SACROMENTO — The Trump administration’s Full Assault Diversity Programme has led California lawmakers to consider measures to allow state universities to consider whether they are descendants of African Americans enslaved by the United States.
The bill, which will likely face legal challenges if passed, is part of a package of 15 compensation bills supported by California’s Legislative Black Caucus, which is being considered at the current legislative meeting.
Congressional Bill 7, introduced by Congressional member Isaac G. Bryan (D-Los Angeles), could potentially skirt a prohibiting state affirmative action if handed over. California voters approved state voting law No. 209 in 1996. This prohibits universities from considering hospitalization based on Proposal 209 of race, gender, ethnicity, color or national origin.
However, Brian says he has no relation to race and does not use the terms “black” or “African American” in his text.
“The descendants of enslaved people can be identified in a variety of racial ways, and then may even exist in a more phenotypic way than racially identifying,” he said in an interview with the Times. “But if your ancestors were enslaved in this country, there is a direct lineage-based tie with the harms caused during and after life.”
The bill and others are widely supported by the Democratic supermajority of Congress and represent California values, Brian said.
“I think California is where we are located in this moment, and it’s supportive of all people, we are recognizing the harms of the past and trying to build a future that includes everyone. And if that contradicts the federal government, I think it has something to do with how we stand as Californians,” he said.
Last year, when only 10 of the 14 bills in the compensation package passed Congress, reform advocates felt the effort was inactive. Lawmakers believed it was the foundation they could build, said Rep. Lori D. Wilson, D-Suisun City, in September.
With AB 7 focusing on lineage, Taifha Alexander, a professor at UCLA and a critical racial theory expert, said that if a judge believes that lineage is being used as a racial proxy, he could face legal trouble. It could be deemed unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.
However, separate compensation bills can help provide a legal definition for separating race from lineage. Senate Bill 518 creates a state department for American slavery descendants. The state agency will identify the status of a person as descendants and help applicants access benefits.
The comprehensive compensation law was not a novel idea, but was previously enacted, Alexander said. Under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, the federal government officially apologised to Japanese Americans for illegal incarceration in detention camps during World War II, including a one-time payment of $20,000 to survivors.
The compensation was last voted in the form of cash payments – by the UC Berkeley Government Institute, and levelled flat with voters in 2023 when the Times co-hosted it. More than four out of 10 California voters “strongly” opposed cash payments, 59% opposed the idea and 28% opposed the support. The current bill before Congress does not include cash compensation.
Other forms of compensation, such as changes to university admissions processes and social programs, are effective ways to address inequality, Alexander said.
But bills like AB 7 that seek to circumvent existing laws could face headwinds from the public who could view it as unfair, she said.
She said the policy is unlikely to be popular due to the results of a 2023 Supreme Court lawsuit in which the university admissions process banned the use of race.
Opponents argue that the bill’s race-ances distinction is not sufficient to survive judicial review, and believe that the court will determine that lineage is a proxy for avoiding race.
“Suppose instead the state has passed a law that makes college admissions more difficult for American slavery descendants. Do you argue that everyone should support such laws?”
“It will be quickly defeated as unconstitutional racism. That hypothesis reveals a central flaw in AB 7 – it will create race-related classifications under the guise of its ancestors and will not be able to withstand judicial review.
Other bills still working throughout the legislative process include measures to secure housing purchase support funds for American slavery descendants who are purchasing first homes and direct state agencies to address discrimination against mortgage lending.
The Compensation Act, which failed to advance, includes proposed amendments to the state constitution that prohibits prisons from demanding jobs.
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