Affirmative Action For African Americans

Affirmative action legislation in the United States has its basic framework in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates that firms with more than 15 employees are subject to a variety of anti-discrimination policies, more of which were passed in subsequent years. In some cases, the concept of affirmative action was taken to be a voluntary act to attain diversity. For the most part, however, courts have interpreted affirmative action laws as having little teeth under the Constitution. It has been suggested that "racial preferences in federal law or policy are a remedy of last resort" (Dale, 2005)

Affirmative Action has become of the most controversial social policy issues to be discussed in recent years. It is controversial because it challenges fundamental American beliefs. As Seymour Martin Lipset put it: "Affirmative Action policies have forced a sharp confrontation between two core American values: equality and individualism."(Dudley7) This values oriented approach, which pervades popular discussion and derives from functionalist sociology, fails to explain why similar challenges to our core values did not in the past result in the kind of spite surrounding Affirmative Action today. As the popular lore and written history of urban politics in America

As a minority Roberto Santiago’s essay Black and Latino reveals that even though he has been generally underrepresented by his ethnicity, he has led a successful life without affirmative action. Since Santiago was both African American and Hispanic he dealt with identity issues and stereotypes throughout his adolescent life. Even though affirmative action is supposed to make attempts to improve opportunities for groups that were historically excluded it is still a form of discrimination itself. The preference of one race over another is discrimination despite the fact if the group is gaining benefits. Contemporary society still takes on the controversial debate over affirmative action in educational institutions and employment. Institutions are still pressured to accept more minorities even if they do not meet the full requirements such as in education or in employment. Racial preferences stigmatize minority groups instead of finding better ways to make opportunities equal to minorities. Affirmative action also implies that all minority groups need more assistance in order to succeed, but according to Santiago he triumphed without needing compensation. In educational institutions such as universities they are influenced by affirmative action; since they admit students based on race instead of looking for their qualifications. Even though affirmative action is supposed to create diversity in schools it does not help if minority students are not prepared for a higher

Affirmative action is a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination of minorities through active measures in order to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment. In other words, it is policy that was established to hopefully eliminate racial preference and equalize the United States. The fight against discrimination has been a long lasting one that started with the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson, which ended in the desegregation of all schools (Ficker). Affirmative action was put into place in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Executive Order that mandated government contractors to “take affirmative action” in all aspects of hiring and employing minorities (Brunner). Upon its arrival, the policy

How does one correct centuries of discrimination without alienating the majority, who have benefitted from the mistreatment of minorities as citizens of this country? Before understanding how affirmative action has an effect on U.S. history, one must comprehend what it is and what the motive was behind it. Affirmative action was the effort to improve education and career opportunities for women and minorities to make up for past discrimination practices. On March 6, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order #10925, ensuring that all federally funded projects, such as repairing highways or funding public education, “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed,

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.

Affirmative Action has had a very tumultuous 54-year history. Affirmative action was a strategy that forged the Civil Rights Movement in response to the prejudiced approach toward African American citizens in the United States. The policy advocates that black citizens in particular conditions to avoid the unfairness they would usually receive. To try and explain why the methods and laws needed to be adjusted to be equal for everyone. It is essential to realize that 20 Africans came to America in 1619, records are not clear if they were slaves or indentured servants. It was until 1640 when the first African in Jamestown Virginia was declared a slave. The Court ordered that the slave had to serve his master for the rest of his life. The slaves made to work long hours and numerous slaves’ endured inhuman treatment and underwent severe injuries. American citizens in the South challenged a lengthy campaign to seek to continue to be permitted to own slaves but through Lincoln and abolitionist slave-owning was ultimately banished.

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 has been around for decades. Some believe it isn’t fair but others do. Those who believe and agree with affirmative action tend to say, “The principle of affirmative action is to promote societal equality through the preferential treatment of socioeconomically disadvantaged people” (Bidmead, Andrew pg 3). Others that disagree with it and find it unfair simply see it as another form of discrimination, giving one group extra advantages based upon nothing but their skin color (Cline, Austin pg 1). I believe that affirmative action is indeed fair because it gives minorities a better chance at having a successful career in their near future.

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 of minorities by race; it causes reverse discrimination, and contradicts its purpose.

     What is it? Well affirmative action is, in plain text, the consideration of your class, race, gender, color, ethnicity, national origin, and disability when deciding who gets a certain job or admission into a school. If you are amenity applying for a job and there are other people that are applying as well then you will be considered for the job over one of the other people, even if they have more experience. It is not only for jobs, it is also used in any situation that there is a minority or different person, racially or ethnicity, because the particular business or corporation needs to have some minorities working in that business or in that school. They do this because of a

Demographically identifying social classes, low, middle and high as our American culture stratified people. Functionalist take position of other patterns for success in order to increase their chances and wealth of motivating qualified people.

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.

According to Raymond A. Noe, affirmative action is an organization’s active effort to find opportunities to hire or promote people in a particular group (Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 68). There are various arguments for and against affirmative action. Some believe that it gives certain groups of people an equal opportunity to find employment where they would otherwise be kicked under the rug. Others believe that even though it creates an opportunity for minority groups, the issue of reverse discrimination comes into play where once predominantly white male jobs offerings go to women and minority groups instead. The topic of affirmative action remains very controversial and

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