Affirmative action policies aim to promote equal access to education, employment, and housing by providing preferential treatment to minorities and women. It has a legal history dating back to the 14th amendment and Brown v. Board of Education, though its preferential treatment approach is debated as it could be seen as reverse discrimination that helps those not directly harmed by past discrimination.

1. Affirmative Action a policy or a program intended to promote access to education, employment, or housing among certain designated groups (typically, minorities or women ), often by providing preferential treatment. President John F. Kennedy stated, "Employers . . . must take affirmative action to ensure that they were not discriminating on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin."

2. Legal History 14th Amendment, 1866 equal protection clause, no state can deny equal protection of the laws...without due process Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 Supreme Court ruled that “separate, but equal” were actually unequal ordered integration of segregated schools Regents v. Bakke, 1978

3. Preferential Treatment Many scholars contend that preferential treatment is a double-edged sword Giving “special” or preferred status or treatment to one group takes rights away from those who do not meet the criteria of that group (reverse discrimination) Preferences (often benefiting blacks or women) look perverse, considering it is helping those NOT harmed by past wrongs & hurts those NOT responsible for past wrongs.