Affirmative Action and Racial Equality

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Affirmative Action and Racial Equality (1) Issue Identification Many individuals do not know the meaning of the term “affirmative action.” In order to clearly understand the issue, one must first know the necessary terms associated with it. Affirmative action is a term given to an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination (i.e. African Americans, Asians, etc.). For example, certain scholarships for African Americans can be regarded as affirmative action opportunities. Another example of affirmative action could be an institutional program designed for African Americans. So why is it important? Affirmative action policies and programs are designed to insure that qualified individuals of minority groups have equal access to programs and are “to par” with other individuals of the same merit. Please note that I said qualified and of the same merit. Affirmative action does not place individuals in minority groups at an advantage. This is a common misconception by some people. Affirmative action can be seen in the college admission process, the promotion process for higher-level positions, and in other various areas. The goal is to advance and promote equality through the policies. Please note that affirmative action was never meant to be an instant cure to inequality. In contrast, it was meant to promote equality. Many Americans, from all backgrounds, equally support affirmative action as an effective way of advancing equality. This has been shown through obvious differences and data. Without affirmative action, several individuals of minority groups would have disadvantages when it comes to promotions in their jobs, acceptance to medical school, and other areas. What does that mean? Basically, e... ... middle of paper ... ...hanged. However, we will always have those lurking variables in companies and educational institutions like Mr. Dennison, the executive of The Contemporary Service Corp. Works Cited "Affirmative Action." Affirmative Action RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. "Affirmative Action Data." U.S. Department of Labor. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Gorman, Ryan. "Revealed: 'Racist' Executive Who Oversees Security for the US Open Called African Americans 'scum Suckers' and 'n*****s' in Leaked Emails." Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Marsh, Julia. "Barneys Busted Student for ‘shopping While black’." New York Post Barneys Busted Student for Shopping Whileblack Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. McKenna, George, and Stanley Feingold. "Does Affirmative Action Advance Racial Equality?" Taking Sides. 18th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2013. N. pag. Print.

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