On Monday (Dec. 2), a Black California lawmaker introduced a bill Monday that would prioritize the descendants of slaves regarding the college admissions process. The tentative bill would affect the University of California and California State University, which are two of the country’s largest public university systems.
Isaac Bryan, the Democrat who devised the bill represents parts of Los Angeles. He believes the bill will help with the discrimination that has and continues to take place at universities. It also comes after the Supreme Court reversed affirmative action at colleges, ending race-conscious admissions last year.
“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 explained to The Associated Press.
“We have a moral responsibility to do all we can to right those wrongs. 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.”
The outlet also reported that lawmakers held a special session on Monday to consider ways to protect the California’s progressive policies ahead of Donald Trump’s second presidential term.
According to The Hill, Trump has repeatedly stated that he is willing to withhold federal funding over curriculum or diversity, equity and inclusions (DEI) measures in K-12 or higher education institutions.
“Rather than indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual and political material, which is what we’re doing now, our schools must be totally refocused to prepare our children to succeed in the world,” Trump has said.
Bryan’s proposed measure will have to go through a legislative approval process that will last several months.
Earlier this month, California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have amended the state constitution to get rid of forced prison labor—a proposal that was championed by Bryan and other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus.