BLACK mobile logo

united states

A Scholarship for Black California Students Has to Accept White Applicants. Here’s Why

October 27, 2025

The University of California San Diego's Black Alumni Scholarship Fund has been renamed the Goins Alumni Scholarship Fund and opened to students of all races following a discrimination lawsuit filed in July. Students and the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation sued the university, arguing that the race-based scholarship violated several laws, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Though the scholarship was moved to the private San Diego Foundation in 1998 to avoid legal scrutiny after Proposition 209, plaintiffs alleged that UC San Diego remained involved in the scholarship's operation.

Who is affected

  • Black students at UC San Diego who previously were the exclusive recipients of the scholarship
  • Non-Black students who can now apply for the scholarship
  • UC San Diego as an institution
  • The San Diego Foundation which manages the scholarship
  • Approximately 275 scholarship recipients since 2016
  • Lennon Goins, the founding donor of the scholarship

What action is being taken

  • The Black Alumni Scholarship Fund is being renamed to the Goins Alumni Scholarship Fund
  • The scholarship eligibility criteria are being changed to remove race as a factor
  • The scholarship is now open to students of all races
  • Applications are being accepted based on community service and ability to overcome challenges rather than racial identity

Why it matters

  • The change reflects broader scrutiny of race-based programs in California and nationwide
  • Despite decades of scholarships, Black graduation rates at UC San Diego remain below the fund's target (currently under 3% compared to a 5% goal)
  • The case represents ongoing tensions between efforts to support underrepresented groups and legal prohibitions against racial discrimination
  • The lawsuit invoked the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, arguing that public universities cannot use private entities to circumvent anti-discrimination laws
  • This case is part of a trend affecting numerous diversity initiatives in California universities

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint