Affirmative Action Essay

The two sides in this issue are simple, supporting and opposing, and they need to be well understood before the case against affirmative action can be attempted. Those who support affirmative action have the general argument that it allows disadvantaged minorities to be admitted to universities whereas without affirmative action they would be turned down and would be unable to have any access to higher education (Ogletree). In fact, Mary Ratliff, state and local president of the Columbia, Mississippi NAACP branch, says this regarding affirmative action: “Many African Americans are underprivileged economically due to past inequities. To not grant any race…-based criteria would mean many African Americans…would be unable to attend college” (Darnell). While she speaks only for African Americans, this concept can be applied to all minorities. The basic idea is that the abolishment of affirmative action means a lower acceptance rate for minority students. Supporters also claim that affirmative action

Affirmative action was created to assist minority groups against discrimination, but affirmative action does more harm than what it can do to help. Affirmative action was created with the intention of leveling the playing field so that everyone can have an equal opportunity to be hired or accepted in to a school, but it does the opposite of what it is meant to do. Affirmative action is reverse discrimination against white males, lesser qualified people are admitted into jobs and colleges, and not all people have an equal opportunity to advance.

Among the citizens of America affirmative action is a sensitive subject with some seeing it as a necessity to help those who have been repressed and others seeing it as reverse racism. Many Americans may also be conflicted about affirmative action, because it is such a complex issue. People fervently debate affirmative action, because it is a complex issue revolving around one’s own race, experiences, and desires.

The purpose of affirmative action is to ensure equal opportunity for minorities. But it has strayed from its original intent and has become largely a program to achieve not equal opportunity but equal results. It is a system of quotas forced upon American businesses and working class by the federal government. A law which forces people to look at race before looking at the individual cannot promote equal opportunity. Affirmative action continues the judgement of minorities by race; it causes reverse discrimination, and contradicts its purpose.

places. However, the South reacted by passing the "Black Codes, " which severely limited the

     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

Consequently, students who have been admitted into colleges under Affirmative Action are usually deemed as inadequate to handle the school. Most of these students are chosen by ethnicity and race rather than how well they do in school, for instance, if they are not properly prepared and ready to work hard they will initially fail the class or classes before their first final. When a student is admitted into a school due to their ethnicity, it fulfills the exact opposite objective that Martin Luther King Jr. had once believed would happen, and that was to have a society that was not “color-blind,” instead race awareness increases rather than promoting a society in favor of having color-blind justice. Another way supporters would argue that it is needed is that it aids students to study areas that they might not have thought about even touching ground in, however this could also affect the student, on account of them not knowing much about that area, in short leaving them unprepared and set up for failure. As stated in ‘Arguments for and Against Affirmative Action’ states, “It destroys the idea of a meritocracy and instead puts race as the dominant factor in admissions and hiring procedures,” in other words, saying that the group of people whose progress is usually based on their ability and talent is being comprehensively overlooked because their race is becoming the principal aspect on how a college determines whether or not a student is admissible in the

Affirmative action has its roots in that passion for fairness. When President Lyndon Johnson explained affirmative action to the nation, it is significant that he said, ' You can 't bring a man to the starting line who has been hobbled by chains and expect him to run the race competitively. ' Fairness dictated that the nation pursue affirmative action to compensate black Americans for the wrong that had been done. Affirmative action was a technique for jump-starting the process of integrating black Americans into the fabric of American society, for changing the culture of America from an exclusive society into an inclusive one. I will never abandon my faith that America can become Ronald Reagan 's "shining city on the hill," a society in which a person 's gender or race or ethnic background are irrelevant in the transactions of their government. Let us not mourn the death of affirmative action. Instead, let us proclaim our belief that the spirit of equal opportunity, which affirmative action engendered, has become a permanent fixture of America 's social, economic, and political landscape. Let us have faith in our own sense of fair play and keep affirmative action alive.

Affirmative action is controversial due it 's issue of whether the generation of today should pay for the past injustices done to certain ethnicities. It questions the constitutionality of its existence and whether it perpetuates racial discrimination. Although affirmative action is a great start in promoting diversity and exposing diverse perspectives in an educational field, it’s time to realize its modern predicaments and visualize how to better progress in terms of admission for the future of the diversified generations of America. Thus it is vital to address reasons why it should not be prolonged in order to create better opportunities to those who are at a disadvantaged.

Affirmative action is a deliberate effort to provide full and equal opportunities in employment, education, and other areas for women, minorities, and individuals belonging to other traditionally disadvantaged groups. As an issue of today's society,

In education, all affirmative action programs truly do is give the opportunity of higher education to those who would ordinarily not have the chance, but they do not crack open the books, do the work, or pass the tests. The real work is done by the students who are given the chance to grow and learn within the walls of some of the most prestigious universities in the United States. It is an opportunity some of them may not have had in different circumstances. The term “affirmative action” actually first appeared in the National Labor Relations Act, better known as the Wagner

Affirmative action is a product of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement and it is intended to provide equal opportunities for those who have been historically discriminated against within our society. Affirmative action policies are those that make an effort to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups within our society. When focusing on higher education, affirmative action is often referring to admission policies that have been put in place to provide equal access to education for groups that have been historically discriminated against, such as minority groups. This topic is greatly debated across college campuses within the United States. Supporters of affirmative action argue that after California Colleges in 1998 had dropped their affirmative action programs, that minority admissions had reportedly fallen. For example UC Berkeley’s admissions fell 61%, and UCLA 36% (Messerli, 2014). Critics of affirmative action argue that the policy is outdated, that we no longer live in a highly racial society, and that this policy is now causing reverse discrimination by favoring one group over another affirmative action is currently an issue not because there is extensive public outcry in support of racial discrimination, this is not to say that racial discrimination does not persist. The controversy of this issue surrounds around the disagreement about how to best fight discrimination in the current day, and whether to even recognize if

Because economic, social, gender and racial inequalities exist within the American population, it is in the best interest of its people and government to take action to amend these problems. Since the U.S has a capitalistic based economy, there is little that the government can do to completely end all inequalities. However, it can try to remedy racial and gender discrimination. The most realistic and supported program is Affirmative Action, which has many key issues: does the government have the right to enforce “reverse discrimination” or is it right to take race or gender into account for purposes of diversity and equality when evaluating college or job applications?

Affirmative action is necessary in schools and colleges and needs to be continued. Our society is growing ever more diverse today. We need to give everyone a chance.

Equality, which is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities, is now taking hold in our college admissions, but not enough. Just within the time people have used it, half a million more African-Americans have gotten into and earned degrees, colleges are now taking most of their focus to IQ, and there are now more African-American people with money in America.