Affirmative Action

Affirmative action was implemented with the hope that all Americans would become equal. The 1960’s civil rights movement had made it very clear, that the nation’s minority and female population were not receiving equal social and economic opportunity. The forming of affirmative action was America’s first attempt at solving a problem that had plagued it for decades.

Affirmative action was designed to create a more equal and balanced society. This meant that employers, colleges, and universities needed to consider race and gender as one of the factors in selecting employees or students. But did this really help or did it hurt America? There are several arguments that would agree with the implementation of affirmative action and several that are strongly against it (Hammer, 76).

One argument for affirmative action is that it corrects the centuries of injustice. After slavery, Jim Crow laws, and countless other injustices to minorities, many people feel that we owe it to minorities to help get them back into society.

Also, affirmative action provides accessibility to education for minorities and women. This is done with a quota. The percent of minorities present in the region of the college or university is the same as must be admitted to the school. This ensures that minorities have a chance at a quality education. Many people who oppose affirmative action believe that it discriminates against members of the majority, giving unqualified students an unfair advantage at a better education. Muriel Spence, a professor at the Temple School of Law feels differently, along with many affirmative action supporters: A universal reality of competition for a finite number of positions is that some candidates, although qualified, will be turned away. This was an unremarkable and non-controversial situation throughout the nation’s history so long as virtually all candidates for prized opportunities in education and employment were white males (Sadler, 25).

Affirmative action will also bring forth the concept of a level playing field. Minorities are at a very distinct disadvantage when competing with white males for a job. Because of this, some kind of assistance would be needed, and this assistance would be affirmative action. It would open doors of opportunity for minorities. But they still have to work harder than white males because they have to work hard and take advantage of these opportunities (Hammer, 59).

Many supporters believe that one of affirmative action’s greatest benefits is the diverse environment. A more diversified classroom leads to a richer learning experience.

There are several arguments against affirmative action. Among them is the argument that affirmative action uses reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination. Many people believe that using racism to solve racism is not the way to solve the problem. It is kind of like putting fire out with gasoline, and that just doesn’t work (Sadler, 71).

Many opposing people say that affirmative action promotes the hiring of less skilled workers. The employers would normally choose the best person for the position, not the best person among a minority. The employer would feel that he ended up with a lesser quality worker. Another disadvantage is that the employee would feel that he is branded with the best out of a select group. Another problem with affirmative action is that employers have to agree to cooperate (75).

Also, many people feel that affirmative action is not helping the people it was intended to help. Those people are poor minorities, especially from the inner cities. Instead, it has benefited middle and upper class minorities because they fill up the quota, leaving no