Cruel Role Of Affirmative Action In Today's Society

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

In the controversial realms of affirmative action, the largest issue staunchly fought over is whether minorities should be given preferential treatment in the workplace and in the schools. One side declares that those in the minority group need and deserve governmental aid so that they will be on equal footing with the majority group. Opponents of affirmative action point out that setting apart groups based on their race or ethnicity is purely racism and can lead to reverse discrimination. I am against affirmative action for the aforementioned reasons, and would not consider such racism as necessary for creating a healthy society, as proponents would insist. It is my belief that affirmative action today is out of date and is

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.

Generations of families have suffered due unequal laws or prejudices set in place to prevent minorities from growing. Slavery, segregation, separate but equal laws, the trail of tears, failing ESOL classes, unequal pay and so much more effect today's youth and causing history to change slowly if at all. Affirmative action has good intentions and is very much needed in today's world however it sometimes fails doing what it was created to do.

It cannot be denied that there are many benefits to affirmative action in that it helps to ensure both fairness and diversity in organizations, such as schools. In many places across American discrimination is still alive and well. Because of this, affirmative action is necessary to action ensure that people of minority groups will not be denied admission to schools or employment based on their race. After all, there are some organizations who would not be willing to change their policies unless forced by the government to do so. Also, many minority groups are still underrepresented in schools and occupations, which is unfortunate because it gives people a skewed view of what the population of America truly looks like and lets them think of different races as simply the homogenous others, instead of seeing them as people. Being around people who are different is “necessary to dispel stereotypes about minorities” and as the Department of Education points out, “Interacting with students who have different perspectives and life experiences can

Affirmative action was an outcome of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. In the past, affirmative action has been used to improve opportunities with education and employment for excluded minority groups in American society President Kennedy was the first to use this term “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” (Affirmative Action, 2014).

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.

Affirmative Action remains one of the more complicated and controversial topics dealt with in American society. Affirmative Action is an action or policy designed to protect specific groups who suffer from discrimination, and provide them with programs and special opportunities. These government or private programs were designed to set right historical injustices towards the members of these groups who have suffered things like employment and educational disadvantages from racial discrimination. The goal for these actions are to redress past wrong doings by fixing things like inequalities in employment and pay, as well as increasing opportunities for education. By achieving this, the outcome would restore equal access and opportunity in favor of the members of these groups. These groups generally consist of certain minorities that have suffered from social ills such as slavery and segregation.

Affirmative Action is an outcome of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Its purpose is to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups and women in education and employment. It is not until 1961 did the term “affirmative action” was first used by President John F. Kennedy. He made it very clear in an Executive Order that directed government have to take “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” Since a lot of cooperation still tends to hire white male, by enforcing affirmative action, the number of minority groups and women in the labor force will increase.Affirmative Action helps to eliminate the imbalance in the society and reform the American system. The US Department of Labor describes affirmative action as the banning of discrimination.

Systematic oppression and discrimination against people of color and immigrants have placed these ethnic groups in present positions that fail to provide them with the necessary resources and opportunities to maximize their full potential.Questions, however, start to surface about the fairness of holding the American government and society responsible/accountable for the persecution that African Americans and other minorities were submitted to. Although the past American society and government did play roles in the suppression of the minorities throughout American history, the current American government and society are now completely different entities. Comprised of a variety of people from a multitude of backgrounds, the present day American government and society differs greatly from their predecessors. If advocates of affirmative action justify it as a form of compensation, then the usage of Affirmative action accepts and condones the idea of retribution. It is unfair to hold the new diverse generation of Americans responsible for past persecution and injustices committed by past

A topic like Affirmative Action is one that I usually try to avoid during casual conversation because in can quickly turn a conversation hostile. One of the reasons that these conversations turn hostile is due to the fact that I am a white male, which, many would see as two facts that automatically make my opinion on the matter inadmissible. With that being said, just because I would rather not discuss it on a regular basis does not mean that I do not have an opinion on the matter. Also, just because my skin tone and gender would have landed me on the better side of the fence in the past, does not mean that I do not have educated and sympathetic opinions on the matter. Ultimately, I see Affirmative Action as a positive thing which is meant to help out groups of people who are struggling to accomplish what many would call the "American dream". However, I do have several quarrels with how Affirmative Action is carried out.

Martin Luther King Jr. was definitely one of the most influential characters in the history of equal rights. He was the one who brought world’s attention to unequal and unfair treatment of African Americans. Although he was assassinated before affirmative action was introduced, he agreed that some actions should be taken in order to reduce inequality: “We must come to see that the roots of racism are very deep in our country, and there must be something positive and massive in order to get rid of all the effects of racism and the tragedies of racial injustice” (King, 1968). For policy to work and to have space for improvement it is extremely important to have support from the society. Majority of Americans favor affirmative action and the support have been growing in the past years. “Currently, 70% say they favor affirmative action programs, up from 58% in 1995 (The Pew Research Center, 2009:39). 94% of African Americans favored such programs and 65% of whites, compared to 53% in 1995, support affirmative action (The Pew Research Center, 2009:40). Furthermore, sixty-five leading Fortune 500 companies (ex. Coca-Cola, Intel, Kraft Foods, Nike, Pepsi, Microsoft, 3M etc.) stated their support for affirmative action during the court process Grutter v. Bollinger, where Barbara Grutter filed the law suit, claiming that the University of Michigan Law School denied her admission because school applied race as a dominant factor in application process. “The existence of racial and ethnic diversity in institutions of higher education is vital to amici’s efforts to hire and maintain a diverse workforce, and to employ individuals of all backgrounds who have been educated and trained in diverse environment” (Brief For Amici Curiae. 65 Leading American Businesses in Support of Respondents, 2003:1). During the same

The disassembling of affirmative action is based the perceptions that people hold in today’s social and political arena. The held perceptions do not have to be true, they just have to be believed reality for the people who hold those perceptions. By reviewing the rational, analyzing data opposing and supporting affirmative action we can see that anti-affirmative action laws will cause a setback in education, and this is important to show that affirmative action is needed and should encompass more marginalized minorities.

One of the most obvious key takeaways of affirmative action is the diversity that is desirable in the workplace. Students and business professionals in the workforce alike are more than likely going to work with someone of a different race or nationality. Integration and the removal of segregation laws have proven to be very influential in understanding the true character behind a person not of the same skin color or ethnicity. These characteristics would put an end to the reliance of crude stereotypes that would otherwise diminish any objectivity in the treatment of that person. In this sense, it would seem unimaginable to live without affirmative action. Otherwise, history would be prone to repeat itself. Aside from the most straightforward advantage of diversity, affirmative action also opens up new opportunities for minorities.

Through affirmative action the representation of women and minorities has expand within organizations that had once prohibit minorities. Affirmative action grows the talent pool for jobs and opens more diverse work environment.