Affirmative Action: A Racial Study

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This racial study will define the success of the Civil Rights Movement in the context of Affirmative action in the class-based success of higher education and access to higher paying jobs in the labor markets. Affirmative Action was a major legal victory for the Civil Rights movement, which allowed African Americans and other minorities to find access to higher education as a part of the social mobility platform of the movement. Increased diversity in colleges and universities was a major aspect of this success in terms of raising the awareness and educational background of minorities in the community. Also, Affirmative Action allowed greater access to higher paying job access for minorities that defines the political premise of the Civil Rights …show more content…

This aspect of Affirmative Action was generated through the social mobilization of the Civil Rights Movement to utilize education as a pathway to greater access to employment. Therefore, the mode of educational diversity was a major success in getting greater access to higher education as a means of class mobility. The social premise of Affirmative Action provided the awareness of education as an important part of the Civil Rights movement in the late 1960s. In the 1990s, 2000s, and into the 2010s, the enrollment of minorities and women in higher education has shown a massive growth in comparison to the male-dominant and racially divided educational system of mid-20th century …show more content…

The relationship between class and politics of the Civil Rights Movements hinges upon the social mobility of minorities through the successful legal application of Affirmative Action. In this manner, Affirmative Action allows an opportunity for a single member of a minority class to enter a corporate position, which then generates a culture of diversity and racial tolerance. This social aspect of Affirmative Action can also be applied to women in the workplace, which provides social networks for greater diversity in the workplace (Mink and Schlafly 954). Politically, Affirmative Action was a key legal victory for the Civil Rights Movements because it acknowledged the necessity of class mobility through the pressure of a social movement: “If those presently employed in a given industry or firm have no black friends, no blacks will enter those settings through personal contacts. Once a core of blacks (or whatever group is in question) has become established, however, a multiplier effect can be anticipated, as they recruit friends and relatives, who do the same, and so on. Once achieved, this situation is self-sustaining” (Granovetter

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