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Affirmative action is the general term used to describe the de facto and de jure social policies that attempt to eliminate or alleviate the challenges that racial minorities have faced in the United States over nearly the entire history of the nation. Acts of discrimination became a particularly extreme social problem after the U.S. Civil war and during the early years of the reformation, when the nation and its people were attempting to reconcile old hatreds and beliefs of inequality with laws that did not reflect their unfortunately harsh discriminatory opinions.
Affirmative action as it is seen today is the results of such struggles, as the civil rights movement. It is in practice the recognition of race as a determining factor for the ability of some to be accepted to colleges and universities, which have previously been attended mostly by the racial majority, and/or receiving preferential treatment in hiring, especially where government contractors are concerned.
The debate over the effectiveness and continued usefulness and even the constitutionality of affirmative action laws and policies has ensued over the last twenty or so years with those in favor of continues use of such policies claiming that they have not had enough time to truly change the system to more equally...
Those against affirmative action demonstrate the negative aspects of affirmative action stating many personal experiences where affirmative action has resulted in possible or real discrimination against the racial majority through giving preferential treatment to some based on race or gender and passing over more qualified individuals simply because they are among the racial majority.
Within the affirmative action camp there are many examples of research that demonstrate the effectiveness of affirmative action as more and more colleges, universities and employers are demonstrating numbers of racial minority members that has been previously unheard of in these areas before. They contend that the evolution of success of such policies demands more time as changing the social current of a nation is a gradual process only just begun. Within the work…
References
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Hodges-Aeberhard, J. (1999). Affirmative Action in Employment: Recent Court Approaches to a Difficult Concept. International Labour Review, 138(3), 247. Retrieved September 30, 2004, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.
Inkelas, K.K. (2003). Diversity's Missing Minority: Asian Pacific American Undergraduates' Attitudes toward Affirmative Action. Journal of Higher Education, 74(6), 601+. Retrieved September 30, 2004, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.
Kaveny, M.C. (1996). Discrimination and Affirmative Action. Theological Studies, 57(2), 286+. Retrieved September 30, 2004, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.
Loury, G.C. (2003). Racial Inequality and Developmental Affirmative Action. The Western Journal of Black Studies, 27(1), 15+. Retrieved September 30, 2004, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.
Rubenfeld, J. (1997). Affirmative Action. Yale Law Journal, 107(2), 427-472. Retrieved September 30, 2004, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.
Sabbagh, D. (2003). Judicial Uses of Subterfuge: Affirmative Action Reconsidered. Political Science Quarterly, 118(3), 411+. Retrieved September 30, 2004, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.
..aims to compensate people for past discrimination and its effects. A main effect of past discrimination is current competitive disadvantage; affirmative action gives victims a competitive advantage to compensate for this injury." (1998) the Discrimination-blocking affirmative action according to Anderson: "...aims to block current discriminatory mechanisms by imposing a countervailing force in the opposite direction. It doesn't remove the factors -- prejudice, stereotypes, stigma, intergroup anxiety -- that cause discrimination;
Affirmative Action is an extremely important concept since it is vital to the operation of America as a democracy. It reinforces the affirmation of the Constitution that all people are born equal and should, therefore, be given an equal chance to prove themselves. Employment opportunity (and other factors) should be based on merit rather than on extraneous factors such as skin color, race, gender, physiology, and so forth. The Federal Register
Affirmative Action - Should Race be a Factor in Deciding College Admissions? Should race be a deciding factor for college admissions? The debate is one that is hotly contested among students and administrators alike. Many feel that in a tight job market acquiring a college educational is an essential prerequisite for career advancement (Worsnop, 1996) thus competition for admission to many of the nation's best universities is increasing. In addition tuition expenses
Criticism of Affirmative Action Over the years, specific criticisms of Affirmative Action have developed as a result of the endless debate and legal wrangling over the issue, as well as the division in American society about the topic. The first criticism of Affirmative Action to consider is the assertion that the burden of compensating victims of discrimination usually becomes the responsibility of those who are not individually responsible for the discrimination
Affirmative Action is the set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Affirmative action was set into place during the 1960's. Focusing in particular on education and jobs, affirmative action policies required that active measures be taken to ensure that blacks and other minorities enjoyed the same opportunities for promotions, salary increases, career advancement, school
Perhaps it's time that politics follows suit. Without denying that we are indeed diverse, it is necessary to recognize that we are all human beings. Diversity makes us human, but discrimination violates the potential bonds of friendship within the societies in the United States. Politicians and federal officials might do well to revisit the meaning of the constitution and of the very name of the country: we are United, diverse,