Proposal in California to Prioritize Admission for Descendants of Slaves at Public Universities

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A California lawmaker said he will introduce a bill Monday that would give admission priority to the descendants of slaves at the University of California and California State University, the state’s two large public university systems.

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democrat who represents parts of Los Angeles, told The Associated Press he will introduce the bill as lawmakers meet in the Capitol to swear in new members for a new legislative session. They also will convene a special session to consider ways to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Trump administration.

The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Around the U.S., a conservative movement to limit DEI initiatives has been gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in many states taking action against them.

The movement gained momentum last year after the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action at universities, which created a new legal landscape around diversity programs in the workplace and civil society.

But DEI’s emergence as a political rallying cry also has its roots on campus, with Republican opponents saying the programs are discriminatory and promote left-wing ideology. Trump has hinted at potential legislation to fine universities over diversity initiatives.

At the same time, legacy admissions, long seen as a perk for the white and wealthy at selective colleges, have come under fire in recent years following the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action. By banning affirmative action but allowing legacy preferences, which favor the children of alumni and donors, critics say the court left admissions even more lopsided against students of color.

“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,” Bryan told the AP. “We have a moral responsibility to do all we can to right those wrongs.”

Bryan said he is hopeful for approval of the measure, which is in line with recommendations developed by members of California’s Black reparations task force.

“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,” he said.

Black students made up about 4% of the California State University’s student population and about 4.7% at the University of California in 2023, according to the university systems’ latest reports.

The proposal follows reparations efforts at the state level that have yielded mixed results. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in September to formally apologize for the state’s legacy of racism and discrimination against Black residents.

But state lawmakers blocked a bill that would have created an agency to administer reparations programs, and Newsom vetoed a proposal that would have helped Black families reclaim property that was seized unjustly by the government through eminent domain.

Earlier this month, California voters also rejected a ballot measure that would have amended the state constitution to ban forced prison labor, squashing another proposal championed by Bryan and other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

The purpose of the measure is to rectify past and current discrimination at universities, Bryan said.

“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,” he said.

Bryan said he also proposed the measure, which will have to go through a monthslong legislative approval process, in part to respond to Trump’s recent statements about paying “reparations” to white students that he said have been affected by diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

States including Kansas and Iowa passed laws banning DEI offices and initiatives in higher education, and Republican lawmakers in about two dozen states proposed at least 50 bills to restrict DEI programs last year.

Trump’s incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller, who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies.

Trump, who has vowed to rid America’s schools of perceived “ wokeness,” also has plans to cut funding for schools that defy him on a multitude of issues on his first day in office, though even some of his supporters say he lacks the authority to make such swift and sweeping changes.

Trump has heaped scorn on the federal Department of Education, describing it as infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.” He has picked Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive, to lead the department.

But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump also has called for dismantling the department altogether, a cumbersome task that likely would require action from Congress.

___

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.