To dismantle systemic racism, California Legislature must let voters consider Prop. 209
Dismantling systemic racism has suddenly become a popular idea in the California State Capitol. Hopefully, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, will have no trouble attracting strong legislative support for Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5. It needs support from two-thirds of legislators to pass.
A yes vote on ACA 5 would allow Californians to vote on a ballot measure to repeal Proposition 209. The 1996 ballot initiative banned affirmative action in all state institutions. Opponents of Prop. 209 say the measure has significantly harmed women and people of color by depriving them of crucial opportunities.
That’s why Asm. Weber — along with a coalition of 250 organizations and individuals — wants to give a new generation of Californians the chance to undo Prop. 209. A previous effort, in 2014, failed to garner enough votes.
Weber is more hopeful this time, especially after ACA 5 passed out of the important Assembly Committee on Public Employee and Retirement (PER) on a 6-1 vote.
“I was a little bit concerned … because PER is kind of a conservative committee, and coming out of the pandemic we weren’t sure we could actually get it out of committee — and most had predicted that we would not,” said Weber.
Weber said the 6-1 vote, which included a vote from Republican Asm. Randy Voepel, R-San Diego, “shocked” some people.
“This has got to go before the people of California of this generation,” said Voepel, according to a story by CalMatters. He noted that “he had not yet decided how he would vote if the proposed constitutional amendment comes before the entire Assembly.”
Supporters of the repeal effort say Prop. 209 has caused significant harm to women and people of color. They say it has kept African Americans and Latinos from having proportional representation in University of California schools. While total enrollment numbers have increased, those numbers still don’t reflect California’s Latino and African American populations.
“Most recently, among the high school class of 2019, 53 percent of students were Latinx, and 6 percent were Black,” according to information provided by The Education Trust - West, an advocacy group. “In the UC freshman class of the same year, only 25 percent were Latinx, and 4 percent were Black.”
In addition, critics say Prop. 209 has cost women and minority-owned businesses billions of dollars in state contracting opportunities.
“Proposition 209 caused the state and local governments to end their race-conscious contracting programs, resulting in a loss of $1 billion to $1.1 billion annually” for such businesses, according to a study commissioned by the Equal Justice Society. Racial disparities in state contracting also hit Asian American businesses hard, according to a 2010 study by the Asian American Justice Center.
This fact is crucial because opposition from Asian Americans helped tank the 2014 effort. Some Asian Americans opposed the measure because they feared it might hurt college admissions for Asian American students. But research shows that states with affirmative action policies have higher admission rates for Asian Americans than states without such race and gender-conscious policies.
Weber hopes the broader coalition, which includes Asian American leaders, can win the votes needed to put the question to California voters. The legislative vote also comes in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color, not to mention nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.
“This is probably an opportune time given people’s interest in politics and given the kind of turnout that is anticipated — and given the fact that this is a different generation, that it may be possible for us to begin to work to reverse Prop. 209,” Weber said.
In 1996, Prop. 209 passed with nearly 55 percent support from California voters. That year, Republicans seized on affirmative action as a wedge issue to inflame racial division and drive voter turnout in an effort to unseat incumbent President Bill Clinton. Masquerading behind civil rights language, it abolished a key tool for addressing systemic discrimination people of color and women. Then-Gov. Pete Wilson endorsed it, as did Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole.
After 24 years, it’s time for a new generation of California voters to weigh in on the question. The California State Legislature should strongly support ACA 5 and let the people decide in November.