Affirmative Action: Doing More Harm Than Good
This essay argues that affirmative action programs, once a necessary remedy for systemic racial discrimination in education and employment, have outlived their purpose and now risk perpetuating the very discrimination they were designed to eliminate. Drawing on Black's Law Dictionary and legal scholarship, the paper traces the constitutional underpinnings of affirmative action, reviews significant court rulings that have struck down race-based admissions policies, and highlights polling data showing widespread public opposition—including among minority Americans—to continued preferential treatment. The author concludes that the legal and social landscape has changed sufficiently to render affirmative action programs not only unnecessary but actively counterproductive.
- Introduction: The Case Against Continuing Affirmative Action: Historical necessity of affirmative action now questioned
- Legal Definition and Constitutional Framework: Black's Law Dictionary definition and Fourteenth Amendment context
- Court Rulings and Voter Initiatives Challenging Affirmative Action: Key court cases and state laws rolling back race preferences
- Public Opinion on Affirmative Action: Majority of Americans, including minorities, oppose affirmative action
- Conclusion: Time to End Affirmative Action Programs: Affirmative action now perpetuates the discrimination it sought to end
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper opens with a clear, historically grounded concession—acknowledging affirmative action's original necessity—before pivoting to its central argument, which demonstrates rhetorical balance and credibility.
- It anchors its legal claim with a precise dictionary definition, then uses that definition as a logical wedge to show internal contradiction in ongoing affirmative action programs.
- Concrete examples of court rulings and state ballot initiatives give the argument empirical weight rather than relying solely on abstract principle.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a definitional argument: by citing Black's Law Dictionary's formal definition of affirmative action, the author shows that current programs contradict their own stated purpose. This technique—turning a policy's own language against it—is a powerful form of internal critique widely used in legal and policy writing.
Structure breakdown
The essay is organized in four compact paragraphs moving from (1) historical context and definition, to (2) judicial and legislative pushback, to (3) public opinion data, and finally to (4) a concluding policy recommendation. Each paragraph builds on the last, maintaining a tight logical chain from premise to conclusion. The structure suits a short persuasive essay at the undergraduate level.
Introduction: The Case Against Continuing Affirmative Action
There was a time in America's not-too-distant past when affirmative action programs were necessary to address the inequalities in access to education and employment that were institutionalized throughout the country. Today, however, the civil rights movement is over and the Fourteenth Amendment ensures that all U.S. citizens enjoy the full range of protections under the law, including those guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Indeed, some affirmative action programs today are denying access to otherwise-qualified candidates for the very same reason these social reform programs were implemented in the first place: the color of their skin.
Legal Definition and Constitutional Framework
According to Black's Law Dictionary (1990), affirmative action programs are "required by federal statutes and regulations designed to remedy discriminatory practices; i.e., positive steps designed to eliminate existing and continuing discrimination, to remedy lingering effects of past discrimination and to create systems and procedures to prevent future discrimination" (p. 59). By denying access to education and employment on the basis of race, affirmative action programs are therefore continuing the very same discriminatory practices they were designed to eliminate.
Conclusion: Time to End Affirmative Action Programs
In the final analysis, it is reasonable to conclude that there was a time when affirmative action was the only viable solution to a longstanding and complex problem that adversely affected millions of American citizens who had been disenfranchised all their lives. Today, although there are exceptions to the rule, race is generally no longer a barrier to opportunity, and increasing numbers of minority members are realizing the American Dream. The broader history of affirmative action makes clear that these programs served a crucial purpose during the civil rights era; however, that era has passed. In sum, the time for ending affirmative action programs has come, and the longer these programs remain in place, the longer they will perpetuate the very same practices they were designed to eliminate.
References
Black's law dictionary. (1990). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.
Wickelgren, A. L. (2008, Spring). Affirmative action: More efficient than color blindness. Texas Journal on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights, 10(2), 165–171.
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