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significance of affirmative action
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Patricia Steffes worked at Pepsi Company for over twenty years. During one of her later years at the company, she was up for a promotion. Pepsi did not award her the job though. Instead they hired a man who happened to be an African-American. Steffes was outraged over this incident claiming that because of Pepsi’s ‘aggressive minority promotion program’ Pepsi hired a less-qualified minority candidate in order to comply with this program. Steffes wrote to the Equal Opportunities Commission as well as the senior executive at Pepsi to file a complaint over the discrimination against her. What Steffes failed to recognize was the reason Pepsi had this program in this first place. The whites, like Patricia Steffes, that are claiming they are now being discriminated against call it reverse racism. The notion of reverse racism has many different points of view and many different opinions from minorities and whites alike. However, because of many individuals’ inherent perceptions, minorities’ lack of true power, and individuals’ failure to comply with the law, to claim that reverse racism exists in the United States today is unfounded. In 1865 Congress ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States of America. This was a necessary step in order for the United States to move forward toward the age of progressivism. However, while the thirteenth amendment banned slavery it did not ban segregation and discrimination toward minority groups, specifically African-Americans. It was not until the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling of separate but equal, that the government specifically addressed segregation. As a result of the ruling in Brown... ... middle of paper ... ...s Quick Facts."ThisNation.com--The U.S. Congress Quick Facts. This Nation, 16 May 2014. Web. 16 May 2014. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Black or African American Populations." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 May 2014. NCSL. "Affirmative Action | Overview." Affirmative Action | Overview. National Conference of State Legislators, 2014. Web. 14 May 2014. N.A. "A Brief History of Affirmative Action." A Brief History of Affirmative Action. The Regents of the University of California, 2002. Web. 16 May 2014. Brunner, Borgna, and Beth Rowen. "Affirmative Action History." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2014. Web. 16 May 2014. Barness, Sarah. "Comedian, Aamer Rahman, Nails Why 'Reverse Racism' Doesn't Work (VIDEO)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 May 2014.
During the four decades following reconstruction, the position of the Negro in America steadily deteriorated. The hopes and aspirations of the freedmen for full citizenship rights were shattered after the federal government betrayed the Negro and restored white supremacist control to the South. Blacks were left at the mercy of ex-slaveholders and former Confederates, as the United States government adopted a laissez-faire policy regarding the “Negro problem” in the South. The era of Jim Crow brought to the American Negro disfranchisement, social, educational, and occupational discrimination, mass mob violence, murder, and lynching. Under a sort of peonage, black people were deprived of their civil and human rights and reduced to a status of quasi-slavery or “second-class” citizenship. Strict legal segregation of public facilities in the southern states was strengthened in 1896 by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. Racists, northern and southern, proclaimed that the Negro was subhuman, barbaric, immoral, and innately inferior, physically and intellectually, to whites—totally incapable of functioning as an equal in white civilization.
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. “How Our Laws are Made”. Thomas.LOC.gov, July 24, 2007. Web. Feb. 25, 2012
Discrimination is still a chronic global issue, and drastic inequalities still exist at the present time. Thus, the Affirmative Action Law is an important tool to many minorities most especially to women, and people of color, for the reason that this program provides an equality on educational, and professional opportunities for every qualified individual living in the United States. Without this program, a higher education would have been impossible for a “minority students” to attain. Additionally, without the Affirmative Action, a fair opportunity to have a higher-level career...
On December 6, 1865, the thirteenth amendment to the United States constitution was ratified (Archives). This amendment effectively abolished slavery with the exception of a punishment for a crime (Archives). This was a great victory for blacks, who had been the preferred target for slaves. For many, however, the passage of the amendment failed to change the attitudes of white Americans. Blacks were clearly not welcome in many cities across the nation, with laws allowing blacks to work within a city’s limits, but requiring them to leave before sundown.
...as one of the most influential Amendments passed in the U.S. ended slavery, but African Americans still did not have the same rights that white Americans did. The 13th amendment made everyone seem the same. People should not be treated different and we are all equal.
Despite the 14th and 15th constitutional amendments that guarantee citizenship and voting right regardless of race and religion, southern states, in practice, denied African Americans the right to vote by setting up literacy tests and charging a poll tax that was designed only to disqualify them as voters. In 1955, African Americans still had significantly less political power than their white counterparts. As a result, they were powerless to prevent the white from segregating all aspects of their lives and could not stop racial discrimination in public accommodations, education, and economic opportunities. Following the 1954 Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, it remained a hot issue in 1955. That year, however, it was the murder of the fourteen-year-old Emmett Louis Till that directed the nation’s attention to the racial discrimination in America.
Although the Fourteenth Amendment, when adopted in 1868, gave certain rights to blacks, including citizenship, equal protection of law and other freedoms, African-Americans were considered inferior by whites in this country. In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson officially made segregation legal, and put “separate but equal” into effect. African-Americans were excluded from hotels, restaurants, theatres and schools. African-Americans had lower paying jobs than did whites. Accumulated frustration led blacks to call for dramatic social change. (Good, 8-10)
Deborah Jones Merritt believes that two stories of racism exist in society. One is where racism has been eradicated and minorities hold high positions. In the other, minorities live under poverty, have higher rates of going to prison, and lower chances of getting a job than their white counterparts with identical qualifications. The previous story shows the disadvantages minorities face both in schools and in society, where whites are more likely to receive aid financially and academically. The author believes that both stories are true: the first demonstrates America’s dedication to social reform while the second shows the existence of racial discrimination, which minority children grow up in. These stories are significant because the existence of affirmative action where there is no racism hurts both whites and minorities but on the other hand, affirmative action recognizes the fact that whites receive better...
In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.
Sacks, David, and Peter Theil. "The Case Against Affirmative Action." Stanford Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014
Pojman, Louis P. "The Case Against Affirmative Action." Csus.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Affirmative action is an attempt by the United States to amend a long history of racial discrimination and injustice. Our school textbook defines affirmative action as “a program established that attempts to improve the chances of minority applicants for educational or employment purposes, although they may have the same qualifications, by giving them leverage so that they can attain a level that is equal to caucasian applicants” (Berman 522). There are people that support and oppose this issue. Opponents of affirmative action have many reasons for opposing this issue, one of them being that the battle for equal rights is over, and that this advantage made for people of color discriminates against people that are not of color. The people that defend affirmative action argue this advantage is needed because of how badly discriminated the people of color once were. Because of the discrimination that once was these people claim that they are at a disadvantage, and always have been, therefore equality of opportunity is needed. It is also said that affirmative action is used to encourage diversity and integration. This paper will discuss the history of affirmative action, how it is implemented in society today, and evaluate the arguments that it presents.
Dr. Kenneth B. Clark’s legacy has lived on and will continue to inspire because, even today, in the 21st century, there are many ideas and problems that Clark addresses in the realm of prejudice and racism that are still relevant in social identity, education and the work place in America. Clark was a social psychologist who was a firm believer in equality, though he knew that racial division would be a difficult task to overcome, he still thought it was a concept that was necessary for America to progress. One of the many researchers that have continued Clark’s work is Thomas F. Pettigrew. Pettigrew (2004) suggests that America is not where it needs to in reference to equal opportunity. Pettigrew does acknowledge that there has been many steps forward since the Brown case and Clark’ s doll studies, but believes there has also, been many steps taken backwards in regards to the progress of racial equality and opportunity (Pettigrew, 2004). According to Pettigrew (2004) racial prejudices have come to be much less blatant but still have the same effect on the people exposed to the phenomena. Though racial prejudices are still prevalent, the source of the tension is much more difficulty to identify. As did Clark suggest, Pettigrew (2004) also believes that for change to consistently and proficiently occur, it must h...
Stevenson, Daniel C. “Affirmative Action Remains Imperative.” The Tech. Boston: 7 March 1995. Web. 28 March 2015.
Roots of the affirmative action policy can be traced back to the Civil Rights Act of 1963 particularly in Title VII, which bans the discrimination of ...