BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- Governor Gavin Newsom suggests California universities explore giving preferential treatment to descendants of slaves but vetoed a bill that would mandate such preferences, calling it 'unnecessary' as universities already have the authority to do so.
- Democratic Assemblyman Isaac Bryan introduced the legislation to address California's role in slavery and promote reparations, but legal experts warned it could violate federal affirmative action laws.
- Newsom vetoed several bills related to preferences for descendants of slaves, citing potential legal risks and increased costs to the state while emphasizing the need for careful consideration of admissions policies.
California’s public and private universities should look into way to give preferential treatment to the descendants of slaves, Governor Gavin Newsom said recently.
The Democratic governor made the comments while explaining his decision to veto a bill that would say universities can favor applicants who descended from slaves.
Such a law is “unnecessary,” Newsom said, because universities can already do so.
“I thank the author for his deep commitment to addressing disparities in education stemming from the legacy of slavery,” Newsom wrote in his Oct. 13 veto message. “These institutions already have the authority to determine whether to provide admissions preferences like this one, and accordingly, this bill is unnecessary.”
He said he “encourage[s]” universities to “determine how, when, and if this type of preference can be adopted.”
Democratic Assemblyman Isaac Bryan introduced the legislation as a way to provide reparations for what he said is California’s role in slavery, as previously reported by The College Fix.
“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 previously said.
Bryan criticized Newsom’s veto. “While the Trump Administration threatens our institutions of higher learning and attacks the foundations of diversity and inclusivity, now is not the time to shy away from the fight to protect students who have descended from legacies of harm and exclusion,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
However, legal scholars had criticized the law, saying it violated the federal prohibition on affirmative action.
“Prioritizing the status of those who self-identify as descendants of U.S. slaves in college admissions is the same as using racial classifications,” Edward Blum previously told The Fix. He serves as the president of Students for Fair Admissions, which represented Asian students who were harmed by Harvard University’s affirmative action policies. “Being a descendant of a slave is an exact proxy for being an African American.”
Newsom vetoed other bills that had similar set asides for the descendants of slaves, in one case citing the potential for legal repercussions.
One such bill would set aside at least 10 percent of the funds for a homebuying assistance program for the descendants of slaves. Adding this requirement to the state’s “Dream for All” program would create “legal risks,” Newsom said in his veto message.
He vetoed another bill that would require expediting licensing requests for the descendants of slaves. He said this would increase costs for the state and would also dilute other requirements to expedite applications from different groups.
However, he did take other actions to promote reparations, according to the Associated Press.
The governor, the AP reported, “signed a law authorizing $6 million for California State University to study how to confirm an individual’s status as a descendant of an enslaved person.”
MORE: These California scholars want over $569 billion in reparations
