Affirmative Action : Racial Equality

The Founding Fathers wanted all men to be treated equal. The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 1776). Unfortunately, equality for everyone has not been truly realized. The main issues affected were people’s skin color and gender. Women and people of color were not considered to be equal for many years. To correct this issue Affirmative Action was implemented. Affirmative Action helped people of color and women to be considered for jobs and accepted into colleges equally among other candidates. Today, equality between races and genders has improved, although Affirmative Action should be modified to meet the needs of today’s society.

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.

Throughout history, the affirmative action has been supporting women and minorities, which has has a reverse discrimination against white men. White men has mainly been seen throughout the years as the dominate individuals who has received a magnificent amount of assistance, respect, and much more compared to the "underdogs"! The "underdogs" (women and minority) has struggled during the last centuries with the right to vote, the right to fight, the right to equality, the right to be free, and the right to work.

Many white people believe that affirmative action is not fair and limits their chances of acceptance when applying to college or jobs. But what they do not know is affirmative action has be proven to help Caucasian females more than any other race or gender. The reason why is because affirmative action does not only aid people other

Affirmative action legislation in the United States has its basic framework in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates that firms with more than 15 employees are subject to a variety of anti-discrimination policies, more of which were passed in subsequent years. In some cases, the concept of affirmative action was taken to be a voluntary act to attain diversity. For the most part, however, courts have interpreted affirmative action laws as having little teeth under the Constitution. It has been suggested that "racial preferences in federal law or policy are a remedy of last resort" (Dale, 2005)

Affirmative action has been around for decades. Some believe it isn’t fair but others do. Those who believe and agree with affirmative action tend to say, “The principle of affirmative action is to promote societal equality through the preferential treatment of socioeconomically disadvantaged people” (Bidmead, Andrew pg 3). Others that disagree with it and find it unfair simply see it as another form of discrimination, giving one group extra advantages based upon nothing but their skin color (Cline, Austin pg 1). I believe that affirmative action is indeed fair because it gives minorities a better chance at having a successful career in their near future.

Affirmative Action has had a very tumultuous 54-year history. Affirmative action was a strategy that forged the Civil Rights Movement in response to the prejudiced approach toward African American citizens in the United States. The policy advocates that black citizens in particular conditions to avoid the unfairness they would usually receive. To try and explain why the methods and laws needed to be adjusted to be equal for everyone. It is essential to realize that 20 Africans came to America in 1619, records are not clear if they were slaves or indentured servants. It was until 1640 when the first African in Jamestown Virginia was declared a slave. The Court ordered that the slave had to serve his master for the rest of his life. The slaves made to work long hours and numerous slaves’ endured inhuman treatment and underwent severe injuries. American citizens in the South challenged a lengthy campaign to seek to continue to be permitted to own slaves but through Lincoln and abolitionist slave-owning was ultimately banished.

California's decision in 1996 to outlaw the use of race in public college admissions was widely viewed as the beginning of the end for affirmative action at public universities all over the United States. But in the four years since Californians passed Proposition 209, most states have agreed that killing affirmative action outright would deepen social inequality by denying minority citizens access to higher education. The half-dozen states that are actually thinking about abandoning race-sensitive

The Affirmative Action Act was created to ensure that minority groups and women were given the same opportunities in education and employment that were traditionally afforded to white males. According to the National Conferences of State Legislatures, affirmative action is, “…an outcome of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, intended to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups and women in education and employment. In 1961, President Kennedy was the first to use the term "affirmative action" in an Executive Order that directed government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." The Executive Order also established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, now known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)” (NCLS, 2014). Affirmative action was further reinforced in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson when he signed an executive order requiring government contractors to increase the number of minorities that are offered employment.

Race-based affirmative action has been challenged by a great deal of objection during the course of it duration. According to its opponents, Affirmative action proves to be inconsistent. Affirmative action based on race increases race consciousness instead of supporting color-blind justice. By giving people special consideration to ensure equality, it contributes to inequality. The constitution of the United States calls for equal treatment, therefore, allowing racial consideration poses a contradiction.

As a minority Roberto Santiago’s essay Black and Latino reveals that even though he has been generally underrepresented by his ethnicity, he has led a successful life without affirmative action. Since Santiago was both African American and Hispanic he dealt with identity issues and stereotypes throughout his adolescent life. Even though affirmative action is supposed to make attempts to improve opportunities for groups that were historically excluded it is still a form of discrimination itself. The preference of one race over another is discrimination despite the fact if the group is gaining benefits. Contemporary society still takes on the controversial debate over affirmative action in educational institutions and employment. Institutions are still pressured to accept more minorities even if they do not meet the full requirements such as in education or in employment. Racial preferences stigmatize minority groups instead of finding better ways to make opportunities equal to minorities. Affirmative action also implies that all minority groups need more assistance in order to succeed, but according to Santiago he triumphed without needing compensation. In educational institutions such as universities they are influenced by affirmative action; since they admit students based on race instead of looking for their qualifications. Even though affirmative action is supposed to create diversity in schools it does not help if minority students are not prepared for a higher

The utilization of race in affirmative action policies in higher education has been a topic of contention for several decades now. Since the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we have seen some of the most heated debates over the fairness of affirmative action and the impacts on society the utilization of race creates. With such pending questions on fairness and of the constitutionality of affirmative action policies two major Supreme Court cases have arisen, University of California Regents v. Bakke and Grutter v. Bollinger, both impacting university admissions policies throughout the country and setting precedent in following rulings. Following the two rulings of these cases, I argue that affirmative action and the utilization of

The US is a melting pot with various groups of immigration such as: Asian American, Jewish American, African American, and Mexican Ame. Minority groups have experienced many kinds of segregation. They are discriminated in education and employment. Then, a program called “Affirmative Action” was introduced with the hope to engage more people of color into the society.

During the civil rights movement, minorities were being oppressed and discriminated against. Minorities were losing out on opportunities and jobs. They felt like everything was just so unfair to them. This mistreatment happened until the government implemented affirmative action. Affirmative action allowed minorities more opportunities into schools and allowed more opportunities for jobs. It also allowed society to become more diverse with ethnicities and cultures. Affirmative action diluted the racism in the country and eventually helped everyone work collaboratively. Now that affirmative action has done its job, I feel that it is no longer needed. Affirmative action was made to level the playing field between all cultures and

Diversity in the United States has been stymied due to the country’s legacy of slavery and subsequent successful efforts to legislate segregation of Blacks and Whites. At the beginning of the twentieth century, White legislative leaders sought laws to reflect the citizenry’s preference to discriminate, subordinate, and disenfranchise Black citizens. Segregation ordinances, poll taxes, and discriminatory practices of employers, educational institutions, and skill trade unions formed effective barriers to diversity proponents. This practice of exclusion reigned supreme. Fortunately, the nation has become more accepting of diversity in all phases of political and social life as the population grows increasingly more diverse.