Affirmative Action: Keeping minorities down for 30 years. Essay

There are many supporters and opponents of Affirmative Action. The focus of Affirmative action is meant to be an attempt at equality throughout society. Every sector in America would be equal and unprejudiced. On the other hand, adopting affirmative action would force many employers to replace hard-working employees with those possibly less qualified simply due to their gender or ethnicity. Throughout history, people have been categorized into different groups. These groupings were based on certain characteristics people shared, whether it was their ethnicity, race, gender, or religion. Society is notorious for distinguishing among different groups and favoring one or two of them. Undoubtedly, this separation of peoples, led to increased tension between various groups. As time progressed, the conflicts intensified, and it became apparent that a change was necessary. So I intend to educate the reader on the origin of Affirmative Action; how it impacted the American society; is it still needed in today’s environment; what are some of the drawbacks or issues that came from implementing Affirmative Action, and finally what is the most beneficial aspect from Affirmative Action. One of the most famous quotes about Affirmative Action comes from President Lyndon Johnson who explained the rationale behind the use of affirmative action to achieve equal opportunity in a 1965 speech: “You do not take a person, who for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring

Instead, the opposite appears to have happened. When the emphasis is placed on aiding people with certain skin colors or ethnic backgrounds, affirmative action sets the races further apart than before. Could this be just another form of segregation? The attempts at boosting minorities to the level of the others have grotesquely failed. To raise minorities the government has pushed down the majority group, fueling racial conflicts. In addition, lowering the bar for minorities for admission into jobs or schools has created a harmful atmosphere for them. Because some of them could not originally qualify on merit and skills, many face failure or extra hardship when they get ushered into their job or school. As Charles T. Canady said in his speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D. C., "Preferences do nothing to help develop the skills necessary for the economic and social advancement of the disadvantaged" (43). Meanwhile the majorities receive punishment because of their lack of a specific skin tone or origin. "Entitlements by race, sex, ethnicity and sexual orientation-categories that in no way reflect merit-" Shelby Steele described, "are at the root of the great social evils in American life" (175). It is unfair to reward or turn away applicants because of something that is only theirs by ascribed means. When prospective college students or job applicants are considered, the competition should be solely based

In eight University of California campuses where affirmative action is no longer implemented the enrollment of black students only declined by 17% and the enrollment of Hispanics declined only by 6.9%. Even without the use of it, minorities are still getting into colleges. There is no need for discriminatory programs like affirmative action because there is not a big difference between minority groups and whites anymore. If some person has the potential and desire to succeed they can succeed. Everyone can do anything they want to do if they have what is takes to enter the university or job.

The revered civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” In other words, don’t discriminate people because of their race. This should hold true in all aspects of life. Every American deserves an equal opportunity to succeed, which is why affirmative action is inherently racist. Affirmative action refers to various government policies that aim to increase the proportion of minorities and women in jobs and educational institutions historically dominated by white men. The policies usually require employers and institutions to set goals for hiring or admitting minorities. It is responsible for colleges discriminating against Eastern Asians and whites and for employers hiring workers based off of skin color rather than skills or experience. People can’t change their race (except for former president of the Spokane N.A.A.C.P. chapter, Rachel Dolezal, apparently), yet many colleges and employers favor certain races over others by using quotas, or a fixed number of people of each race.

Affirmative Action began in 1965 when President Johnson signed the Executive Order 11246 in to law. The Executive Order prevents federal contractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The phrase “affirmative action” was first coined, when federal contractors were required to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants were not discriminated against in anyway. When affirmative action was created, it only included minorities. In 1967, Johnson decided to expand the program to include women because women were discriminated against much like minorities. In the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, affirmative action was a method used to stop

Affirmative action in higher education should be abolished. College admissions should be based on what the admissions board is looking for, not what the government says should be required. In this paper, I will present evidence to support that position.

Since its implementation in the United States in 1965, affirmative action has been a heated topic of debate. Designed to address the issue of inequality in American society, affirmative action is a number of programs and policies designed to give women and racial minorities more opportunities in education and the job market. As a result, affirmative action has received opposition, mainly from blue collar white males who feel that it compromises their best interests. In this paper, we will attempt to evaluate the impact of affirmative action on all Americans and its effectiveness in addressing the issue of inequality.

Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of race in the college admissions process in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Since then, affirmative action has become a big issue in the media; however, many people still do not even know what affirmative action is. Affirmative action is a policy to prevent discrimination on the basis of “color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Overall, it favors minorities that are often discriminated. It might sound like an excellent policy; however, the use of this policy in the college admissions process is prejudice. In the college admissions process, affirmative action lowers the standards for some races, while raising the standard for other races. For example, an Asian might need a

Due to strong racial tensions, colleges believe admitting individuals in accordance to race is a positive liberal act, however affirmative action is evolving into quite a social strain. Colleges that endorse affirmative action are alleviating racial pressures based on college demographics but creating repercussions that are impacting all races and ages. If we continue burying the issues with affirmative action, we will not only be lessening the meaning of education but creating isolation between cultures.

Affirmative action, particularly in the school setting, needs to dematerialize immediately. Attempting to solve certain types of discrimination has inversely created more discrimination to others. Quotas created to diversify student bodies and belief systems that come along with these students is constructing unforeseen problems. Focusing on creating a more diverse campus has actually created a lower standard of learning. “Ever since affirmative action has come into play, many organizations, particularly schools, businesses, and federally funded establishments, have been forced to lower their standards so that more blacks and certain group of minorities can be admitted to the university and get hired for a job” (Fischer). Affirmative action has taught minorities to look for easy access, and it’s diminishing the value of hard work to achieve success.

“In 1961, John F. Kennedy signed a form made by Executive Order...that states that no one is allowed to discriminate anyone that is an employee or applicant. This included talking about race, creed, color, national origin, or people with disabilities” (Affirmative Action). Otherwise, it would cause termination in their job at any point in time. This was called an Affirmative Action Law. This law also included two other laws called, “the Disability Act and Civil Rights Act” (What Is Affirmative Action and Why Was It Created?) which protected those who have disabilities, regular people, or people who served in the army from being discriminated.

The arguments of Allan Bloom, are contending, based on many years of teaching at Cornell and the University of Chicago, that “affirmative action now institutionalizes the worst aspects of racial separatism.” This programs goal is to help develop more diverse campuses, but also helps underprivileged and underrepresented minorities achieve extra help into admission at schools where before they would have not been considered. Affirmative action helps Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans; majority of these students with equally if not higher qualifications are being hurt. Caucasians and other non-minority students are being denied because colleges are pushing for more diverse campuses. Affirmative action leads to the denial of a

Many benefits have come from affirmative action and without it, we as a culture would be stuck in an environment of unrest. In the 1999 article “Affirmative Action in College and University Admissions: Yes,” the author, Martin Michaelson, has tried to use evidence to show that we need to see affirmative action

    Imaging being a young, black, grad-student, fresh out of law-school, looking for a job. You find and apply for the career of your dreams, only to find later that you didn't get the job. Petitioning the employer for an explanation, you find that you weren't hired due to the color of your skin. Wouldn't this enrage you? Would you cry "discrimination", and take the employer to court? Many people would sympathize with you and grant you the decision in the court case. Discrimination like that has no place in today's society. Now imagine the exact same scenario, only instead of being black, you're white. You find and apply for the career of your dreams, only to find later that you

The idea of Affirmative action was first brought up by JFK to ensure equality in employment for all people regardless of their race, creed, color, or national origin. However, Many institutions such as college took advantage of “equality” as an excuse to admit students based on their race rather than their merits. AB 1726, also known as the Accounting for Health and Education in API Demographics (AHEAD) Act, was first proposed by California Assemblyman Rob Bonta (California Legislative Information). It is a data disaggregation bill that intends to help better address the disparity in public health and education among API(Asian Pacific Islander)group by adding additional major Asian groups, including Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian,