Essay On Affirmative Action

Ethics of Affirmative Action Essay example
Affirmative Action: Staying on the Road to Equality "We hold these truths to be self–evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (Declaration of Independence, 1776).
Who would imagine that in a country under the blanket such a brilliant, ethical and proud statement
of equality, there could be so much dissention about equality? Our nation has interpreted this
statement differently since it was written, and still, more than two hundred years later, we are on
the road to a truly equal society. This is because racism has its seeds deeply sown into the history of
America. Uprooting perceptions...show more content...
The United States began as thirteen English settler colonies. Britain had control over American
government and trade. The thirteen colonies were also used to the advantage of Britain, and they
did not like it, so they fought for independence and won the Revolutionary War. They were no
longer colonies. People from many different European countries began to immigrate to America.
The United States were becoming very ethnically diverse. Though colonialism was ended in the
United States, exploitation of labor was not. Slaves were brought from Africa in large numbers,
most often to work on plantations in the south. Slavery was a key element of United States society
and economy. People of African descent were viewed as not even fully human. For example, in the
Dred Scott case of 1857, the Supreme court ruled that black Americans were not constitutionally
citizens of the United states, calling them "subordinate and inferior beings." (Kranz 6). Only six
years later, after the Civil War ended, President Lincoln declared all slaves free by the Emancipation
Proclamation, which was followed by the Thirteenth Amendment, which permanently abolished
slavery. In the eyes of the government, blacks were free citizens of the United States, but in the
eyes of many Americans they were still inferior. The ideology that had been cultivated for centuries
was not as easy to change as the law. This was
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Affirmative Action Essay
The purpose of affirmative action is to ensure equal opportunity for minorities. But it has strayed
from its original intent and has become largely a program to achieve not equal opportunity but equal
results. It is a system of quotas forced upon American businesses and working class by the federal
government. A law which forces people to look at race before looking at the individual cannot
promote equal opportunity. Affirmative action continues the judgement ofminorities by race; it
causes reverse discrimination, and contradicts its purpose.
Affirmative action is not creating a colorblind society. In fact it continues the judgement of minorities
according to race. Affirmative action forces employers and...show more content...
When a minority is turned down because of the color of their skin, it is unconstitutional. But when
a white person is turned down because they are white, it is called equal opportunity. There is no
excuse for anyone to be judged by something as trivial as race. There should not be a double
standard.
The third major reason why affirmative action should not exist is that it completely contradicts its
purpose. Its purpose is to create a colorblind society. But in reality, it forces people to look at race
by mandating quotas. The thinking behind affirmative action is to eliminate racism, we must first
take race into account. Yet this causes a judgmental atmosphere in which many people feel cheated
because the focus has been taken off the individual and placed everyone into groups based on race
and gender.
It is illegal for the government to require quotas as well. Therefore affirmative action is
unconstitutional and should be illegal.
Affirmative action is also taking the focus off the individual. That is why Florida governor, Jeb
Bush, has banned race and gender preference with his "One Florida" plan which will end affirmative
action. The plan also guarantees that every student within the top 20% is guaranteed admission into
college.
Seldom has a democratic government's policy so completely contradicted the core values of its
citizenry

Essay on Affirmative Action
After you graduate from college, you will be putting in your application for a job that you went to
college for. Even though you might be the most qualified for the job you still might not obtain the
position. Affirmative Action sometimes causes this because companies have to hire a certain
number of minorities relative to the size of the company. This means that if there are no minority
citizens available, immigrants who aren't even US citizens can take the position. This is why
Affirmative Action should be readjusted, because it is helping immigrants instead of the people it
was meant for, American citizens.
The fact is that the current Affirmative Action plan is helping immigrants more than it is helping the
American people. For...show more content...
Some say that Affirmative Action needs to stay because companies should hire a quota of
minorities into their company. Many voices say that quotas are used to right the past wrongs when
so many minority groups were discriminated against. That no matter what minority that you are
from you still deserve some form of compensation for the wrongs that were done not only to your
ethninicity, but also to their past family relatives. This is a true point that is worth looking at, but
fro how long will the white male have to lose out on jobs that he is more qualified for because of
mistakes in the past. We need to look at this from the aspect of what Affirmative Action was
originally set up for.
Affirmative Actions original intentions, in the 1960's, were to correct the wrongs that minorities
have gone through throughout history, such as slavery, racism, and other horrible anti–minority
practices. It just never occurred to government planners, when they made up the affirmative action
plan, that there would be so many immigrants in the US and that they would be considered
minorities. Robb says, "because affirmative action is keyed to race and ethnicity, without regard to
American nationality, foreign citizens routinely get special consideration" (Robb 3). They receive
these special considerations because of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which were passed
by Congress in 1986. The Immigration Reform and Control Act was an obscure amendment, which
stated that

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.
We hold these truths to be self–evident: that all men are created equal." – Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. (6). Dr. King stated this in his famous "I have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.
in 1963. Is affirmative action still needed in America? Affirmative action is still needed because
America does not have enough equality and diversity. Almost all of our American history dealt with
inequality between the white men and the black men. As time went on, nothing has changed and is
still seen in today's society. There are two definitions of affirmative action: 1) race–neutral,
gender–neutral assurance against actual discrimination...show more content...
Many argue that reverse discrimination takes effect. Reverse discrimination is described as
discrimination towards whites. Many of these reverse discrimination cases have been brought to
court, the result is just more confusion. This is because there is a lot of gray in the law concerning
this topic. Sometimes courts allow someone to choose the minority if they are less qualified, while
in other cases they don't allow it. For example in a Supreme Court decision, it was allowed for a
Michigan school district to layoff non–minority teachers in order to hire minority teachers with less
experience (1). However, not many cases such as these occur. The minorities have gone through
such cases everyday for decades. For the whites or majority to say that one or two cases are a
substantial amount and that justice be served, where have they been when the minorities had the
same troubles years ago and still to this day? There is bound to be some setbacks but overall,
affirmative action will lead to a better society where everyone can be treated and looked at fairly.
Affirmative action is still necessary because of lack of equality. White males typically earn
significantly more than women and minorities. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity,
women, overall, make 71 cents as compared to a man's dollar(4). While minority men make more
than non–minority and minority women,

Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is one of the more recent and popular civil rights policies that affect today's
society. Affirmative action can be described as nothing more than a lower educational standard for
minorities. It has become quite clear that affirmative action is unfair and unjust. However, in order
to blend race, culture, and genders to create a stable and diverse society, someone has to give. How
can this be justified? Is there a firm right or wrong to affirmative action? Is this policy simply taking
something from one person and giving it to someone else, or is there more to this policy, such as
affirmative action being a reward for years of oppression against those whom it affects? There have
been many...show more content...
There are many equal opportunity programs, such as the NAACP, that are designed to protect
minority's rights and privileges. Therefore, there is no need for affirmative action to be used to it's
fullest extent in the world today. This policy is wrong because it involves reverse discrimination,
promotes the hiring of less qualified workers, and basically does more wrong than right. A person
should be hired for a job position because this person is the most qualified, not because this person
is a minority or a female.
Suppose an employer hires a person because he or she is a minority; if another applicant is more
qualified for the job, then the employer is the person being negatively affected. If it is a prejudice
act Blankenship 3 for people to discriminate against minorities, then what makes it right for people
to discriminate against the majority? Either way, someone is being discriminated against and
affirmative action only legitimizes and legalizes it. In my personal opinion, affirmative action is a
plan that can only enhance racial issues. For instance, what if someone loses out on the job position
he or she deserved because this person is a part of the majority? Would race, gender, or a handicap
not have anything to do with this injustice? Affirmative action has proven to be an injustice to the
majority of

The Affirmative Of Affirmative Action Essay
Many affirmative action efforts have been made since the end of the Civil War in order to remedy
the results of hundreds of years of slavery, segregation and denial of opportunity for groups that
face discrimination. Many African Americans such as President Barack Obama, Senator Cory
Booker, the writer Toni Morrison, the literary scholar Henry Louis Gates, media star Oprah Winfrey,
and rap star Jay–Z have achieved positions of power and influence in the wider society (Giddens,
Duneier, Appelbaum, Carr). However, today blacks and other minorities are still more likely to live
in poverty, be killed by the police, attend poor schools, and have unequal economic opportunities.
This object of this paper is to understand why affirmative action is still needed in the United State by
discussing the differences between whites' and racial/ethnic minorities' access to education and
employment.
Racial Inequality in Educational Attainment in America Historically, African
–American, Latino and
Native American students were educated in wholly segregated schools whose funding rates were
several times lower than schools made up of all white students. These minority students were also
being excluded from many higher institutions (Darling–Hammond). This happened until legal
segregation came to an end in the 1960s and many efforts were made to equalize school funding.
These efforts have made a substantial difference for student achievement and significantly narrowed
minority and white

Essay On Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action was implemented as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorized under
President Lyndon B. Johnson's executive order 11246, and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The quota based system was enacted to close the gap between
white male privilege and all ethnic minority groups to include women, homosexuals, the disabled as
well as the elderly in attempt to rid professional institutions like businesses and universities of
prejudice discrimination. In its 50 year history, much debate remains on whether the success of the
program has actually aided in breaking down barriers or simply created a reverse discrimination
paradox that disparages white males. As a result of this controversial...show more content...
Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, obligating defense contractors "not to discriminate against
any worker because of race, creed, color, or national origin" but the term Affirmative action was not
used until the Kennedy administration in the year 1961, only a few short years before the
implementation of Johnson's EO 11246. Along the way Affirmative Action was the center of much
national attention as it was often seen as harboring and fueling white resentment from ethnic
minorities causing reverse discrimination. In the year 1978, the resentment of whites caught wave
in a Supreme Court case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. The case stated that
Affirmative Action created a reverse discrimination thus disparaging white youth from the same
level of opportunity in the college application process. As a result, the Supreme Court upheld
affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. Although
according to Parrillo, since a more conservative court has taken less of a leading role in legislating
away discrimination, Affirmative Action has endured a multitude of lawsuits to

Argumentative Essay
One day, there were two people who went to a company for a job interview for only one job
position. The first candidate graduated from a prestigious and highly academic university, had years
of work experience in the field, and in the mind of the employer, had the potential to make a positive
impact on the company's performance. The second candidate does not have a college degree and is
just starting out in the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. Who
do you think was hired for the position? If this story took place before 1964, the answer would be
obvious. However, with the adoption of the social policy known as affirmative action, the answer
becomes unclear. Affirmative action is a product of the civil...show more content...
To many, this made sense. Supporters of affirmative action asked, "why not let the government
help them get better jobs?" After all, the white man was responsible for their suffering. While this
may all be true, there is another question to be asked. Are they all truly responsible for the years of
persecution that the African Americans were submitted to? Probably not. Does the person working
in the cube next to me resent me knowing consciously that we are working side by side because of
affirmative action and not because we both qualify to be employed there? Probably so. This type of
work environment is not strengthening diversity, it tears it down.
Affirmative action supporters make one large assumption when defending the policy. They assume
that minority groups want help. This, however, may not always be the case. They fought to attain
equality, not special treatment. To some of them, the acceptance of special treatment is an
admittance of inferiority. Some would include me. I believe I can become successful on my own. I
don't need laws to help me get a great job. I along with many others who are against affirmative
action want to be treated as equals, not as incompetent. Although discrimination is not placed in a
well–distant past, affirmative action is an unneeded and drastic remedy for today's world (Farron,
Steven, 2005)
Affirmative

Essay On Affirmative Action
The idea of Affirmative action was first brought up by JFK to ensure equality in employment for all
people regardless of their race, creed, color, or national origin. However, Many institutions such as
college took advantage of "equality" as an excuse to admit students based on their race rather than
their merits. AB 1726, also known as the Accounting for Health and Education in API Demographics
(AHEAD) Act, was first proposed by California Assemblyman Rob Bonta (California Legislative
Information). It is a data disaggregation bill that intends to help better address the disparity in public
health and education among API(Asian Pacific Islander)group by adding additional major Asian
groups, including Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian,...show more content...
Thanks to California Proposition 209 in 1996, which prohibits state institutions from considering race
, sex, or ethnicity specifically in the areas of public employment and public education, Asian
American enrollment rates in the University of California system remained stable at a rate of around
40 percent. In contrast, the percentage of Asian–Americans admitted to Harvard, and other Ivy
League schools remains remarkably stable for the past 20 years at around 16 percent despite the
increasing Asian American applicants (Washington Post). Apparently, AB 1726 is used as a
backdoor way to overturn Proposition 209, which bans the affirmative action. Concerns have been
rising among Chinese American communities that AB 1726 will be a threat to Chinese American's
struggle for social and economic equality. Also, AB 1726 is not the first act that attempts to
reintroduce affirmative action in California. Senate Constitutional Amendment No.5(SCA 5) was
proposed to eliminate Proposition 209's ban on the use of race, sex, color and ethnicity in college
admission in California admission system (California Legislative Information), but was withdrawn
because of the fervent opposition from primarily Asian American communities. If SCA 5 is highway
robbery, AB1726 is deception and inseparably linked to SCA 5. Instead of supporting overt racial
discrimination, supporters who crave

Essay about Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action has been an issue of contention since its inception during the Civil Rights
struggles of mid 20th century America. Discrimination could no longer be tolerated and the Unites
States government had an obligation to encourage equality at all levels of the social infrastructure.
The main type of discrimination being addressed by Affirmative Action programs was racial
discrimination. The Merriam Webster dictionary definesracism as: 'a belief that race is the primary
determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent
superiority of a particular race.' The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination of any
kind, laid the foundation for the introduction of Affirmative Action...show more content...
However, Affirmative Action was initially created to tackle the discrimination of blacks. Over the
years, random testing has been conducted to analyze America's social structure and the level of
racial divide. The Fair Employment Council of Greater Washington Inc. did some testing between
1992 and 1994. The studies discovered that blacks were treated worse than whites 24 percent of the
time when interviewing for jobs. In fact, when a car dealership conducted interviews, the black
candidate was offered a car washing position while the white candidate, with identical qualifications,
was offered a sales position. White males maintain 97 percent of the senior management positions in
Fortune 1000 companies. The unemployment rate of whites is less than half that of blacks. The
poverty rate in the black community hovers around 26 percent. The poverty rate for whites is 9
percent. The inequality between white and black America is alarming and Affirmative Action is
desperately needed to establish some sense of equality. The fight for equal opportunity begins with
the government, and all government agencies have made a concerted effort to establish Affirmative
Action programs. The United States Department of Labor offers this statement on its website:
"For federal contractors and subcontractors, affirmative action must be taken by covered employers
to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans.

Affirmative Action in College Admissions Should Be Abolished
Every year, millions of students apply to colleges and universities in the United States. The status of
their application, whether they get accepted to or rejected by the school of their dreams, may
ultimately be determined by two words: affirmative action. The Merriam–Webster dictionary defines
affirmative action as an effort to correct past injustices, means to right the wrongs of the past,
positive steps to correct past discrimination (Affirmative 1). However, for those exceedingly
qualified members of a majority group who do not get accepted while less qualified minority
members do, affirmative action begins to insinuate reverse discrimination, the unfair treatment of
members of majority groups resulting from preferential policies, as in college admissions or
employment, intended to remedy earlier discrimination against minorities (Reverse 1). Affirmative
action is a topic of contention that has been disputed in the court systems for roughly four decades. It
is now time that affirmative action in college admissions be abolished because it erroneously implies
that diversity is more imperative than merit and unjustifiably discriminates...show more content...
University of Texas Law School. Hopwood contended that diversity in education was not a
compelling state interest (Brunner 5). The conservative Justices also expressed concern that under
the affirmative action system wealthy African American applicants received preferential treatment
(Leonhardt 1). Justice Alito refuted that those applicants should not receive preferential treatment
over white applicants from humbler backgrounds (3). The Supreme Court concluded that the
affirmative action system in place at the University of Texas Law School benefited African
Americans and Mexicans "to the detriment of whites and non–preferred minorities (Cummings

Essay on Against Affirmative Action
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.
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.
If...show more content...
In eight University of California campuses where affirmative action is no longer implemented the
enrollment of black students only declined by 17% and the enrollment of Hispanics declined only
by 6.9%. Even without the use of it, minorities are still getting into colleges. There is no need for
discriminatory programs like affirmative action because there is not a big difference between
minority groups and whites anymore. If some person has the potential and desire to succeed they
can succeed. Everyone can do anything they want to do if they have what is takes to enter the
university or job.
Some people argue that affirmative action is a program of opportunity, and not a program of
discrimination. Although affirmative action might be a program of opportunity it only gives
opportunity to a select few. If it would give everyone the same opportunity affirmative action would
be a good program, but it does not. Minorities are given the upper hand with affirmative action.
Supporters of affirmative action also argue affirmative action helps to diversify jobs and schools.
Although the program does bring some minorities into jobs and schools, there is a price to pay for
it. Whites are not allowed into those places because they need to "diversify" the schools and
workplaces. In order for diversification to happen everyone should be able to be accepted instead of
taking in the minorities and

Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action
Marlene S. Smith
MGT/434
October 28, 2013
Thomas
Affirmative Action Affirmative action is an action that was purposefully designed to provide full
and equal opportunities for employment and education for women, minorities, and other individuals
belonging to disadvantaged groups. This paper will assess the rudiments of Affirmative Action as it
applies to public and private sector employers. The paper will also evaluate what employers are
subject to affirmative action plans, what the plans require employers to do, and what happens if
employers do not meet the objectives of the affirmative action plan.
Affirmative action has been around for many years. Fullinwinder (2009), "Affirmative action means
positive...show more content...
The Executive Order 11246 states employers must prepare a written affirmative action plan within
120 days. The plan must contain the following: the employer's current workforce in regard to race
and sex, a detail analysis stating whether minorities or females are under–represented or
under–utilized in the workforce, the rules and regulations for job categories in which minorities or
females are under–represented, an action plan or goals necessary to fix the problem areas, and a
detail time table for when the employer plans to achieve these goals. When developing an affirmative
action plan this can be time consuming and this requires heavy documentation, reviews, and updates.
When implementing an affirmative action plan, the plan must apply to all facilities and employees
(Phillips, 2010).
Courts can require employers to adopt an affirmative action plan as a remedy under Title VII. The
requirements in court ordered affirmative action plans prevent employers from allowing unqualified
individuals from being hired or promoted. A court ordered affirmative action plan must be temporary
only until the employer can achieve the goals set under the plan.
There are strict penalties if the affirmative action plan is not followed. When an employer is under
a court order to obey an affirmative action plan, the employer could be subject to hefty fines. If the
plans are not followed

Affirmative Action Thesis
affirmative action
By: lauren
Affirmative Action Thesis: Although many people believe that affirmative Action is a form of
racism, it is actually used to help minorities find employment in an otherwise racist world. "In the
United States, equality is a recurring theme. It has flared into a fervent moral issue at crucial
stages of American history: The revolutionary and Jacksonian Period, and the New Deal. In each
era, the legitimacy of American society is challenged by some set of people unhappy with the
degree of equality" (Verba and Orren). Following the Civil War, Congress passed a number of laws
designed to put former slaves on an equal level with white people. The Fourteenth Amendment made
the freedmen citizen and prohibited states...show more content...
Title VII of the act banned employment discrimination based on "race, color, sex, and nationality," it
also created a permanent equal employment opportunity commission to enforce its provisions. The
act also for the first time included obligations not to discriminate to private employees, labor unions,
and governmental agencies.(Urofsky 17). In executive order 11246, issued on September 24, 1965,
Johnson require that federal contractors take affirmative action to recruit, hire, and promote more
minorities. Two years later in executive order 11375 Johnson added women to the group covered by
previous anti– discrimination order" (Urofsky17). Each new order was a modification of the
previous one. Increasing minorities' and women's chances to compete in the job market. When
Richard Nixon took office in 1969, he asked Art Fletcher, the Assistant Secretary of Labor and a
black man himself, to find a way to enforce the hiring provisions of Title VII in a way that it would
withstand court challenge. Fletcher did, and in 1971 Nixon unveiled the Philadelphia Plan. The
Philadelphia Plan made federal contractors meet specific numerical goals in hiring minorities. Each
contractor was to have nine percent of its work force be made up of minorities and women. Even
with all these Executive Orders, Civil Rights Act, and Amendments passed, only a small percent of
minorities held position in the job force. In recent years, in order to combat job discrimination in the
employment market,

Though Affirmative Action is a current controversial issue, it is far from new; its decree has been
long in the making. Perhaps it originates from amendments 13–15, the series of amendments that
outlawed slavery, guaranteed equal protection under the law, and forbid racial discrimination when
voting, respectively (Sykes 1). The Supreme Court's decision in 1896, in the case of Plessy V.
Ferguson, mandated separate but equal treatment for African Americans (Sykes 1). However, in
1954, the Supreme Court's decision from Brown v. Board of Education replaced that of the Plessy v.
Ferguson trial. President Lyndon Johnson was the first to use the term "Affirmative Action" in the
Executive Order 11246 of 1965 (Sykes 1). This order...show more content...
Furthermore, anti–affirmative action proponents said that Thomas was unfairly called a hypocrite
because although he did not support affirmative action, he benefited from it (Jeffrey 229).
Affirmative action opponents also cite that in a "Dear Colleague" letter from Congressman Barry
Frank, Frank implied that Powell benefited from affirmative action and did not achieve his position
purely through merit (Jeffrey 229).
It is argued that actions similar to these result in a loss of self–esteem in minorities. Jeffrey gives an
example of a Native American high school student who was offered a minority college scholarship,
but turned it down because it was not based on merit. Those who oppose affirmative action say
stories similar to this one hurt minority's self–esteem because to tell minorities that the bar must be
lowered for them in order to succeed is to tell them that they are not capable of making it on their
own (Jacoby A21). Affirmative action opponents state that the best minority is chosen and not the
best candidate for the position (Jacoby A21).
However, affirmative action laws do not state that it is necessary to accept an unqualified candidate,
but rather that in choosing between qualified candidates that the minority should receive preferential
treatment due to past discrimination (Kivel par.

Affirmative Action Argumentative Essay
Here is a little background on the Affirmative action. Affirmative action was a policy of giving
preferential treatment to minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups. It was used in a
way to not only to eliminate discrimination but to set rights in effects. The policy was introduced
in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy signed the Executive Order, ordering all federally funded
programs to take active steps to make sure that minority groups are employed and treated fairly. I
honestly believe that it should be abolished and somewhat kept. Yes, it did help minorities and
women get better job and education, but as the years gone by people misunderstand the meaning of
what it was used for. I say this because people use it for the wrong...show more content...
There's a possibility of success in these situations, but it's more likely they will be in over their
heads. If university that hold a high level of expectation let these students in would make it
extremely difficult for them to graduate. So, when we are forced to lower our standards to please
them, we are actually making it hard for them to pass or keep up. I'm no trying to put the down or
say that these students are not able to do it, but the chances are that if they can't reach minimum
requirements, shows that there probably not ready to go there, so give them another choice
besides just giving it to they let them work for it. Minorities' graduation rate is so low, because of
the university they go to. The original application standards of schools were put in for a reason,
which we should follow and go by.
Lastly many people think that the policies are no longer needed and that they lead to more problems
than it had it solve. They say that Affirmative action leads to the opposite, reverse discrimination,
lowering standards of responsibility to perform better and would lead in a nation that would be a
"color–blind society". Affirmative action is designed to end discrimination and unfair action of
workers/schoolchildren

Introduction
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...show more content...
In this area both minorities and non–minorities are discriminated against, when affirmative action
was in use the admissions board was divided into two groups one for minorities and another for
non–minorities, standards for both groups were different. Once again affirmative action is showing
favoritism. A recent example of affirmative action in collegiate admissions includes Gratz and
Hamacher vs. University of Michigan. Gratz and Hamacher alleged that unlawful preference to
minorities in University of Michigan undergraduate admissions. This also reminds me of when I
was a senior in high school, several black colleges wanted me to come to there school to play
football on a scholarship. What they did not tell me was that I would receive a minority scholarship
not a football scholarship. Basically they found a loophole; they could recruit white players and give
them minority scholarships and still have the same number of football scholarships to give out. They
were getting a two for one deal by improving their number of minority (white students) students and
getting football players at the same time.
Affirmative action has a huge negative impact on our economy; it is costly and could destroy the
legitimacy of minorities. In the business world, the main concern of an employer should be to hire
the most qualified person that will increase productivity. The concern should not be to hire a racially
diverse workforce. How can the

Affirmative Action
Since its implementation in the United States in 1965, affirmative action has been a heated topic of
debate. Designed to address the issue of inequality in American society, affirmative action is a
number of programs and policies designed to give women and racial minorities more opportunities in
education and the job market. As a result, affirmative action has received opposition, mainly from
blue collar white males who feel that it compromises their best interests. In this paper, we will
attempt to evaluate the impact of affirmative action on all Americans and its effectiveness in
addressing the issue of inequality.
History:
Affirmative action was first mentioned in executive order 10925 on March 6, 1961....show more
content...
As historian Roger Wilkins said, "blacks have a 375 year history on this continent: 245 involving
slavery, 100 involving legalized discrimination, and only 30 involving anything else." In response to
taking opportunity away from whites, liberals pointed out that whites were still far superior in terms
of salary and high–level job positions (Brunner).
The first landmark ruling of affirmative action occurred on June 28, 1978 in the Supreme Court
case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. The case involved the UC Davis medical
school that had two admissions pools. One was for standard applications and the other was
specifically for minorities and economically disadvantaged students. Alan Bakke was a white
applicant that was rejected twice despite having significantly better test scores than several
minorities who were accepted into the program. He claimed that judging him by his race was a
violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. The court ruled that race was a
legitimate factor for admissions but inflexible quotas were not. The court split five–four and
although it made a very important ruling it still had not addressed many of the issues that had
surfaced as a result of the case (Brunner).
The next important case was on July 2, 1980 in the Supreme Court case Fullilove v. Klutznick. The
court ruled that some modest quotas were perfectly constitutional. February 25, 1987 marked

Since the beginning of time there has been prejudice and hate. Adam and Eve hated snakes. Jews
hated Jesus. Sugar Ray Leonard hated Tommy Hearns. Prejudice is caused by two things: ignorance
and hate. Prejudice and mistreatment has existed in this country, first with American–Indians and
then later with African–Americans and many other minorities.
The selling and trading of slaves is a shadow that has been hanging over the heads of white
Americans for two centuries. Some people feel that it is the white–American's duty to pay the black
population back. According to Spencer Perkins, co–author of More than Equals: Racial Healing for
the Sake of Gospel, in reference to the long–standing racial divisions in America, "It took us 300
years...show more content...
According to Juliane O'Gara, Affirmative Action does not mean hiring unqualified women or
minorities over qualified white male applicants, nor does it mean quotas. In fact, hiring somebody
solely on the basis of race or gender without concern for merit is the very definition of
discrimination, be it against women or men, whites or minorities.
The courts have said repeatedly that the purpose of Affirmative Action programs is to create an
environment where merit can prevail' (O'Gara 25, my emphasis). This states in not so many words
how Affirmative Action is considered reverse discrimination. Many people believe that the hiring
of unqualified employees is actually how Affirmative Action works; giving jobs to those who are
unqualified strictly because they are a minority. Those that believe in the idea behind Affirmative
Action actually believe that jobs should be given based on merit not just the idea of hiring anyone
that happens to be of a different color or be a minority. But if the opportunity arises where there is
an equally qualified minority and a white male some believe that the minority should be given the
job.
Juliane O'Gara gives an example of this in one of her articles: Discrimination in the

Affirmative Action in College Admissions
Affirmative Action has become one of the most controversial issues regarding college admissions.
It is an issue that exposes profiling to its highest extent. Race, gender and income now become vital
factors in education opportunities. Affirmative Action is the procedure that is used as a criteria in
admissions that will increase the points a college applicant receives on their application evaluation
based on the previous factors. Whether race should be considered in the admission of a college
applicant, is without a doubt a must in all states. Affirmative Action definitely will improve the
opportunities of a minority student applying at a university but it will not be the deciding factor.
When...show more content...
Unfortunately, these children cannot complete their education because they have to travel with their
family and learn to manage at a young age a life of hard labor. This however does not diminish their
dreams of completing high school and some day attending a university so that they will not have to
live the life of struggle their parents did to sustain the household. In cities like Detroit, MI there is a
large population of low income Hispanic and African American families. The public school system
unfortunately cannot potentially promote a high–quality education. The majority of these students do
not receive an entrance level education simply because of living standards. Income plays an
important role in education opportunities regarding the quality education each student can pertain.
Since the minorities in that area are low–income they cannot afford to attend a private high school
that can better prepare them for college. According to a research done at the University of
Texas–Pan American, "certain racial or ethnicity factors should play a role in the admissions
decision." (Marklein) Perez 3
Affirmative action will also assist the university in reaching their desired diversity quota. In June, the
Supreme Court ruled that universities can consider race as one of the main

Essay On Affirmative Action

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Essay On Affirmative Action