The University of California’s record-shattering applications for fall 2021 show remarkable surges in Black, Latino and other underrepresented students seeking admission, putting the system within reach of dismantling long-standing admission barriers and building a student body that reflects the state’s diversity.
UCLA and UC Berkeley, the system’s two most selective campuses where diversity particularly tumbled after affirmative action was banned in public schools more than two decades ago achieved historic gains, according to preliminary UC data released Thursday. Black freshman applicants rose by about 48% at both campuses, and Latino applicants increased by 33% at UCLA and 36% at Berkeley.
Overall, UC’s nine undergraduate campuses drew a record number of applicants despite myriad pandemic challenges, totaling 249,855, a 16.1% leap over last year. Among Californians, Black freshman applicants increased by 21.8%. Latinos who have made up the largest proportion of in
The obelisk at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Tree Grove is seen at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area on January 17, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” is the one line many white Americans can recite from a Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. speech.
Some conveniently weaponize these words. For instance, in a session last year about racism in her workplace, one white professional relied on this quote as she attempted to convince her colleagues and me that the Black Lives Matter movement is racist. King would’ve wanted us to recognize that all lives matter, regardless of color, she asserted.