June 29, 2023:

Emergency Press Conference at UC-Berkeley:
Pro-Trump majority U.S. Supreme Court bans affirmative action programs

  • Double Underrepresented Minority Enrollment at UC Berkeley
  • Universities Across the Nation Should Follow the University of California’s Policies to Stop Using Standardized Tests in Admissions
  • UC Berkeley and All Universities Must Stop Weighting Student GPA’s Based on AP Courses
  • Defeat Racist, Separate and Unequal Education – Defeat the Trump Movement’s Attacks on the Gains for Equality and Integration for All
  • Build the New Civil Rights and Immigrant Rights Movement

Join the Emergency Press Conference (Thursday 6/29) at 3:00 pm

2nd floor Anthropology Arts Practice Building (near Bancroft + College) at the occupied UC Berkeley Anthropology Library

*Press Conference will include participants of the UC-Berkeley Anthropology Library Occupation*

The US Supreme Court has voted to outlaw affirmative action programs in college and university admissions in the Harvard and University of North Carolina cases, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFAI) v. President and Fellows of Harvard and SFAI v. University of North Carolina.

Hoku Jeffrey BAMN organizer and UC-Berkeley alum, said, “The Supreme Court today took a stand for racism. This pro-Trump majority US Supreme Court is actively enforcing racist segregation and social inequality in our society. Institutional racism in our society is a reality. Measures like affirmative action are just and necessary to redress that racism and to advance the cause of social equality. Affirmative action policies were won out of the explosive civil rights struggles to make Brown v Board of Education a reality, because ‘separate can never be equal.’ We agree with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent that, ‘The devastating impact of this decision cannot be overstated. The majority’s vision of race neutrality will entrench racial segregation in higher education because racial inequality will persist so long as it is ignored.’  The new civil rights movement will continue to fight against racism and social inequality in all its forms. We demand UC Berkeley double underrepresented minority enrollment here and stop attacking programs and institutions that serve underrepresented minority students and communities.”

Ronald Cruz, BAMN organizer, Filipino American Berkeley Law alum, and student intervener in the historic 2003 pro-affirmative-action Grutter decision, said, “The attacks on affirmative action programs led by pro-Trump forces will widen the inequality in this country and drive down opportunities for minorities, women, working-class and poor people of all races. These cases and these decisions were never concerned with the fair treatment of Asian Americans. These decisions will lead to more racist attacks against Asian Americans. The majority’s cynicism and hypocrisy drips from the pages of the majority’s decisions. The numbers of Southeast Asian and Asian Pacific Islanders are also certain to decline at elite colleges and universities across the country as they have here at UC-Berkeley.”

In the year 2022 61% of California High School Graduates were Latina/o/x, black, Native American and other underrepresented minority students, meanwhile UC Berkeley admitted just 23% underrepresented minority students.

Anthony Zavala, UC Berkeley Sociology major said, “Berkeley students, alumni, and other community members stand against the attempts to drag back what progress toward integration and equality that still exists in our nation. UC Berkeley students have been leaders in the struggle for affirmative action and to reverse the resegregation of our campus. We do not accept 2nd class racist separate and unequal education. We demand UC Berkeley double underrepresented minority student enrollment. We can win the fight for equality in our society if we deepen our commitment to build our movement.”

In the summer of 2020, a historic mass movement to win justice for George Floyd took to the streets to demand that against racist inequality of our society, and itself succeeded in removing Donald Trump from office. Our movement still has more broad public support and more potential power than Trumps’ fascist movement. If we continue to fight we can win.

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The UC-Berkeley Anthropology Library occupation has been going 10 weeks and is going strong!

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