Trumpism Helps Revive Affirmative Action in California
A state proposition banned it in 1996. That may change in November.
Who gets through the gate?
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The racial, political and cultural backlash embodied by Donald Trump is now in retreat in much of the U.S. In California, the “nation-state” of the future, it is being routed.
The California Legislature voted last week to put an initiative on the statewide ballot in November that would repeal Proposition 209, which voters adopted in 1996 to ban affirmative action in government institutions, employment and contracting. If adopted by voters, the new proposal, known as ACA 5, would allow affirmative action in the University of California system as well as in state hiring and contracting. The University of California Board of Regents unanimously endorsed the proposal.