California bill would give public university admission priority to slaves’ descendants

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are set to consider a bill that would require the state’s public universities to give admission priority to the descendants of slaves. The bill being introduced Monday by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democrat who represents parts of Los Angeles, comes as conservative officials throughout the country try to impose limits on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The proposal follows reparations efforts at the California level that have yielded 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.