On Support of California Assembly Constitutional Amendment No.5 (ACA-5)

NOTE: THE HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG IS A SPACE FOR A HEALTHY EXPLORATION OF IDEAS PERTINENT TO OUR MISSION. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

Below is the undersigned organizations’ official statement supporting California Assembly Constitutional Amendment No.5 (ACA-5). We urge as many organizations as possible to consider this statement and sign and share, as well.

The rights won by the oppressed people through their struggles are reversed in the name of propositions and court orders. After long historical struggle and sacrifice, racially oppressed people in the United States of America won the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act enabled the states to enforce ‘racial quota’, ‘preferential treatment’, ‘equal employment opportunity’, and other measures collectively known as ‘Affirmative Action’ to ensure diversity in educational institutions and employment. ‘Affirmative Action’ is similar to reservations in India as a remedy for historical and institutionalized discrimination.

California implemented a ‘racial quota’ to some extent until 1978. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the fixed ‘racial quota’ system. After 1978, California state followed ‘preferential treatment’ and ‘equal employment opportunity’, which considers race, sex, or ethnicity to be within the areas of public employment, public contracting, and public education. There is no fixed racial quota. Proposition 209 (Prop 209), however, which was voted on in 1996, outlawed such considerations based on race, sex and ethnicity.

Prop 209 introduced section 31 in Article I in the Constitution of California, which reads: “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.” We, the undersigned organizations, strongly feel that such a provision is against the principle of equality in a country where discrimination based on race, sex and ethnicity is institutionalized. ACA-5 has given us an opportunity to replace the wrong with the right by repealing Prop 209. ACA-5 was passed in the California Assembly on June 10th, 2020 and ordered to the California Senate.

Judge Allison Burroughs in the Students for Fair Admissions vs Harvard case said “… at Harvard and elsewhere that will move us, one day, to the point where we see that race is a fact, but not the defining fact and not the fact that tells us what is important, but we are not yet. Until we are, race conscious admissions programs … will have an important place in society and help ensure that colleges and universities can offer a diverse atmosphere that fosters learning, improves scholarship, and encourages mutual respect and understanding.” We believe that a state whose aim is to uphold equality and democracy should use positive discrimination as a means to reach the stage where race doesn’t tell us anything but a mere fact.

Against this backdrop, we urge all California State Senators who can hear the clear and loud voices of the people in the street who chant “No Justice, No Peace” in the protests for racial justice to vote for ACA-5. ACA-5 is an important step towards such racial justice. Your ‘Ye’ is historical — not just in the California state senate, but in the future of racial justice throughout the United States of America.

Co-Signed by:  
Ambedkar King Study Circle (AKSC)
Boston Coalition
Coalition of Seattle of Indian-Americans
Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR)
India Civil Watch (ICW)
Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC)

Date: Jun 23, 2020