Affirmative Action In Higher Education

Affirmative action in the United States higher education system has been one of the most controversial policies since its inception in the mid-20th century (Alhaddab, 2015; Palmer, Wood, & Spencer, 2013; Platt, 1997; Zamani & Brown, 2003). Intended to redress discrimination and inequality within institutions, particularly regarding college access, affirmative action has been under assault for its perceived inequity and unconstitutionality (Alhaddab, 2015; Allen, 2011). Opponents of affirmative action often argue the policy encourages implicit bias, or “reverse discrimination,” and that admission decisions should be purely merit-based. Proponents believe it necessary to promote diversity and ensure the successful integration of historically
Initally, higher education was intended for “gentlemen scholars,” or wealthy, White males (Thelin, 2004), and thus, affirmative action policy acknowledges that systemic inequalities require ongoing initiatives to level the playing field for all Americans (Platt, 1997). Affirmative action programs are not meant to guarantee equal results; rather, the policy is meant to allow for equality of opportunity to those groups facing discrimination in the nation's work force and educational institutions (Alhaddab, 2015). Though the roots of affirmative action can be traced back to the 1930’s and 40’s through public assistance and entitlement programs (e.g., the G.I. Bill), the beneficiaries of these programs were typically limited to that of white, working-class and lower-middle class males (Platt, 1997). Therefore, it was not until the civil rights and feminist movements in the early 1950’s that affirmative action began to take shape in higher education for the advancement of African Americans and
Board of Education, which reversed the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson and the doctrine of "separate but equal"; President Kennedy's 1961 Executive Order 10925, which for the first time linked the phrase "affirmative action" to civil rights enforcement policy; and the 1964 Civil Rights Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion, or national origin (Palmer, Wood, & Spencer, 2013; Tierney, 1997). Additionally, in response to President Johnson’s War on Poverty, part of the national solution was to create equal access to education, housing, and other resources (Alger et al., 2000). However, affirmative action was not greatly enforced until 1965, when President Johnson explained that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was not enough to ensure justice and overcome discrimination: “You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, ‘you are free to compete with all the others,’ and still justly believe you have been completely fair...This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity––not legal equity but human ability––not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result” (President Johnson, 1965). The President reinforced his speech by