Pro Affirmative Action Essay - 2153 Words

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 â€Å"take affirmative action† in all aspects of hiring and employing minorities (Brunner). Upon its arrival, the policy†¦show more content†¦The fact that, in most cases, a minority student will get accepted over a white student with the same or almost the same qualifications is causing controversy all over the nation. This is precisely the defin ition of affirmative action. In an excerpt titled Affirmative Action and the College Admissions Process from the book, 8 Steps to Help Black Families Pay For College, by Thomas and Will LaVeist, it is stated that, â€Å"affirmative action is meant to level the playing field and ensure that schools and businesses are not intentionally discriminating against minority groups.† This leveling of the playing field leads to the very broad generalization and misperception that the policy is allowing less-qualified minorities to take the place of the more-qualified whites. Two more cases that aroused much debate on the issue were the 2003 cases of Gratz vs. Bollinger and Grutter vs. Bollinger, in which two more-than-qualified students applied to the University of Michigan and were denied due to acceptance policies. The two women, Jennifer Gratz and Barbara Grutter, took their cases to the Supreme Court with the plea that the University of Michigan is â€Å"treating people differently based on skin color, and that is unconstitutional† (Mears). The university openly stated that they have a point system in their acceptance process in which students receive extra point if they are of minority status. Mary Sue Coleman, the president of the University of Michigan stated, â€Å"[W]eShow MoreRelatedEssay on Pro-Affirmative Action1059 Words   |  5 PagesPRO-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 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 situationRead MoreAffirmative Action - Pros and Cons Essay1057 Words   |  5 PagesDiscussion of Affirmative Action Ââ€" Pros and Cons. Affirmative Action programming is seen by some as a mechanical remedy to past social conditions that penalized minority member applicants for employment, women, or persons with disabilities. In the United States, Affirmative Action has been seen as compensation for the exclusion of the African American community, in particular, and has been hoped to create upward mobility for more members of this sector. In this sense, Affirmative Action may haveRead More The Pros and Cons of Affirmative Action Essay3458 Words   |  14 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Affirmative action has been the topic of debate for many years. It has been controversial because it has been said to be a form of reverse discrimination. This paper will discuss the purpose behind affirmative action, as well as, its various strengths and weaknesses. Also, this paper will look at the following issues surrounding affirmative action such as the incompetency myth ( are companies hiring less qualified people?), the impa ct on employment (what has changed in the work place?), theRead MorePros and Cons of Affirmative Action Essay1185 Words   |  5 PagesAnalytical Paper 3 – Affirmative Action Introduction 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 createsRead MoreAdvantages and Disadvantages of Affirmative Action Essay1667 Words   |  7 PagesExploratory Essay The Affirmative Action Debate Affirmative Action Defined Affirmative Action can be defined as â€Å"positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded (Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)†. However because those steps involve â€Å"preferential† selection affirmative action generates intense controversy (Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Affirmative ActionRead MoreAffirmative Action And The Civil Rights And Equal Opportunity Legislation Of The 1960s958 Words   |  4 PagesAffirmative action is a program that serves to rectify the effects of purportedly past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and opportunities to minorities and women. Affirmative action programs were an outgrowth of the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movements and the Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity legislation of the 1960s. Close to fifty years later, the practice of affirmative action has been at the vanguard of intense debate more than any other time in its history. Hardly a week goesRead MoreAffirmative Action : An Effective Organization1430 Words   |  6 Pageswriting Thesis/Support Essay Professor Jeffery Cahan 05/10/2016 Affirmative Action According to Merriam Webster, by definition â€Å"Affirmative Action is an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women. Also similar effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons† Affirmative action has been a hot topic among some American citizens and government officials. â€Å"Affirmative action is the process of a businessRead More We Need Affirmative Action Essay1035 Words   |  5 Pages PRO-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;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 alsoRead MoreThe Supreme Court s Decision On Affirmative Action On The Fisher V. University Of Texas Case2292 Words   |  10 PagesThe newspaper article appears to be a news report about the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action on the Fisher v. University of Texas case. The purpose of this text is to inform readers about the decision and the view point of officials who agree and disagree with affirmative action, as well of those who are in between and those who don’t think we are close to solving t his issue. The author, Adam Liptak, focuses on writing about the United States Supreme Court, and is graduate from Yale;Read MoreDiversity Achievement Based From A South African Company1520 Words   |  7 Pagesin South Africa’s parliament’s 1998 Employee Equity Act (EE) (Act 55 of 1998), which according to its drafters was meant to: (i) eliminate unfair discrimination (i.e. in current employment and remuneration practices) and (ii) take positive or affirmative measures to attack, develop and retain individuals from previously disadvantaged groups. These groups are designated in the Act as â€Å"Blacks (Including Africans, Colored (mixed race) and Indians), women and people with disabilities.† DTI