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.
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20241202105303/https://apnews.com/article/california-universities-slavery-descendants-admissions-4b0e84c27b40725a9f7929b230a591ca
It’s rather unlikely to pass and probably unconstitutional if it did. This is all for show.
Calling it “for show” is a bit dismissive. Putting forward bills you know won’t pass is a good tactic for forcing a discussion of those topics.
But why though
What do you mean?
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There are still effects on education from slavery. This is one way to remedy that, but it’s not a complete solution to this problem, let alone sufficient reparations across the board. It doesn’t have to be though.
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This is separate from tuition assistance, which they may also be eligible for. Unfortunately, the descendants of slaves are not only financially affected, but academically affected. Early interventions like reading to your young children and helping them with homework are reduced for the descendants of enslaved people, likely due to a combination of less favorable working conditions and the reduced academic involvement of their own parents.
This is an anecdote, but it’s stuck with me: I used to work in a call center and once spoke to a man my father’s age, whose grandparents (like my father’s) were sharecroppers. That man was not literate enough to write down a claim number, so he put his daughter on. I asked (impolitely, but I was too curious), and she explained that the majority of teachers in 1950s and 60s Alabama just didn’t care if a poor black kid learned to read. My father has a master’s degree. There’s no way this man’s daughter was read to as much as I was or given as much academic help as I was. That’s happening on a huge scale, and a lot of people will consider only my father’s merit, not this man’s consistent, overwhelming disadvantage.
What about things that are unfair to descendants of slaves? What do you think about those things?
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This is the argument always used to oppose equity programs. “Why not just use merit instead of skin color” leads to overwhelming discrimination. African American students don’t measure up as highly as white students on tests that have been historically designed with the explicit purpose of discrimination. It’s not a level playing field. How will you determine the content of someone’s character for college admissions? How about we use standardized tests? https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/racist-beginnings-standardized-testing because those are fucked my guy
You’re conflating the issue of proving ancestry with merit based admissions, either intentionally or because you don’t realize just how fucked up that is. Every black person in the US is historically an immigrant, just like every non-indigenous person is. Most black Americans’ ancestors did not come here by choice. So when you conflate “use discriminatory standardized tests” with “how is a black American supposed to prove their ancestors were slaves” you’re being extremely racist. Stop complaining about whataboutism and think about the arguments you’re making for more than five seconds. This law is intended to bypass the progress that the right wing has made in making race based admissions standards illegal, not to harm white kids.
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Brother that’s exactly what you said. “Instead of giving preference to the ancestry of applicants, why not use the content of their character” is exactly that. It’s twisting MLK’s words 60 years later to parrot the arguments white supremacists have always used. You don’t even know you’re using their words, do you? Or you’re the troll.
FFS, it’s a non-story.
A California lawmaker introduced a bill Monday
Y’all realize any state legislator can introduce any bill saying anything at anytime?
Now I am imagining that old cartoon “I’m Just a Bill” but Capitol Hill is just littered with 'em.
I actually like this more than the ones that base it purely on race, since that’s such a wishy washy culturally defined thing. Idk how exactly they’re planning to trace those lineages since intentional meddling in those communities often disrupted quality record-keeping, but it seems to at least try to get more to the direct point of reparations than playing the lighter or darker than a paper bag game that got us into this mess to begin with.
This is discrimination and should not be tolerated.
Don’t give scholarships based on hardship of people long dead. Give scholarships to those who work hard.
It’s not a scholarship, it’s admission priority.
Says so right in the title. Further, merely having access to a mediocre college doesn’t mean they won’t have to work for their degree. The students who are ready will succeed, those who aren’t won’t.
That said, it is self defeating by its nature. If you view it as a reparations issue mere access is not enough, you need financial support. If you don’t need financial support, what are the reparations for?
Fucking assholes in here. Here’s the skinny; we kept slaves as a nation only 150 years ago, not that much time in reality. The children of the slaves even generations later are materially disadvantaged from not only the generations of slavery their ancestors suffered before but the generations of discrimination and poverty they suffered even after they were “freed” by the 14th amendment. Because of this circumstance, smart ass kids have come and gone without being recognized by institutions on the basis of cost, class, and race. This is a move for all the kids the institution knows they would normally pass up and knows that by doing that they rob themselves of possible amazing alumni. They fucking deserve it, and by they I don’t mean colleges, I mean students. Mad about how unfair that is? How about yas go back in time and brutally opress your own cracker ancestors to the point of generational poverty and disenfranchisement. Then come back to the future and find even though you’re intelligent and have the grades it just doesn’t matter and you’ll never know why. Then pray for the majority to toss you some reparations after decades of sneering at the very thought.
