SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California lawmaker said he will introduce a bill Monday that would prioritize access to the descendants of slaves at the University of California and California State University, the state’s two major public university systems .
Assembly Member Isaac Bryan, a Democrat who represents parts of Los Angeles, told The Associated Press that he will introduce the bill as lawmakers meet at the Capitol to swear in new members for a new term. They will also convene a special session to consider ways to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of a new Trump administration.
The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Across the US, a conservative movement to limit DEI initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitols and university boards, with officials in many states taking action against them.
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The movement gained momentum last year after the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action at universities, creating a new legal landscape around diversity programs in the workplace and in civil society.
But the rise of DEI as a political rallying cry also has roots on campus, with Republican opponents saying the programs are discriminatory and promote left-wing ideology. Trump has hinted at possible legislation to fine universities for diversity initiatives.
At the same time, legacy admissions, long seen as a perk for whites and the 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 past preferences that favor the children of alumni and donors, critics say the court has left admissions even more skewed against students of color.
“For decades, universities have given preferential treatment to donors and their family members, while others linked to legacies of harm have been ignored and sometimes outright excluded,” Bryan told the AP. “We have a moral responsibility to do everything we can to right these wrongs.”
Bryan said he is hopeful of passage of the measure, which is in line with recommendations from members of California’s Black Reparations Task Force.
“There is a growing understanding of California’s role in perpetuating the inequities that stem from slavery, and there is a willingness to try to undo that damage, to heal that damage,” he said.
Black students made up about 4% of the student population at California State University and about 4.7% at the University of California in 2023, according to the latest reports from the university systems.
The proposal follows state-level reparations that have produced 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 wrongly seized 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, defeating another proposal championed by Bryan and other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus.
The purpose of the measure is to correct past and current discrimination at universities, Bryan said.
“When people think of reparations, they only think of cash payments. But repairing the harm and inequality that came from slavery and the policies that followed is a much bigger process,” he said.
Bryan said he also proposed the measure, which will have to go through a months-long approval process, partly in response to Trump’s recent statements about paying “reparations” to white students he says have been affected by diversity, equity and inclusion programs .
States including Kansas and Iowa have passed laws banning DEI offices and initiatives in higher education, and Republican lawmakers in about two dozen states introduced at least fifty bills last year to restrict DEI programs.
Trump’s new deputy policy chief will be his former adviser Stephen Miller, who heads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged companies’ DEI policies.
Trump, who has vowed to rid America’s schools of perceived “wokeness,” also plans on his first day in office to cut funding to schools that challenge him on a host of issues, though even some of his supporters say he does not have the authority to do so. making such rapid and drastic changes.
Trump has treated the federal Department of Education with disdain, describing it as infiltrated by “radicals, bigots and Marxists.” He has selected Linda McMahon, a former wrestling manager, to head the department.
But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump has also called for the complete dismantling of the department, a daunting task that would likely require action from Congress.
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Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.
