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.
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.
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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