmakers begin a new legislative session, seeks to address historical and systemic issues in education while countering recent efforts to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives nationwide.
Led by politicians like President-elect Donald Trump, the conservative backlash against DEI programs was largely fueled by the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against affirmative action in college admissions. Critics argued that this decision disproportionately harmed students of color, especially since legacy admissions remain intact.
“For decades, universities gave preferential admission treatment to donors and their family members, while others tied to legacies of harm were ignored and at times outright excluded. We have a moral responsibility to do all we can to right those wrongs,” Bryan told AP. “There is a growing understanding of California’s role in perpetuating the inequalities that arose from slavery, and there’s a willingness to try to rectify that harm, to heal that harm.” AP further explained how Black students currently account for a small percentage of the student populations at the University of California and California State University.
The potential measure aims to broaden the scope of reparations, a topic that's been discussed heavily within the state government. As REVOLT previously reported, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill initiating the California Reparations Task Force back in 2020. Three years later, it was reported that it could cost up to $800 billion to repay Black residents, which was said to be more than two-and-a-half times California’s annual budget. As the same article disclosed, San Francisco lawmakers considered giving each Black local $5 million in reparations or the complete elimination of debt.
As far as extending that to education institutions, Bryan added, “When folks think about reparations, they think about just cash payments. But repairing the harm and the inequality that came from slavery and the policies thereafter is a much bigger process.”