Affirmative Action

“The �under representation’ of any racial group, it was decided, was evidence of discrimination”(Guernsey). Affirmative action did not start out as a reverse discrimination towards white males, but it was meant to help everybody, but failed nearly completely after a time of which it was affected. The original concept of affirmative action excluded any mention of preference. “Launched during the late 1960s by the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, affirmative action programs call for guidelines and goals in the hiring of racial and ethnic minorities, the handicapped, and women. They have been effective in promoting change in hiring practices because they have the weight of the federal government behind them. As a direct result, a broader range of opportunities have become available for blacks in government, the corporate world, and colleges and universities. In the beginning, the 1960’s, when President Johnson used the affirmative action policy it was necessary and effective. At that time there was racial discrimination towards people of all black races in the United States of America, so it was a necessity to have such a law to create equal opportunity, but this was also created to have a racially and gender blind solution. This has turned into a racially unequal program that now has a negative effect on society. Affirmative due to quotas and favoritism towards minorities have a negative effect on society and have created a reverse discrimination.

Many years ago there was a mistreatment of blacks and other minorities. “During much of American history, it was generally accepted by white people that blacks were not the same kind of human beings as whites and that slavery was the proper role for black people(Guernsey). People were not permitted to attend certain schools due to their “color.” There were separate eating facilities, bathrooms, parks, and drinking fountains for them as well. The first legal sign that the mistreatment of blacks was finally realized when in 1954 the Brown v. Board of Education overturned the Plessey v. Ferguson case. In 1964 there was there was the Civil Rights equal protection laws passed to make discrimination illegal were the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title II and VII of which forbid racial discrimination in "public accommodations" and race and sex discrimination in employment, respectively; and the 1965 Voting Rights Act adopted after Congress found "that racial discrimination in voting was an insidious and pervasive evil which had been perpetuated in certain parts of the country through unremitting and ingenious defiance of the Constitution."(Sykes). “The actual phrase �affirmative action’ was first used in President Lyndon Johnson's 1965 Executive Order 11246 which requires federal contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin”(Sykes). Two years later President Johnson expanded this law to place women in this category due to their low rates of employment and respect in the business world. At this time there was a large amount of discrimination going on.

Much of this discrimination ended a long time ago, but groups such as the NAACP pushed for even more laws that further blacks’ and other groups’ difficulties in getting into jobs, schools, and other areas where they feel that they are underrepresented. “Supporters of affirmative action believe that we-as a society-must make up for the inequalities of the past. Critics argue that the conditions of the past no longer exist.”(Guernsey). There have been quotas put into place at many cities, universities, and private industries that have caused this affirmative action to change from an aid tool into a tool of reverse discrimination in which it is making it harder to for the average white male to get a good job or into a good school. Many Americans do not approve of this affirmative action policy. “In 1995, a Wall Street Journal/ NBC News poll showed that 2 out of every 3 Americans oppose Affirmative Action”(Guernsey). Many say that preferential treatment is sanctioned in the name of diversity, but then there is the question that of how genuine is that diversity when it refers to groups rather than individuals. “Most Americans believe that equal opportunity must be balanced with hard work and merit”( Guernsey).

The affirmative action policy has hurt many by its demand for more representation by the minorities and women. “Discrimination of a most flagrant kind is now practiced at the federal, state, and local levels. A white teacher in Piscataway, NJ, is fired solely on account of her race. Asian students are denied admission to state universities to make room for students of other races