The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

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 should be abolished because the negatives from the program far outweigh the positives. The program is doing a lot of harm to American society instead of helping.

Affirmative Action is one of the many social issues facing America today. Affirmative action was signed into place in 1961 by President Kennedy and allows minority groups or people who face discrimination to become employed or get an education that is equal to that of a white male. Groups that Affirmative Action aims to help are women, blacks, Latinos, and people with disabilities. While these policies were signed to slowly rid the workforce and schools from discrimination, it hurts people who do not face discrimination, specifically whites. Many white men and women lose special opportunities to work or go to college because of certain standards that the Affirmative Action laws require. Universities and the military require a certain number of minorities in order to meet the standards and have a more diverse atmosphere. An example of this is the California V. Bakke supreme court case of 1978.

As well as affirmative action being a prevalent part of the workplace, it is also present in many of today’s colleges and universities. Colleges and universities will give more opportunities for scholarships and financial aid, as well as admission to said colleges and universities. When going through applications, colleges and universities will seek out applicants who are

Affirmative action was put in place to give minority groups like African Americans, Latinos, and women, who were historically discriminated against in the past, special access to jobs and education. And I can understand the purpose of this several years ago; there were very little to no opportunities for these groups. Affirmative action provided programs to these groups that weren’t available otherwise. But in the 21st century, things are very different. Although racism is still an issue in our country, it’s nothing like it used to be. And there are far more opportunities

Although it is not the 40 acres and a mule that was promised, it is a start that has led many black leaders to be who they are now. Affirmative Action has given blacks opportunities that may have never been available without its help. This does not amount to all the things that were done to our ancestor. However, it is something we should be appreciative for. In the article “Views on Affirmative Action” by Clarence Thomas he talked about how merit and induvial contact and how no one should be rewarded or punish because of group characteristics (Gates and Burton 935). I do agree with Thomas on this statement we should be able to prove that we are just as good as the white’s. However, if we can get the help why not take advantage of it. What I mean by take advantage of is use the color of your skin to be great in the working world. There are so many wonderful doors that have opened to blacks, since President Kennedy mandated this policy. As blacks, we have advanced in the working world and I think that we have come a long way. Why would we want to take something away that is only trying to make us better? It may not feel right to be judged by race but if that what it takes for minority to have a chance than I think it’s best that we keep sticking with

Affirmative Action is a program that needs to be ended, and at the very least needs to be drastically changed in order for it to truly help those who need it the most. Though Affirmative Action has many supporters, there are also those who oppose it just as strongly. Nowadays, every problem that arises in our country somehow gets tied back into race. College admission is something that should be based on merit, not on the issue of racial diversity. Though diversity in the classroom is essential to good discussion, diversity doesn’t just come through race. College “students meet classmates who have very different takes on the world than their own, who devote their energies to very different enterprises, and who exemplify different values

Affirmative action and any race-positive policies should be dismantled; I disagree with affirmative action. Better stated from the debate question: like Jim Crow, affirmative action is invidious racial discrimination. Affirmative action should take the path similarly to that taken in California – become abolished. Affirmative action does discriminate on a racial level. Affirmative action implies that minorities cannot achieve a certain goal without the help of a race-positive policy, which is invidious racial discrimination. While policies developed to create diversity may (or may not) bring in diversity, the policies are damaging and create a “second-class ‘minority degree.’” (Scalia, 1979) Colleges and employers should look at substance and

America is founded on the belief that all citizens are free to pursue their ambitions regardless of race, color, creed, or national origin. Yet, for the last fifty years, Affirmative Action has created an educational and work environment less focused on equality and more focused on ethnicity. There is no benefit for the United States to enforce Affirmative Action for minorities in educational and employment opportunities and equal treatment, because it promotes reverse discrimination, devalues real accomplishments, and cultivates the minority struggle.

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

Perhaps one of the most divisive issues in the United States is race. While most Americans would rather not talk about it, there are still issues surrounding race that will strike the interest of most citizens. This is perhaps nowhere more true than the debate over affirmative action. Although the United States has made great strides in improving race relations over the past forty years, affirmative action continues to be one of the most controversial policies in America. It has rattle the halls of higher education. It has appeared on the steps of the Supreme Court. And it has divided not only different racial groups, but even members of a single racial group. In fact, I’ve heard some of the most heated conversation over affirmative action between two African Americans. Like myself, many other African Americans believe this policy is one the most effective strategies for leveling what has long been an uneven playing field. However, critics of affirmative action believe this kind of reform does an injustice to the idea of merit. Though no one can deny that minorities and women have made significant steps towards autonomy and equality in American society, there are still wide economic disparities between these groups and white males. While theses issues and controversies surrounding affirmative action can not be resolved easily, the question remains: do we still need affirmative action in America? I say yes, affirmative action was and is needed to achieve full gender and

Affirmative action is a long going battle with social and political conflicts focused mostly in education. The Universities of Texas, Michigan and Washington were challenged in recent years due to their controversial court cases all from affirmative action. With the court taking the side of acknowledging diversity in education as a priority, the decision made by the court will continue on with many controversial debates on diversity and whether the policy should be eliminated indefinitely. Even though this will not put an end to the policy soon, the long road to equality will be a bumpy ride with prolong positive and negative effects. I hope affirmative action would be changed or eliminated in the near future because it causes problems within

In the article states that affirmative action should be banned the student lost a spot

Affirmative Action is unlawful. Affirmative Action goes against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act was made to insure that no one would be discriminated against, yet we use reverse discrimination to insure equality. The Civil Rights Act did not establish superiority of one race, religion, or sex over the other one. To give preferential treatment to any minorities is a blatant violation of Title VII. Affirmative Action is also a violation of Title II where interstate commerce is involved. Affirmative Action in federally funded schools also violates Title IV.

local agencies from granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public education, public employment or public contracting” (NCSL). Eventually there was 7 other states that followed in the steps of California and have completely banned the use of Affirmative Action policies like Florida, , Michigan, and Washington (NY Times).