Barbara Lee

Supreme Court Denies Affirmative Action for Everyone but the Wealthy and White

For generations, affirmative action has been a powerful means of lowering barriers to education for historically marginalized and underrepresented students of color. At its core, it simply aims to remedy the government-sanctioned, decades-long inequality by making race one factor in the college admissions process.

Published

2 years ago

July 10, 2023

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee

By Hon. Barbara Lee

By ruling that race and ethnicity cannot be considered in college admissions, the U.S. Supreme Court sets us back more than four decades.

Dismantling these policies will not only have devastating implications for students of color, but for the classrooms at these institutions, which will become devoid of diversity in the lived experience and perspective needed to solve America’s toughest challenges. Higher education serves as an incubator for the brilliant ideas of tomorrow. Those ideas will now become less diverse.

I’m a graduate of Mills College, a women’s college in Oakland. There was a time when, as a Black woman, my options for higher education were limited. But because affirmative action successfully addressed the centuries-long discrimination in higher education, I was able to earn my degree while caring for my two children as a single mother on public assistance.

I met my mentor, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm; received my master’s degree in social work; became a successful small business owner; serve in Congress; and ran to be only the third Black woman in our nation’s history to serve in the U.S. Senate.

The list of barriers to higher education is already long, and I fear that with this ruling we are turning back the clock, and a generation of talented young people of color may not be given the same opportunities that I had.

For those reasons and more, I’ve fought hard to uphold affirmative action. California’s Proposition 209, which effectively banned affirmative action across our state’s public education systems, was a harmful policy that deprived countless students of color the opportunity to study at some of the greatest academic institutions in the world.

In 2020, I fought for the reversal of Prop 209, but it sadly failed. I argued against the banning of affirmative action before the UC Board of Regents years ago, and since that policy went into effect, the share of Black, Latino and Native American students has fallen significantly.

California has a difficult relationship with race. Despite being one of the most progressive states in the country, we struggle with racial inequality of epic proportions.

Ironically, [June 29] the California Reparations Task Force completed the report they were commissioned to produce. I was the only member of Congress to testify in front of the task force, and yesterday’s ruling affirms the need for their work toward an effort to repair the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow and systemic racism, and for my continued effort at the federal level to establish a Commission on Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation.

While the country mourns the end of affirmative action in higher education, let’s be clear: The Supreme Court did not strike down affirmative action for everyone. It was just taken away for everyone that’s not wealthy and white.

For many wealthy white students, it still exists in the form of legacy admissions. Justice Brett Kavanaugh knows this intimately, as a legacy admission to Yale. Judge Clarence Thomas was an affirmative action admission as well. Yet, they are denying future generations their same opportunities, and making the application of a first-generation college student from an immigrant family less notable than the child of a fifth-generation Yale graduate from a wealthy family.

In the spirit of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent on the ruling, preventing the consideration of race does not end racism, and deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. We do not live in a colorblind society.

Systemic racism is not an abstract idea. For the far right, it is intentional, deliberate and strategic. Their efforts to ban books, erase history and simply deny students of color entry into the building is a coordinated effort to uphold white supremacy.

Education has always been the great equalizer, which is why, for centuries, people of color were systematically shut out of educational opportunities. [Last] Thursday’s decision is simply one more part of this effort and, ultimately, lays the groundwork to undermine Brown v. Board of Education, which began the dismantling of Jim Crow.

The remnants of Jim Crow laws and the chains of slavery were meant to be broken, not meant to take new forms. Affirmative action is a crucial tool to not only incentivize racial diversity on our college campuses, but level the playing field for all those in pursuit of the American dream.

This opinion was originally published in the Sacramento Bee on July 1.

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Barbara Lee Launches Campaign for Mayor of Oakland

“At this critical moment, we must not be a city divided, but a community united,” she Lee. “If elected I will bring my hands-on leadership, new ideas and decades of experience in identifying billions in resources for our great city, so all residents and businesses are stronger and safer and our community has optimism and confidence in Oakland’s future.”

Published

6 days ago

January 8, 2025

Oakland Post

By Post Staff

Barbara Lee on Wednesday morning formally announced her candidacy for Mayor in Oakland’s April 15 special election.

“Time and time again, Oaklanders have faced our toughest obstacles by uniting to meet our challenges,” said Lee.

“At this critical moment, we must not be a city divided but a community united,” she said. “If elected, I will bring my hands-on leadership, new ideas, and decades of experience in identifying billions in resources for our great city so all residents and businesses are stronger and safer and our community has optimism and confidence in Oakland’s future.”

“As Mayor, I’ll address our homelessness crisis, prioritize comprehensive public safety and mental health services, and lead with fiscal responsibility to deliver the core City services residents and business owners deserve. Let’s do this – together.”

“I’ve never shied away from a challenge,” said Lee. “I’m always ready to fight for Oakland.”

Watch her campaign video here, which is online at BarbaraLee4Oakland.com

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Activism

Butler, Lee Celebrate Passage of Bill to Honor Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm with Congressional Gold Medal

“Shirley Chisholm lived an honorable life of service and was a trailblazer who opened doors for generations of Black women and opened the imagination of what leadership looked like for our entire nation,” said Butler. “Her extraordinary contributions to American history and progress deserve recognition, and today I am proud to stand with my colleagues in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle to have taken this step to celebrate her legacy, ensuring that future generation of leaders never forget her courage, sacrifice, and patriotism.

Published

1 month ago

December 10, 2024

Oakland Post

By U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler
Special to The Post

U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.-12) celebrated the passage of bipartisan legislation to honor the life and work of the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968.

The Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act would instruct Congress to posthumously endow Chisholm with a Congressional Gold Medal – the highest award Congress can bestow – in commemoration of her accomplishments, activism, and legacy.

The Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act was led in the House by Congresswoman Lee, Congressman Byron Donalds, Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. The Senate companion to the bill was introduced by Butler and Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock.

The Congressional Gold Medal serves as the nation’s highest expression of gratitude for distinguished service and achievements, and I see no one more deserving than Shirley Chisholm,” said Lee. “It is critical for the next generation of leaders to see the first Black woman elected to Congress get the recognition that she deserves.

“Congresswoman Chisholm made history as the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress and the first Black woman to run for President of the United States. To Mrs. C, thank you for being unbought and unbossed, for paving the way, and for being a catalyst for change,” Lee said.

During her seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, “Fighting Shirley” introduced 50 pieces of legislation and was a champion for racial and gender equity, low-income communities, and the end of the Vietnam War.

In 1972, Chisholm became the first woman and Black candidate to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties.

After a lifetime of service, Shirley Chisholm died at the age of 80 in Ormond Beach, Florida, on New Year’s Day 2005. Nov. 30, 2024, would have marked Chisholm’s 100th birthday. Chisholm’s motto, “Unbought and Unbossed,” embodies her unwavering advocacy for women and minorities, which defined her remarkable career and inspired future generations of leaders.

After passing the House and Senate with significant bipartisan support, the Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act will head to President Biden’s desk for a signature.

“Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm broke barriers for Black women, Black Americans, and anyone who refuses to be confined by injustice. As an educator, trailblazing public servant, and presidential candidate, she fought for an inclusive democracy that lives up to our nation’s highest ideals of equity and justice under law,” said Warnock. “I am proud to have passed this bill alongside Senator Butler to honor Chisholm’s legacy with a Congressional Gold Medal, and I will continue working to carry on her fight through my work in the Senate.”

“Shirley Chisholm was a pioneering figure in American politics, serving as a source of inspiration for millions throughout our country,” said Senator Susan Collins. “I am proud to join this effort to recognize her historic contributions to our nation.”

“Shirley Chisholm broke barriers as the first African American woman elected to Congress, paving the way for future generations of women leaders,” said Nevada Senator Cortez Masto. “I’m proud I helped pass this bill in the Senate to honor her legacy and continue the fight for representation and opportunity for everyone across the country.”

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Reflects on Historic Moment Less Than One Week from Election Day

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today released a piece on Medium reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic presidential campaign 50 years after Lee worked on the presidential campaign of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.

Published

2 months ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today released a piece on Medium reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic presidential campaign 50 years after Lee worked on the presidential campaign of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm:

“As Election Day approaches, I’m reflecting on a few dates and numbers that mean something to me.

Zero: the number of Black members in Congress 56 years ago. Next Congress, we hope to swear in over 60 members in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Three: The number of Black women to ever serve in the United States Senate since the first Congress in 1789.

Two: The number of Black women that will be elected to the Senate this year alone if we do our job.

1972: The first time a Black woman, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, ran for president in one of the major political parties of the United States.

Zero: the number of Black women to ever serve as president of the United States.

IF we do the work, we can change that with President Kamala Harris.

As I reflect on what would be Congresswoman Chisholm’s 100th birthday next month, I could not help but remember that my first official involvement in U.S. politics was working for her presidential campaign in 1972.

Over 50 years later, I have been involved in every single campaign since. Shirley was my mentor — she was a bold visionary, a progressive woman who understood that working together in coalitions was the only way to make life better for everyone, to build an equitable society and democracy that lived up to the creed of “liberty and justice for all.”

The historic moment we are in today is not lost on me. I have had the privilege to have known Vice President Kamala Harris for over three decades. She, after all, is a daughter of the East Bay. She, like Shirley, truly is a fighter for the people.

And I know she can move our country forward in a new way. As a member of her National Advisory Board, I have campaigned across our country to help take her message, her legacy of service, and her “to-do list,” as she says, to voters who were almost starting to feel hopeless, but are now feeling hopeful once again, captured by the politics joy and the bright possibilities brought upon by a possible Harris-Walz administration.

Recently, I visited churches in North Carolina with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The chair of our CBC political action committee, Chairman Gregory Meeks from New York’s fifth district, eloquently and powerfully presented a vision of what Dr. Maya Angelou wrote in her famous poem, “And Still I Rise:” “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”

Meeks remarked that on Jan. 20, 2025, we will observe the birthday of our drum major for justice, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He also described that on Jan. 20, IF we do the work — if we knock on doors, if we make those phone calls, if we spread our message — standing on the podium at the U.S. Capitol will be the first Black speaker of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries.

In the wings will be over 60 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Holding Frederick Douglass’ Bible will be the first African American woman appointed to the highest court of the land, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

She will be swearing-in the first Black woman to serve as president, Kamala Harris, in front of the shining white dome of the United States Capitol, built by enslaved Black people.

In front of her and beyond, the tens of millions of Black men and women who voted for her. The world will witness the hope and the dreams of our ancestors ushering in a new way forward.

As I sat in front of the stage this week at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Harris delivered remarks with the Oval Office behind her, I could not help but feel that our country was ready for this historic moment.

We are not only voting for a Black woman as Commander in Chief of the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world. We are definitively stating that we will not allow the clocks of freedom and justice to be turned back.

We are voting for our ancestors’ hopes and dreams. We are voting for the generations that will come after us, long after we are gone. We are voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Let’s get this done.