California state lawmakers recently passed a bill that allows—but does not require—colleges and universities throughout the state to grant priority admission to descendants of enslaved people, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.
Under Assembly Bill 7, the University of California System, California State University System, and California-based private colleges and universities can provide admissions preferences to applicants of any racial background who can prove they are descended from someone who was enslaved in the United States prior to 1900.
“While we like to pretend access to institutions of higher learning is fair and merit-based and equal, we know that it is not,” said Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who authored the bill, before the final vote Friday. “If you are the relative or the descendant of somebody who is rich or powerful or well-connected, or an alumni of one of these illustrious institutions, you got priority consideration.”
He added, “There’s a legacy that we don’t ever acknowledge in education . . . the legacy of exclusion, of harm.”
The bill is currently awaiting final approval from Governor Gavin Newsom, who has until October 13 to sign the legislation into law.
