Recently, the California Legislature approved a bill aimed at providing compensation to descendants of enslaved individuals through targeted university admissions.
The bill, AB 7, mandates that the California State University, University of California, independent colleges, and private secondary schools consider giving admissions preference to those who can directly trace their lineage to people subjected to American Chattel slavery prior to 1900.
Proposal 209, which was passed in 1996 and reaffirmed by California voters in 2020, forbids the consideration of race in university admissions and other public services. Advocates for AB 7 argue that the term “slavery descendants” is racially neutral.
According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, AB 7 is among multiple compensation initiatives recently passed in Congress.
Additionally, a democracy-led parliament measure was enacted earlier this week. Senate Bill 518 establishes a new office called the Bureau for American Slavery Descendants. This bureau will facilitate the process of identifying and verifying individuals as descendants of enslaved people, helping them access available benefits.
Congress also supported Congressional Bill 57, introduced by Rep. Tina McKinner (D-Hawthorne), which aims to assist slavery descendants in building generational wealth by promoting homeownership.
Moreover, AB 67 was passed under McKinner’s initiative. It provides a pathway for individuals claiming to have lost property to the government due to “racially motivated and prominent territory,” seeking to return or financially compensate for that property.
Currently, Governor Newsom is reviewing the bill. He previously issued a formal apology for slavery last year, even after withdrawing a proposal for direct cash compensation.
California joined the Union in 1850 as a free state.
