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Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is a policy that was designed in the 1960s to ensure the elimination of discrimination and sustain the races which suffered from discrimination by giving the minorities an advantage over white people if they are trying to get into a college or get employed. However, In the later years, affirmative action has caused reverse discrimination and has gone against the only intention that it was created for which was to terminate discrimination and help the minorities become equal with white majorities(white people).Since affirmative action was so inadequately thought out, it has caused more unintended consequences over the years. Affirmative action was banned in the state of California in 1996 by proposition 209. Various people to this day argue whether affirmative action has a positive or a negative effect on the American people. It is obvious that in today's society affirmative action would not be effective and would cause more conflicts such as reverse discrimination and most likely cause the races that reached their dreams with affirmative action...
majority, does not advance the cause of minorities in a meaningful way, and needs to be
Affirmative Action, policies used in the United States to increase opportunities for minorities by favoring them in hiring and promotion, college admissions, and the awarding of government contracts. Depending upon the situation, “minorities” might include any underrepresented group, especially one defined by race, ethnicity, or gender. Generally, affirmative action has been undertaken by governments, businesses, or educational institutions to remedy the effects of past discrimination against a group, whether by a specific entity, such as a corporation, or by society as a whole.
Affirmative Action in the United States consists of the active efforts that take into account race, sex and national origin for the purpose of remedying and preventing discrimination. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal government requires certain businesses and educational institutions that receive federal funds to develop affirmative action programs. Such policies are enforced and monitored by both The Office of Federal Contract Compliance and The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (Lazear 37).
The three named plaintiffs and the class of rejected applicants they represent seek primarily injunctive relief to ensure that future applicants will be judged as individuals without regard to race. It is unfair to be judged by the color of your skin… NO MATTER WHAT COLOR YOU ARE!!! WHITE IS A COLOR TOO
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.
Affirmative Action is a policy in the United States of America. It is in use to help minorities get equal treatment in admissions policies for big businesses and higher educational programs. In one way or another, this policy affects almost every person in America. It affects people directly, and most commonly, indirectly. When this policy affects people, it usually affects them in a negative way. When Affirmative Action first started, it was a descent policy, but with changes in society, it has become a policy that does more harm than good. Since this is what the policy currently does, Affirmative Action should be out of use for every application it has a function for. So, this policy should be out of every law book in America to eliminate the negative impact that it is causing. Affirmative Action is outdated because it is turning into a reverse discrimination policy.
After you graduate from college, you will be putting in your application for a job that you went to college for. Even though you might be the most qualified for the job you still might not obtain the position. Affirmative Action sometimes causes this because companies have to hire a certain number of minorities relative to the size of the company. This means that if there are no minority citizens available, immigrants who aren’t even US citizens can take the position. This is why Affirmative Action should be readjusted, because it is helping immigrants instead of the people it was meant for, American citizens.
Affirmative Action Affirmative action can be defined as action taken to compensate for past unfairness in the education of minorities. The current system of affirmative action allows universities to admit applicants from certain ethnic and minority groups with lower credentials. The main purpose of affirmative action is to produce a diverse campus population that is comparable to today's society. The use of race as a facto by which someone is admitted to college in the long run will compromise the quality of the university. Implicating affirmative action to solve the problem of diversity on today's campuses has lead to the creation of problems.
Despite there is a widespread support for affirmative action in education, the paper argues that affirmative action is merely a means of reverse discrimination against white and Asian students alike, creates a mismatch in colleges, and restricts students from reaching their potentials. In order to help the readers to thoroughly understand the issue, the paper first gives a brief history about affirmative action while defines the term itself and reverse discrimination. Using statistics, the argument then focuses on pointing out why affirmative action is a reverse discrimination. Yet, not only creating a racial preference against white and Asian students, the paper continues the controversy topic with the mismatch theory and how it affects students illustrating by examples. After addressing the mismatch is a product of affirmative action, the discussion that affirmative action restricts student from reaching their full potential takes place, putting an end to the paper.
When people talk about the civil rights movement, the first thing that comes to mind is the famous speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King. His dream in short was to have equality among human beings. For the past thirty years, this country has been revolutionizing humanitarianism because there is greater concern for human welfare than one hundred years ago. The revolution began during the 1960’s, and during that era this country was drastically involved in changing the civil rights of minority groups. From this concern, a program called affirmative action evolved. Like other civil right movements, the affirmative action movement was implemented to promote equality.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (6). Dr. King stated this in his famous “I have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. in 1963. Is affirmative action still needed in America? Affirmative action is still needed because America does not have enough equality and diversity. Almost all of our American history dealt with inequality between the white men and the black men. As time went on, nothing has changed and is still seen in today’s society. There are two definitions of affirmative action: 1) race-neutral, gender-neutral assurance against actual discrimination and 2) racial-preferences and gender-preferences for the correct races and genders (3). Most Americans associate affirmative action with the second definition, causing much controversy. However, the true and intended meaning of affirmative action is the first one. Affirmative action is essential in America because Americans do not have sufficient diversity and equality in our society.
Affirmative Action has been an issue of contention since its inception during the Civil Rights struggles of mid 20th century America. Discrimination could no longer be tolerated and the Unites States government had an obligation to encourage equality at all levels of the social infrastructure. The main type of discrimination being addressed by Affirmative Action programs was racial discrimination. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines racism as: ‘a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.’ The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination of any kind, laid the foundation for the introduction of Affirmative Action programs. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson signed an executive order requiring government contractors to diversify its staff by hiring more members of the minorities. President Nixon implemented a system in which the government could monitor the progress being made by businesses in hiring minorities. Eventually, high level educational institutions would also see the need for Affirmative Action and the benefits of a diverse student body. Affirmative Action was designed to overcome the issue of discrimination in education and the workplace by giving less fortunate members of the minority an opportunity to level the playing field and achieve success similar to that of their counterparts in the majority. Affirmative Action programs, which encourage the inclusion of minorities in education and at all levels in the workplace, are vital in the effort to eradicate discrimination and provide equal opportunity.
Though Affirmative Action is a current controversial issue, it is far from new; its decree has been long in the making. Perhaps it originates from amendments 13-15, the series of amendments that outlawed slavery, guaranteed equal protection under the law, and forbid racial discrimination when voting, respectively (Sykes 1). The Supreme Court’s decision in 1896, in the case of Plessy V. Ferguson, mandated separate but equal treatment for African Americans (Sykes 1). However, in 1954, the Supreme Court’s decision from Brown v. Board of Education replaced that of the Plessy v. Ferguson trial. President Lyndon Johnson was the first to use the term “Affirmative Action” in the Executive Order 11246 of 1965 (Sykes 1). This order required federal contractors to use affirmative action to make sure people were treated equally, “without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin” (Cahn 1). Two years later, Johnson amended it to include women (Cahn 1). By 1971, President Nixon issued a Revised Order No. 4 that required contractors to adopt an “acceptable affirmative action program” (Cahn 1). Over the past three decades, many debates continue as to whether or not affirmative action still belongs in America.
Affirmative action is not something new. ; Breaking breaking down the barriers that prevented individuals from having equal opportunities was and still remains the purpose of affirmative action. The programs were designed to open up opportunities in education and employment – to balance the playing field. President Lyndon Johnson expressed his beliefs in 1965, "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him [or her], bring him [or her] up to the starting line of a race and then say you are free to compete with all the others, and still just believe that you have been completely fair" (The Leadership Conference, 2014). One might argue that discrimination no longer exists so the need for affirmative action is no longer necessary. On the other hand , one might argue the need to continue with affirmative action; , however, with changes. Affirmative action is important to our society in the past and the future; and it needs to continue as it is currently without changes.
Affirmative action is necessary when a qualified student loses their deserved place at a university because they are black. When a woman more qualified than a man is denied a job because of her gender, affirmative action is necessary. Affirmative action is necessary to run a stable society. Affirmative action is defined in the dictionary as a policy or program for correcting the effects of discrimination in the employment or education of members of certain groups such as women and blacks.