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 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).

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

The history of affirmative action goes back farther than one might think. Affirmative action is not a new concept. It has

In the United States justice is defined as equal treatment of all its citizens under the law. When one citizen is mistreated an injustice has been committed against all people. Affirmative Action is a program whose purpose is to make sure that citizens are treated equally by enforcing a set of policies which are designed to promote the inclusion of all individuals regardless of race, disability, sex, or religion. In the United States democracy we are all equal, but some groups have been enjoying more advantages in society than others for centuries. Current statistics show the depth of modern day racial gaps, which are rooted in historical discrimination and modern-day structural racism. Generations of nominal disadvantages have created

fifty years later, the practice of affirmative action has been at the vanguard of intense

Affirmative action is a social policy created to promote the welfare of minorities by supporting the idea that individuals are all created equal and should not be judged by race or gender. Therefore, in situations like job and university applications, we should consider minorities to be as feasible a choice for hire as a white male candidate, taking into consideration their background. In short, it tries to give minorities that have been at a disadvantage their whole life, an opportunity to ‘equal the playing field ' by providing a broader context by which to measure an applicant or prospective employee. In the end, however, this goal is not realized. Instead, superficial ‘quotas ' are established and the

Affirmative Action has been around for many decades from around the 1940s. Although it has not always been called affirmative action, the official title was not introduced until the 1960s. Back then affirmative action was more known as segregation or discrimination in the workplace or there lack of. The women and people of color were the targets of discrimination, which several presidents tried to correct for equality.

Affirmative Action was first enacted in the United States in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. It was intended to make hiring and university admittance practices fair, and it also required them to be made without regard to race, religion, and national origin. The law was intended for all groups to have an equal opportunity for employment and higher education, and it required that affirmative action be taken to ensure certain groups were employed or admitted. Gender was later added to the list of factors that could not be used to discriminate against a person. Affirmative Action was needed in America at the time because of the country’s history of discrimination against certain groups, particularly African Americans.

Affirmative action in the U.S is a set of laws or guidelines that are set in place to level the playing field and give everyone an equal opportunity to pursue employment or an education. This law was deemed necessary when it was made legal; however now there are those who disagree with the policies of affirmative action. “Hate groups frequently refer to affirmative action as racial preferences, racial quotas, or anti- White prejudice and describe the policy as creating unfair advantages to minorities and/or creating disadvantages to Whites” (Valeri, Robin, and Kevin Borgeson

The affirmative action policy was put in place in the 1960s during the time that John F. Kennedy was president. It was put in place

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 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 March1961, 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 those employees are treated equally during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." The Executive Order also established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment

Affirmative action programs were first established in the early 1960s, before the Civil Rights acts of the 1960s and at a time when discrimination against African Americans in employment, education, and housing was widespread, overt, and socially sanctioned by many groups. (Sullivan,T. 2016)

In the Second World War, President Franklin Roosevelt banned discrimination. After that President Kennedy announced and offered affirmative action, then President Lyndon Jonson expanded and explained the details of affirmative action. Affirmative action can be defined as the hiring policy for groups such as racial minorities, disadvantaged people, or women. According to the President Lyndon Jonson said in 1965, “You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say you are free to complete with all the others, and still just believe that you have been completely fair.” He spoke up for affirmative action policy and he defined what affirmative action programs will be for equal opportunities of all people.