The California Reparations Task Force, a committee created by legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, formally recommended that the state legislature repeal a constitutional amendment that prohibits the government from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, someone based on their race.
Last weekend, the task force formally approved its final recommendations to the California Legislature, which will then decide whether to implement the measures and send them to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Much of the public’s attention has been focused on the price tag of the committee’s proposed reparations to make amends for slavery and anti-Black racism. However, several aspects of the committee’s recommendations, which are outlined in hundreds of pages of documents, have received little attention, including a proposal to repeal Proposition 209.
California voters passed Proposition 209, now enshrined in California’s constitution, in 1996. The measure amended the California Constitution, adding a section that states in part, “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
CALIFORNIA REPARATIONS COMMITTEE CALLS FOR ENDING CASH BAIL, NO LONGER PROSECUTING LOW-LEVEL CRIMES
The California Supreme Court said in a case from 2000 that, in the context of Proposition 209, discrimination means “to make distinctions in treatment; show partiality (in favor of) or prejudice (against)” and preferential means “a giving of priority or advantage to one person … over others.”
Proposition 209 is largely known for banning affirmative action but effectively outlawed racial discrimination in California outright. Repealing it would appear to allow discrimination as the court defined it.
Nonetheless, the task force wants to get rid of the measure, arguing it is…
Read the full article here
