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
Affirmative Action Question: Newton and Wasserstrom seem to disagree about whether affirmative action is a form of reverse discrimination. Explain how each arrives at their position about whether or not affirmative action is similar to or different from discriminatory laws of the Jim Crow era
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...
Under the inability to fit in, he describes how many people in executive positions examine black differently than whites. In their minds, blacks do not have the same criteria to meet as whites do. He goes on to say that whites are more likely to fit in than blacks. They have to hire based on who can blend into `the great white mass.'
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed soon after the milestone March on Washington. In the largest march ever held in the United States, people of all races and colors gathered together to show legislature that racism would no longer be acceptable in society. Title VII, the section which deals with discrimination in the workforce is one small part of the larger piece of legislation. Title VII, of the Civil Rights Act, quickly became the most important arbiter of rights under the new law (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2001). The workforce has drastically changed since the passage of the act. Women and minorities are engaged in employment now more than ever. With the passage of Title VII, the door was opened to prohibiting job discrimination and creating fairness in employment (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2001). Soon after, protection against discrimination based on age and disability was provided.
As previously stated, it appears there are persistant barriers present that hinder enrollment, retention, and rate of graduation for African Americans in higher education. It is imperative that educational concerns for African Americans are addressed at all levels, but it is particularly important at the post secondary stage. Higher levels of education are associated with both lower unemployment rates and a higher income. If...
“Nationally, more than one-quarter of the students in the 1930s were black. Yet they received only about one-tenth of the total education revenues. Many Americans believed that African Americans were simply not capable of excelling in school” (“The 1930’s education…”). For colored women, it was more difficult to prove their abilities than any other race. For example, Asian women were not affected as much simply because their skin color was closer to that of a white’s than a black person. As black women were treated unequally in the education department, white women have also struggled in getting a higher education. “They gave young women a chance to gain the same kinds of education as their brothers without having to spend much of their time and energy fighting the prejudice they would have faced at male-dominated institutions. At the same time, they provided a proving-ground in which college administrators, professors, and students could demonstrate that women could flourish intellectually while remaining healthy and ladylike.” (“The Value
Phillip, Mary-Christine. "Yesterday Once More: African-Americans Wonder If New Era Heralds," Black Issues in Higher Education. (July 1995).
Some feel that affirmative action in universities is the answer to the end of racism and inequality. If more black students get into and graduate from good colleges, more of them will go on to even out the lopsided numbers in the work force. Prejudice secretly slips through everyone¹s thoughts. Or so Barbara Ehrenreich believes when she writes of a quiet, subliminal prejudice that is caused by statistics that prove the fewer numbers of blacks in high profile jobs. When we see ninety percent of leadership roles in the corporate world held by white men, we begin to doubt other¹s competence in that field. With so many minorities in menial roles, people begin to believe the white man is best for ...
Affirmative action has been a controversial topic ever since it was established in the 1960s to right past wrongs against minority groups, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and women. The goal of affirmative action is to integrate minorities into public institutions, like universities, who have historically been discriminated against in such environments. Proponents claim that it is necessary in order to give minorities representation in these institutions, while opponents say that it is reverse discrimination. Newsweek has a story on this same debate which has hit the nation spotlight once more with a case being brought against the University of Michigan by some white students who claimed that the University’s admissions policies accepted minority students over them, even though they had better grades than the minority students. William Symonds of Business Week, however, thinks that it does not really matter. He claims that minority status is more or less irrelevant in college admissions and that class is the determining factor.
Before the Civil Rights Movement, which took place from 1955-1968, African-Americans had a difficult time establishing an identity and their rights. However, for many African-Americans, the Civil Rights Movement developed a purpose for one’s life and progressed African-Americans’ status and rights in society. Although some people may argue that the Civil Rights Movement was not productive and only caused conflict and havoc, due to the majority of African-Americans still employed in low-level jobs and many towns affected by the Civil Rights Movement being torn apart and degraded, those effects were only temporary and tangible to others. The Movement had a much more profound effect of giving one a purpose or “spark” in life, which later led to African-Americans demanding more rights and equal status in society.
One of the most important times of the United States history is the blacks’ struggle to gain equality. During this time, the Civil Rights and Black Power movements played an important role in gaining the freedom that was much wanted and needed for the black Americans. But the two movements gave more to the United States than the freedoms to a race; it influenced other groups such as the student movement. The student movement has shown us that no matter whom you are, you can make your voice heard and change the world.
The discrimination against Caucasian and Asian American students a long with the toleration of lower quality work produced by African American students and other minority students is an example of the problems caused by Affirmative Action. Although affirmative action intends to do good, lowering the standards by which certain racial groups are admitted to college is not the way to solve the problem of diversity in America's universities. The condition of America's public schools is directly responsible for the poor academic achievement of minority children. Instead of addressing educational discrepancies caused by poverty and discrimination, we are merely covering them up and pretending they do not exist, and allowing ourselves to avoid what it takes to make a d... ... middle of paper ... ...
Signed in an executive order by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity was created to ensure that hiring and employment practices are free of racial bias. Three years later, President Lyndon Johnson presented the Civil Rights Act in 1964 prohibiting discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin (Wang & Shulruf, 2012). Later that same year, President Johnson gave a commencement speech attempting to give an ethical response to the losses both materially and mentally to the African-Americans in slavery in the United States (Chace, 2011). Within the later years of the 1960s, higher education institution administrators, in an effort to boost under-represented groups of minorities, introduced the affirmative action concept into the admissions processes (Wang & Shulruf, 2012). What has been the effect of these monumental milestones for minorities and under-repre... ...
Education played a very important part in civil rights history. Much time and effort has been spent on education for the black community. It was only right and fair that all people regardless of skin color be granted an equal opportunity to earn a decent education. Protests and other events that took place on the campuses of educational institutions all over the United States have made national headlines. The issue of equality in regards to educational has remained at the vanguard of the civil rights movement long after these events took place. By taking a glance at the changes in education between the 1950s and
The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954 with the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, this ruling struck down the doctrine of “Separate but Equal”. The Brown v. Board of Education case was a start of many that began to transform American Democracy. African-Americans soon realized that they had to do something if they wanted to gain their rights back. They saw that they all had the responsibility to fight back against the government’s decision of de jure segregation. Many saw that they had to use the path of civil disobedience as portrayed through Martin Luther King Jr., but the rise of Black Nationalism made many people around the country forget that they had a responsibility as a people. Militant groups and leaders such as the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X started riots and “rebellions” that not only showed that they were very serious about gett...