In an ideal world, discrimination would not exist and outlawing it wouldn’t be necessary. Racism and sexism would only be fleeting thoughts of a time far gone. And people would rise in society based on the merits of their achievements, and not their gender, race, ethnicity, or any combination of the three.
In the mid-1960s, the University of California, Berkeley started its Educational Opportunity Program to target underrepresented applicants and combat this history of discrimination. Unsurprisingly, this program was asuccess and the number of Black freshmen continued to rise until 1996. That year, Governor Pete Wilson and Black conservative Ward Connerly led an effort to repeal these education gains by passing Proposition 209.
On Wednesday, June 24, the full California Senate voted 30-10 to pass Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (ACA 5), an initiative to overturn Proposition 209 and reinstate Affirmative Action in the state after 24 years.
Today the California State Assembly voted to pass ACA 5. The bill authored by Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, sponsored the bill. This could allow Californians to vote on Affirmative action in the November 2020 general election.
Last week, African American activists confronted affirmative action opponents on a Zoom town hall a conservative Republican candidate organized. At least one Republican elected official attended the event that the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) supported.
To close the Black student achievement gap Newsom talked about plans to build a diverse teaching workforce of stable prepared professional teachers including more teachers that look like their students. “That’s incredibly important as related particularly to African American achievement.”
African Americans cannot afford not to vote. We must vote for people who have our best interest in mind, heart and soul. We must vote for issues that advance the well-being of our families and communities. We can’t expect to win with every vote, but if we don’t vote, we can certainly expect to lose.