Historically, people have been discriminated against based on race, skin color, religion, and sex. Affirmative action was implemented to offer opportunities for these groups to allow them access in society to jobs and colleges; yet, affirmative action is perceived by some to do the opposite. Some people believe that affirmative action is needed in society because diversity is necessary. Those who oppose affirmative action, feel that it is doing the opposite of the original goal and creating more problems. Mr. Crapo (“H.R. 1971” Mr.Crapo, September 18th, 2015) wants to eliminate affirmative action programs countrywide because he feels that affirmative action “often excludes students or employees” and “lowers standards of accountability” (p. 1). This bill should be supported because affirmative action is not succeeding in its original plan, to create equality for all. Affirmative action is hurting those who are most qualified for certain positions or college placements. Affirmative Action originates from a time of racial discrimination during the Civil War. Directly following the war, Reconstruction started and the constitution was amended to “...establish equal opportunity for the former slaves.”(“Affirmative Action” Leadership Conference, n.d.). When the Civil War ended, America struggled getting the country to agree on what equalities former slaves should have. Many believed that they shouldn’t have any rights, but the end result was that African Americans could vote, acquire land of former owners, use public accommodations, and become employed. A group of Americans opposed the equal treatment towards the former slaves and went to great extents to make sure that whites stayed superior. For example, during the 1876 election between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden, there was a lot of controversy over the voting process. When it came down to who was going to win, “The deadlock was broken behind closed doors when Southern Democrats agreed to support Hayes' claim for the Presidency if he would support increased funding for Southern internal improvements and agree to end Reconstruction…” (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow.” Wormser, R., n.d.). This was known as the Compromise of 1877 and when agreed upon, Hayes won the election thus resulting in the end of Reconstruction in the south. In 1880, the Supreme Court case Strauder v. West Virginia ruled that having only whites in the jury was unconstitutional and that it violated amendment 14. “Whites were rarely apprehended, tried, or convicted of crimes against blacks.” (“PBS The Supreme Court”, 2015.). During the Reconstruction period, equality was the goal but it wasn’t achieved for many years to come because of the amount of people against other races gaining both social and political power. After the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began, amendments were added, and Jim Crow laws were passed. Improvements were being made and society was rapidly adapting to the freedom of slaves. The Civil War occurred because the North and South disagreed on different topics such as slavery, trade and taxes. The dispute turned into a war on April 12th, 1861 and went on for four years, ending on April 9th 1865. The North won the war, resulting in many changes in the U.S.A.. Troops were sent to the South after the war and three amendments were passed. The 13th amendment abolishes slavery in the U.S., the 14th amendment grants natural born citizenship to freed slaves, and the 15th amendment allowed freed slaves to vote. On January 1st 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves from the union. As Reconstruction occurred, extremist groups such as the Klu Klux Klan came about and major outbursts of violence to retaliate the freedoms of the slaves. In 1876, after Hayes’ compromise with the democrats in the south, Reconstruction ended. “A century later, the legacy of Reconstruction would be revived during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as African Americans fought for the political, economic and social equality that had long been denied them.”(“Reconstruction” History.com Staff, 2009). With Reconstruction having come to an end, and some Americans still fighting against the freedom of slaves, achieving racial equality was still a major issue in America. The struggle to abolish racial inequality continued for centuries after the Civil War.
It was an ongoing issue even after the slaves were emancipated and the amendments 13, 14 and 15 were added to the constitution. “...struggles to secure federal protection of these rights continued during the next century.”(“American civil rights movement.”Clayborne Carson). Due to the fact that abolishing racial inequality was a difficult task, there were Civil Rights leaders that led the Civil Right Movement in the 1960’s. The term “De Facto Segregation” means racial segregation in public schools, which was a major issue that arrived during this time period. Slaves were freed, meaning that they were given to (or at least were supposed to) the same rights as the whites. Due to Jim Crow laws, people with colored skin were equal but separated from the whites. There was different seating in public transportation, different restaurants, different bathrooms, etc. Colored people were given the same rights but white people refused to share anything in public with them, including school. This became a major issue and at one point was brought to the Supreme Court. In the Brown v. Board of Education case, judge Marshall stated that “...separate school systems for blacks and whites were inherently unequal, and thus violate the "equal protection clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”(“History-Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment” United States Courts). The court declared that having segregated schools was unjust. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed, a law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex or race when hiring, promoting or firing people. In 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights law, prohibiting any racial discrimination in voting. America seemed to be on the right path during this time and equality was on its way, luckily with help from certain leaders the process was …show more content…
quickened. During this time period, there were many Civil Rights advocates and leaders that people looked up to in order to abolish racial inequality. One of the most famous Civil Rights leaders was Martin Luther King Jr., who played a big role in ending legal segregation. He organized the Montgomery Bus boycott in 1955, which led to many more protests and boycotts. In 1956, after the boycott, the supreme court voted and segregated busing came to an end. Martin Luther King Jr. greatly impacted the Civil Rights movement, most famously with his “I have a dream” speech. He motivated people all over America to fight back against racial segregation and inequality, leading peaceful protests and boycotts. Another famous Civil Rights leader was Malcolm X, who was known as a black nationalist leader. Malcolm X led rallies, spoke at events and was a leader of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (O.A.A.U). In June of 1963, Malcolm X led one of the largest Civil Rights events in history, also known as the Harlem Unity Rally. “He concentrated on Harlem because of Harlem massive black population During this gathering Malcolm X focused on unifying all blacks regardless of religious background, social class, or political views” (“Malcolm X By: Justin Osuji”n.d). Without these leaders during the Civil Rights movement, the process of eliminating segregation would’ve been much more of a challenge. They encouraged people, inspired them, and led them to success. The idea of affirmative action was first considered in 1961 when John F.
Kennedy was president. Affirmative action is a result of the Civil Rights movement, because its original goal was to create equal opportunities for minority groups. “In 1961, President Kennedy was the first to use the term "affirmative action" in an Executive Order that directed government contractors to take ‘affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.’”(“Affirmative Action | Overview.” Feb. 7th, 2014, NCSL). Affirmative action has been brought up in the Supreme Court on multiple occasions. In 1978, the Bakke v. University of California was one of the first cases to be brought to the Supreme Court. It allowed race to be one of several factors during the college admission policy. In 2003, the Gratz v. Bollinger case regarding the University of Michigan, affirmative action was impacting their undergraduate admissions policy. Students who had 3.0 GPAs and high test scores on the ACT were not being accepted due to the fact that they wouldn’t benefit the school's racial diversity. Affirmative action doesn’t only apply to education, in 1965 President Lyndon signed an executive order requiring government contractors to to use the affirmative action policies while hiring in order to create more diversity in the workplace (“Affirmative Action | Overview.” Feb. 7th, 2014, NCSL). Affirmative action benefited many minority groups when the policy was first signed off in 1961; yet, America is rapidly changing and affirmative action policies seem to be creating controversy throughout the
nation.
...African Americans were almost always “second-class” to the ones of whites. The ruling permitted state governments freedom when they had to deal with questions of race, and guaranteed states the ability to create separate institutions as long as they were “equal”.It seemed as though the Southern states did not just separate the races but supported differences in the quality of treatment towards blacks. The Supreme Court’s ruling gave the “"constitutional nod" to the unfair and inferior treatment to blacks. The “separate but equal” doctrine characterized American society until the doctrine was struck down during the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. The court decided that segregating children by race in public schools was unequal and violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The doctrine did not give blacks the same rights as whites and the court finally realized it.
Oliver Brown, father of Linda Brown decided that his third grade daughter should not have to walk one mile through a railroad switchyard just to get to the bus stop before she could even get to the separate Negro school for her area. He attempted to enroll her in the white public school only three blocks from their home, but her enrollment was denied due to her race. The browns believed this was a violation of their rights, and took their case to the courts. This wasn’t the first time that blacks found their constitutional rights violated. After the civil war, laws were passed to continue the separation of blacks and whites throughout the southern states, starting with the Jim Crow laws which officially segregated the whites from the black. It wasn’t until 1896 in Plessy vs. Ferguson that black people even began to see equality as an option. Nothing changed in the world until 1954 when the historical ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education that anything changed. Until then, all stores, restaurants, schools and public places were deemed ‘separate but equal’ through the Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling in 1896. Many cases just like the Brown vs. Board of Education were taken to the Supreme Court together in a class action suite. The world changed when nine justices made the decision to deem segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
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.
At the time of the African-American Civil Rights movement, segregation was abundant in all aspects of life. Separation, it seemed, was the new motto for all of America. But change was coming. In order to create a nation of true equality, segregation had to be eradicated throughout all of America. Although most people tend to think that it was only well-known, and popular figureheads such as Martin Luther King Junior or Rosa Parks, who were the sole launchers of the African-American Civil Rights movement, it is the rights and responsibilities involved in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision which have most greatly impacted the world we live in today, based upon how desegregation and busing plans have affected our public school systems and way of life, as well as the lives of countless African-Americans around America. The Brown v. Board of Education decision offered African-Americans a path away from common stereotypes and racism, by empowering many of the people of the United States to take action against conformity and discrimination throughout the movement.
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.
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history’s greatest political battles.
One social problem that has caught my attention is racial inequality. Racial inequality refers to the racial advantages and disadvantages among different races. These might be shown in the appropriation of riches, influence, and life openings stood with individuals in view of their race or ethnicity, both noteworthy and cutting edge. These can be viewed therefore of noteworthy abuse, imbalance of legacy, or general partiality, particularly against minority bunches. Race inequality is not a new issue, just an issue that has been swept under the rug. It was more of a problem during and after segregation, but is reportedly no longer exist.
Throughout the history of the country, America has been considered a fairly racist union. From the workplaces to the society, as an Asian, I felt there's a strong barrier between white and black people, although I felt a little bit of racial among us. In this essay, I will talk about the major racial issue of this country through out my experiences.
The United States continued to assimilate and provide greater opportunities for African-Americans, on May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision regarding the case called Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in which the plaintiffs charged that the education of black children in separate public schools from their white counterparts was unconstitutional. The opinion of the Court stated that the "segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children”. This historic discission further inflamed the racest in the south, and many ...
In the 1954 court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of schools was unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment (Justia, n.d.). During the discussion, the separate but equal ruling in 1896 from Plessy v. Ferguson was found to cause black students to feel inferior because white schools were the superior of the two. Furthermore, the ruling states that black students missed out on opportunities that could be provided under a system of desegregation (Justia, n.d.). So the process of classification and how to balance schools according to race began to take place.
The issue of affirmative action has been a controversial one since its inception. The law was developed during the 1960’s as a result of the civil rights movement and the need to address injustices committed against minorities throughout the United States history. There were multiple attempts to correct the inequities between the majority and the various minorities including the 13, 14 and 15th Amendments. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowed for the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to create rules to end discrimination. Affirmative action came into being with the executive order 11246 issued by President Johnson. The Civil Rights Act and President Johnson’s executive order have been updated throughout the years to address gender, disabilities, age and other characteristics that could be considered discriminatory.
Slavery in the United States was officially ended by the Civil War Amendments. The Civil War Amendments consist of 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment. The amendments were created to outlawed slavery and protected equality for emancipated slaves, especially African Americans. Although the equality for the African Americans were protected by the Civil War Amendments, but most of them were segregated and disenfranchise. The segregation getting stronger when Jim Crow Laws passed. This law legalized the segregation of a human based on race. The segregation occurred in public and private facilities, such as transportation, restaurant, drinking fountain, education, etc. Many cases about segregation brought to court. One of the case that important for the United States was about segregation in public schools. Brown v. Board of Education was one of the cases about education that brought to U.S. Supreme Court. This cases made big changes about racial and equality issues in the United States.
According to Robert Chrisman, The term affirmative action was brought into to our attention by President John F. Kennedy,in 1981, while giving his Executive Order 10925. In this order Kennedy called for a massive increase in minority populations in the workforce, this call was made prior to the passage of the Civil Rights legislation, which later furthered the idea of affirmative action in the late 1960’s.(Chrisman,p.71) According to the term Affirmative action was introduced by President Lyndon Johnson in his Executive Order 11246 in 1965. Johnsons order stated that applicants and employed are treated the same without regard to their race , color, religion, sex, or national origin(Tatum, p.117). Although there were many sources who disagree upon the origins of this term, we do know that is was introduced by the U.S. Federal Government as a means to create equal opportunity for historically disadvantaged populations. The targeted groups included: white women, men and women of color (defined by the U.s. Government as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians. Pacific Islanders,Blacks and Hispanics). (Tatum, p.117) In the !970’s legislation was passed to include people with disabilities and Veterans. Specific plans for affirmative actions were not defined by Executive Order 1124, which left room for interpretation throughout the country.(Tatum, p.117)
During the 1950s and 1960, the United States continued to renovate its social policies to address inequalities present among its citizens. Much of this change was aided by the Supreme Court, which found government-sponsored racial segregation unconstitutional, and worked to strike down infringing state and federal legislation. In its decision during Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court ruled that the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment invalid...
A social inequality that I would say I’m concerned with would be, racial and ethnic inequality. Racial or ethnic inequality is often established based on characteristics such as skin color and other physical characteristics, or a person’s place of origin or culture. Another meaning of racial inequality would be the advantages and disadvantages that affect different races within the Unites States. Race has become a socially constructed category capable of restricting or enabling social status. Racial inequality can lead to diminished opportunities, which can also lead to cycles of poverty and political problems. With this minority members in a society can result in discriminating actions such as; exclusion, oppression, expulsion, and extermination.