California

Bay Area Civil Rights Activists Seek to Change California's Anti-Discrimination Laws

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On Wednesday, Bay Area civil rights activists will introduce what they hope will be a landmark change to California’s current anti-discrimination laws, which bar bias based race, color, religion, gender and sexual orientation. Jessica Aguirre reports.

On Wednesday, Bay Area civil rights activists introduces what they hope will be a landmark change to California’s current anti-discrimination laws, which bar bias based on race, color, religion, gender and sexual orientation.

Added to that list would be caste: a centuries old system of social hierarchy in the South Asian community. 

The social hierarchy ranks human value based on human purity, family position and birth.

New State Bill Aims to Ban Caste Discrimination
A historic fight got underway in Sacramento Wednesday. A new legislation was introduced that could make a landmark change to California's current anti-discrimination laws. State Senator Aisha Wahab, along with Bay Area activists, want to add “caste” as a protected category to state law.

Organizers on the front lines are bracing for a fierce fight from a community they say is invested in keeping them in their so-called “place.”

NBC Bay Area’s Jessica Aguirre has the full story in video player above.

A Closer Look: Fighting Caste Discrimination
NBC Bay Area’s Jessica Aguirre spoke to Thenmozhi Soundararajan, the founder of Equality Labs, a national dalit civil rights organization, about her call to fight for anti-discrimination laws.
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