Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Affirmative Action Vote Prompts 'Tough' Debate
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
June 11, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — The California Assembly on Wednesday decided to let voters choose whether to overturn the state’s 24-year-old ban of affirmative action programs — capping an emotional hours-long debate in the Legislature that highlighted tension between the state’s Asian and black communities.

“What am I to do, without even having the decency of a conversation to discuss the difficulties of race? If we can’t even have these tough conversations, what do you think is going to happen to the electorate?” — Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low
The proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution, which still must pass the Senate and be approved by voters, would repeal a 1996 amendment that banned “preferential treatment” based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. The push has gotten a boost recently from the worldwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
But the repeal effort faces strong, organized opposition from many in the state’s Asian community, who fear it would make it harder for them to gain admission to the state’s prestigious public universities — where students of Asian descent have been overrepresented.
Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low, who is of Chinese descent and shares an apartment with his police officer brother in Silicon Valley, said sitting elected officials in his district have asked him things like: “Why are you voting against your own people?” He said his office received more than 3,000 emails and phone calls opposing the repeal compared to just nine in support.
Low said that tension in the community spread to the Legislature, noting that no one from the Asian and Pacific Islander Caucus signed on as a co-author of the repeal. Wednesday, Low called out the Assembly Black Caucus for not contacting him to ask him for his vote or even to just talk about the issue.
“What am I to do, without even having the decency of a conversation to discuss the difficulties of race?” Low asked his colleagues on Wednesday. “If we can’t even have these tough conversations, what do you think is going to happen to the electorate?”
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, right, receives congratulations from Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, right, receives congratulations from Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, after the Assembly approved her measure to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to let voters decide if the state should overturn its ban on affirmative action programs, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, June 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Not Everyone Was Convinced

Low eventually did vote for the repeal, telling The Associated Press in an interview he voted “yes” because of his commitment to social justice and his belief that “injustice to one is injustice to us all.” But he acknowledged it will likely hurt him politically, saying office has received calls from constituents threatening to recall him from office.
Low added he did not run for office for “self-preservation.”
“How do you go to a Black Lives Matter rally and say, ‘Yes, I am with you,’ but then all of a sudden say, ‘Oh, well, not here, not on that part,” Low said.
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, who authored the repeal, apologized on the Assembly floor just before the vote for not contacting lawmakers individually. She said the physical distancing requirements because of the coronavirus and the Legislature’s shortened session made it difficult to do that.
“I’m so grateful I didn’t have to convince you that racism is real because George Floyd did that,” Weber said. “So that was one conversation I didn’t have to have on this issue.”
Assemblyman David Chiu said not everyone in the Asian community opposed the repeal, saying “over 100 organizations and community leaders representing hundreds of thousands of Asian Americans support this measure.”
Not everyone was convinced. Assemblyman Steven Choi, a Republican from Irvine who was born in South Korea, said he opposed the measure because it would “legalize racism and sexism.”

Since the 1996 Amendment, at Least Seven Other States Have Adopted Similar Policies

“I do not want to live in a state where the color of my skin or my race or my sex or my national origin determines my qualifications for a position, a job or entering to a college,” he said. “I came here to this country to get away from ideologies like that.”

The Assembly voted 58-9 to let voters decide whether to repeal the amendment. If the state Senate concurs by June 25, the question would be added to the November ballot — further intensifying an election year that already includes a presidential contest.
The Assembly voted 58-9 to let voters decide whether to repeal the amendment. If the state Senate concurs by June 25, the question would be added to the November ballot — further intensifying an election year that already includes a presidential contest.
Since the 1996 amendment, at least seven other states have adopted similar policies: Washington, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, New Hampshire and Oklahoma. A constitutional amendment in Colorado failed to pass in 2008.
“This is not the same California that voted on this 25 years ago,” said Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, a Democrat from Los Angeles.
Hispanics surpassed whites in 2015 as the state’s largest ethnic group. As of 2019, Asians account for 15.3% of the state’s population while African Americans make up 6.5%.
At the University of California system, Asians account for 30% of the undergraduate and graduate student population, followed by whites at 24%, Hispanics at 22% and blacks at 4%. California State University, the nation’s largest four-year public university with 23 campuses and nearly 482,000 students, has a student body that is nearly 75% people of color.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

DON'T MISS

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

DON'T MISS

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

DON'T MISS

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

DON'T MISS

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

DON'T MISS

Fresno Rainbow Pride Marks 35th Year with Saturday Parade and Festival

DON'T MISS

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

DON'T MISS

Biden’s IRS Doubled Audits on the Wealthy, Data Shows

UP NEXT

New CA Bill Would Streamline Solar Conversion for Dry Farmland

UP NEXT

It’s Expensive to Become a Teacher in California. This Bill Would Pay Those Who Try

UP NEXT

Suspect Arrested in Connection With Deadly California Fertility Clinic Bombing

UP NEXT

US Sees No Viable Path for California High-Speed Rail Project, May Rescind $4 Billion

UP NEXT

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

UP NEXT

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

UP NEXT

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

UP NEXT

California Inmate Gets Five Years for Role in Drone Drug Smuggling Scheme

UP NEXT

Trump Threatens California With Fines After Trans Athlete Wins Girls’ State Titles

UP NEXT

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

2 hours ago

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

3 hours ago

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

3 hours ago

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

4 hours ago

Fresno Rainbow Pride Marks 35th Year with Saturday Parade and Festival

4 hours ago

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

4 hours ago

Biden’s IRS Doubled Audits on the Wealthy, Data Shows

5 hours ago

Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill

5 hours ago

New CA Bill Would Streamline Solar Conversion for Dry Farmland

5 hours ago

Supreme Court Rules Catholic Charity Exempt From State Unemployment Taxes

6 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

(CAIRO) (Reuters) -The Israeli military said on Thursday that it was attacking Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the...

11 minutes ago

11 minutes ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Webster, GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 5, 2025
16 minutes ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

18 minutes ago

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

3 hours ago

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

3 hours ago

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

4 hours ago

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

4 hours ago

Fresno Rainbow Pride Marks 35th Year with Saturday Parade and Festival

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend