Affirmative Action

Affirmative action was originally a set of public policies and initiatives designed to help women and minorities. It was created to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Affirmative action is a growing argument among our society. It is multifaceted and very often defined vaguely. Affirmative action is defined by supporters as the ability to strive for equality and inclusiveness. Opponents see it as a quote-based system for different minority groups. I agree and support affirmative action in the sense that individuals should be treated equally, and without it, many minorities would not have the same opportunities as “white males.”

There are many myths about affirmative action. One myth is that the only way to create a color-blind society is by adopting color-blind policies. The truth is that these policies usually put minorities at a disadvantage. Unlike affirmative action, these policies tend to protect white workers against layoffs, because they are usually the senior employees. At the same time, color-blind colleges usually favor white students because of their earlier educational advantages. Therefore, these policies put in place over affirmative action do not correct racial injustice, they rather reinforce it.

Supporters claim that the playing field is equal now between the minorities and whites. However, although progress has been made, the playing field is far from level. Women are continuing to earn only 76 cents per every male dollar. Equal opportunities for the blacks, for the most part, have remained