Affirmative Action

Many believe that without it we would feel a better sense of equality and individuality. We need to adapt to a color-blind society where race is no longer an issue in the fields of education and employment. By failing in eliminating affirmative action we have caused previous cases and battles in the past such as Brown v. Board of Education lose their significance in the world of today. We need to remember why we have come this far and what those people who fought for equal protection and representation intended for the people of the future. Only by brushing away discrimination and handicapped education laws can we ensure equality for everyone.

New policies and laws were established to help reverse the detriment to ethnic groups through years of injustice and prejudice. But is it right to limit other races to advance another? Are we using racism to stop racism? Although equal rights policies were established through what became known as “affirmative action” and have assisted in the advancement of many minority groups, affirmative action today is wrong and should be revised or stopped altogether. Affirmative action is an instituted list of policies to make up for past discrimination against groups based on race, religion, national origin, and gender.

I say yes, affirmative action was and is needed to help prevent unfairness caused by discrimination in America. I believe the doors of opportunity have just peaked opened for women and minorities and the United States should continue to use affirmative action as an appropriate instrument for achieving racial and gen... ... middle of paper ... ...men and minorities by providing them opportunities for advancement. In conclusion, affirmative action has been criticized as a shallow solution that does not reach deeper economic problems in the United States. However, when understanding its purpose, affirmative action was never designed to solve the economic inequalities in America. Instead, it was intended only to rectify discrimination in hiring and academic admissions.

These material inequalities of income, education, housing, etc. are necessary to a multi-class capitalist society, but the unacceptable cultural inequalities of race, gender, discrimination, and prejudice must be ameliorated. Current trend in the United States, and in fact the world, is to try to remedy this link between race/gender and measurable inequalities by affecting opportunity. Affirmative Action policies hope to provide more equal opportunity, which will in turn provide more equal outcomes. As J. Blain Hudson puts it, “the term ‘Affirmative Action’ encompasses a body of laws, policies and programs designed to reduce or eliminate racial and other forms of inequality in American society.

Defined by Dictionary, reverse discrimination is “the unfair treatment of members of majority groups resulting from preferential policies, as in college admissions or employment, intended to remedy earlier discrimination against minorities” (Dictionary.com). It is true that women and peop... ... middle of paper ... ...n arguing why affirmative action is constitutional, why not focus on applying effective solutions based from our past mistakes and help our nation achieve long-term goals? To sum everything up, we as a human race are not perfect, nor will we ever make solutions that will satisfy both side of arguments. One lesson we can learn from this research paper, however, is that everyone should have the ability to fully enjoy their Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendments. Nonetheless, the development of reverse discrimination, the creation of stigma against women and minorities, the buildup of racial tension, and the fact of attempting to solve a racial problem that no longer exist all contributed to the danger of affirmative action.

Webster’s New World Dictionary definition of affirmative action is ‘a policy or program for correcting the effects of discrimination in the employment or education of members of certain groups.’ President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the Executive Order 11246 requiring federal contractors to use affirmative action to increase the number of minorities that are employed. He also created the Office or Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) which set out to find the exact meaning of ‘Affirmative Action’ (Woods). Affirmative action is supposed to create ways for people to experience equal opportunities in the work place and for students wanting to go to college. However, while creating equal opportunities for some, it discriminated against others. With the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, many corporations created new ways of going around affirmative action without creating a lot of attention.

Opponents charge that affirmative action places unskilled minorities in positions they are not qualified for and violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Since its inception, the definition of affirmative action has been ever-changing. Prohibiting discrimination in hiring, expanding the applicant pool to include more minorities, compensating for past grievances, and setting quotas have all been part of the definition. In theory affirmative action helps integrate minorities better into society and puts them on equal footing with whites; however, in reality affirmative action is widening the racial gap in America and therefore should be discontinued. When the Civil Rights Law passed, minorities, especially African-Americans, believed that they should receive retribution for the years of discrimination that they endured.

In essence, Affirmative action gives preferential treatment to minorities in admission to universities or employment opportunities. Originally, affirmative action was implemented to reverse centuries of wrongdoings to minorities and to give them a “boost” in society. In a famous speech delivered by President Johnson, he argued that civil rights laws were not enough, “...not just equality as a right and theory, but equality as a fact and as a result.” Comparatively, the faces of the American society have changed, further indicating that Affirmative Action program... ... middle of paper ... ... and diversity. On the contrary, many people do believe that affirmative action has its benefits. For instance, affirmative action provides disadvantaged students a boost to “level the playing field.” Generally speaking, minority students often start out at a disadvantage in the college or job process.

Affirmative action required employers to hire regardless of race, the affirmative action of today has changed, and employers now hire minorities on the fact that they are Aguilar 2. minorities. This was not John F. Kennedy’s intent when he began the program in 1961. The main goal of affirmative action was to give minorities and women an equal opportunity at employment and in collegiate admissions, in present time, the program gives minorities and women an unfair advantage. The program was brought into effect ratios of employment and college admissions between whites and blacks were not corresponding with population. A second reason affirmative action was activated was to help disadvantaged minorities, those with insufficient financial funds, many could not afford a better education and therefore are at a disadvantaged for competition.

In the United States a process called Affirmative Action is used to help to overcome the affects of past societal discrimination by granting jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. The policy was implemented by federal agencies enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and by the Equal Employment Opportunities Act of 1972. While many people believe it is a step in the right direction in stopping employment discrimination, it is taking jobs from qualified persons because they are not of a certain race or gender, in turn doing the same thing that was done to minorities and women for years. I do not support affirmative action for several reasons. This policy would enable two people who apply for a job in an office building for the same position to be judged differently.