SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With affirmative action ending at institutions of higher education, there's a growing fear in communities nationwide that there will be fewer opportunities for students of color — especially at some of the most selective colleges and universities in the United States.
Sade Daniels lives in Sacramento. As a Black mother, she says she wants the best for herself and her 3-year-old child.
"Affirmative action is not about giving privilege to some and not others, it's righting a historical wrong," said Daniels. "The way this world is headed, I'm very worried for my son. It really just feels like we're taking a huge step backwards for a lot of the progress we've made towards equity."
Daniels, who grew up in Oakland, says one of the challenges in her life was being in foster care, just like her mother was at one point. She says she also struggled with self-esteem in the past due to the child welfare system.
"I did not feel good being Black," said Daniels. "The social workers were white. The judges were white. Everybody that was in my life, those paid professionals that make decisions for you, were white. But, in the homes, a lot of the girls I lived with, they were all Black. It makes you feel like, the Black part is the bad part."
Despite childhood challenges, Daniels says she persevered by focusing on her education. She partially credits her mentors and a growing support system overtime. She says she eventually found love for herself and decided to attend a historically Black college.
Daniels earned a Bachelors from Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2012. After that, she went on to earn a Master's from UC Berkeley in 2017.
Now, Daniels is applying for Doctorate of Social Work programs at colleges and universities nationwide. But, as a Black woman, she's concerned about the admissions process.
The US Supreme Court ended affirmative action at colleges Thursday. That means race is no longer a factor that can be intentionally considered in the college admissions process.
"I'm very worried that without protections to check these institutions, then we are going to see larger gaps of who actually gets into these programs," said Daniels. "That's not to say that I feel like I staunchly need affirmative action to get into a graduate program. But, historically, these schools have been incredibly discriminatory towards people like me. I feel like affirmative action, if anything, was a safety net to ensure that I'm, at the very least, seen in full."
Dr. Christopher Towler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Sacramento State. He explains that affirmative action is a policy which emerged during the civil rights era.
"Affirmative action really started in the late 1960s, following the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that intended to sort of level the playing field and increase admissions and opportunities for students of color and, at that time, particularly African American students, when it came to higher education," said Towler.
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Towler says other students benefit from affirmative action, too.
"Students who come from backgrounds that are not traditionally considered 'college background' — like backgrounds that are first generation students — students that come from lower economic standings and working class backgrounds. Affirmative action, overtime, came to represent a system where those differing backgrounds and diversity of backgrounds were considered important when it came to a representative body on a campus," said Towler.
The American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED) is a national organization of professionals on a mission "to engage in the important work of leading, directing and managing affirmative action, equal opportunity and diversity programs."
AAAED provides a timeline of affirmative action, starting with President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order 10925 in 1961. The Order used the term "affirmative action" for the first time by instructing federal contractors to take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin." It established the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
Affirmative action was initiated by the administration of President Lyndon Johnson to improve opportunities for African Americans. Programs were monitored by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Subsequently, affirmative action was broadened to cover women and Native Americans, Hispanics and other minorities and was extended to colleges, universities and state or federal agencies.
Dr. Art Pimentel, who's Latino, is the President of Folsom Lake College. The college serves approximately 9,000 students at the Main Folsom campus, the El Dorado Center in Placerville, the Rancho Cordova Center and online.
As an advocate for education and diversity, Pimentel says that he was disappointed but not surprised to learn about the Supreme Court ending affirmative action at colleges. He remembers when voters in California banned affirmative action in 1996.
"We know the impacts that affirmative action had when it ended, back in 1996, on our educational systems," said Pimentel. "You saw less diversity and I think it behooves all of us to make sure that we are addressing the root causes of why there are disparities in higher education."
Pimentel grew up in Woodland. At a young age, he says educational programs and services helped him tremendously. He earned a Bachelors and Masters from Sacramento State and a Doctorate in Education from UC Davis.
"I went through the college assistance migrant program, which really provided a lot of that navigational capital to be able to understand something as simple as what a syllabus was," said Pimentel. "My father earned a 5th grade education and my mother earned a 6th grade education, so they had no idea. They just knew the importance of hard work and the importance of education."
According to the California Department of Education, the college assistance migrant program (CAMP) helps students from migrant and seasonal farmworker backgrounds succeed in college.
It offers a pre-college transition and first year support system to assist students in developing the skills needed to stay in school and successfully graduate from college.
Pimentel now has more than 17 years of higher education experience. Before joining Folsom Lake College, Pimentel served as President of Woodland Community College. He was also elected to the Woodland City Council and served from 2004 to 2008.
Just like Daniels, Pimentel says he wants the best for his child, too. That means, making sure his 9-year-old daughter gets opportunities to pursue the right to a higher education without fear of discrimination.
"I fully believe that diversity is one of our greatest strengths in our country," said Pimentel. "For my daughter, whatever she decides to do career-wise, I want her to be able to get a degree, job, living wage and a quality of life. We want that for everyone."
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