Due to how disadvantaged African-Americans had been during the 100 years after the Civil War, many Democrat politicians began to believe that the government needed to discriminate positively in favour of African-Americans in such areas as housing, education and employment. Affirmative action was meant to lead to diversity and multiculturalism- the view that the school, the college, the firm, the workplace should reflect the racial diversity of the nation. Some however feel it being reverse discrimination to others. It tended to be unfair to majorities. This has created a lot of debate over the years and many try to conclude this debate through looking at the effectiveness of affirmative action. Some believe that it has worked where as some believe it has not.…
Affirmative action is an instituted list of policies to make up for past discrimination against groups based on race, religion, national origin, and gender. From its beginning, affirmative action has given minority groups opportunities for employment, promotion at work, new business ownership, school admission, scholarships and financial aid. President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced affirmative action during the civil rights era in 1965. It was used "as a method of redressing discrimination that had persisted in spite of civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees." (Brunner) The purpose of affirmative action was to end racial inequality and set a level playing field for all races. Affirmative action allowed minorities a fair chance to pursue education and career advancement. It originally was intended for temporary assistance and was supposed to crush existing racially biased ideas in society. What was once a noble and valiant idea in 1965…
Affirmative action was first referenced to in 1961 with the signing of Executive order 10925 (Brunner). With this the Committee on Equal Opportunity was created, and was mandated that "projects financed with federal funds take affirmative action ' to ensure that hiring and employment practices are free of racial bias" (Brunner). Three years later, in 1964 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights act that prohibits any form of discrimination (Brunner). On June 4, 1965, President Johnson defined the concept of affirmative action saying, "that civil rights laws alone are not enough to remedy discrimination" (Brunner). Supporters of affirmative action say that the government must make up for the past by aiding groups that have been discriminated against. They argue that goals for hiring are necessary to integrate fields traditionally closed and minorities because of discrimination. Does achieving these goals help the American population?…
The words "affirmative action" were first recorded in law in the year 1961 under the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Congress passed Executive Order 10925 instructing federal contractors to take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." In 1964 President Johnson wrote the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law and it stated that employment discrimination by large employers (large employers is defined as a company having 15 or more employees) was illegal whether they have government contracts or not. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the Executive Order 11246 requiring all government contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to expand job opportunities for minorities. Then again in 1967 Johnson amended E.O. 11246 to include affirmative action for women. However, instead of being required to provide opportunities for women and minorities, they only had to make a "good-faith" effort. In 1970, the first thought of quotas came about when President Nixon issued Order No. 4. It authorized flexible goals and timetables to correct "underutilization" of minorities by federal contractors. In 1971, Order No. 4 was revised to include women.…
came into office. Affirmative action lost some gains it had made and was mor or…
Affirmative Action has a long history. It was first used in the 1960’s in the Civil Rights Act. In 1965 the President ordered Affirmative Action to be applied to federal contractors (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2001). Imposing Affirmative Action resulted in organization creating quotas. Quotas are known as a “plan” to allow a specific amount…
The term “affirmative action” was first used back in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy in an executive order designed to encourage racially mixed work forces. He stated that contractors should “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin.” (Affirmative Action)…
Affirmative action can be defined by the set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin (Sykes 2009). The focus of such policies and initiatives range from employment and education to public contracting and health programs (Wikipedia 2009). These affirmative actions policies have been established in response to decades of discrimination against minorities, even after the passage of constitutional amendments and federal statutes prohibiting discrimination (ThisNation 2009). Affirmative action has been around since the late 1800s, however the push for more extensive laws and the enforcement of affirmative action actually began in the 1960s during the Civil Rights movement in the United States (WiseGeek 2008).…
Affirmative Action has become one of the most controversial issues regarding college admissions. It is an issue that exposes profiling to its highest extent. Race, gender and income now become vital factors in education opportunities. Affirmative Action is the procedure that is used as a criteria in admissions that will increase the points a college applicant receives on their application evaluation based on the previous factors. Whether race should be considered in the admission of a college applicant, is without a doubt a must in all states. Affirmative Action definitely will improve the opportunities of a minority student applying at a university but it will not be the deciding factor. When universities adopt affirmative action in the admissions they understand that merit plays a more important factor. Nevertheless, affirmative action can only help a student that is already prevailing academically. As a result, affirmative action should play a role in the college admissions decision. This is because minorities tend to be at a disadvantage in income and education opportunities. It is also important for the university to meet its…
For centuries now, local, state, and federal governments have been proactive in protecting or expanding the system of racial discrimination. White government officials and programs have often favored the racial and political-economic interests of white Americans. Government programs historically provided much access to homesteading land and numerous other valuable resources exclusively to white Americans (Feagin, 2010, p. 143). In an affords toward concern for equality, Affirmative action was created. It was designed to counteract the effect that discriminatory practices have embedded in the American culture. Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an under represented group "in areas of employment, education, and business", usually justified as countering the effects of a history of discrimination. The term "affirmative action" was first used in the United States in Executive Order 10925 and was signed by President John F. Kennedy on 6 March 1961; it was used to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted Executive Order 11246 which required government employers to take "affirmative action" to hire without regard to race, religion and national origin. In 1968, gender was added to the anti-discrimination…
Those who advocate affirmative action generally believe it is a means to address past discrimination. Affirmative action helps those that were set back by discrimination by giving them a chance to excel in education and in the workplace. This is done through recruitment programs that target disadvantaged groups and giving them preferential treatment among applicants. Less fortunate minorities are less likely to have good jobs and universities available to them but affirmative action gives them this chance. Affirmative action also helps to bring diversification to our workplaces and universities.…
Sept. 24, 1965, President Johnson issued the Executive Order 11246, enforcing the affirmative action for the first time.…
whites has been bad. In a survey in 1984, one out of ten white males claimed to…
Since the early 1960 's, Congress has sought to ensure have equal access to employment and advancement in the federal government for all people despite their race. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, it was a central concept of the Great Society programs of the Johnson administration. The order stated that government contractors should be employed "without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin."(Ginsburg) It was based on the assertion that the high levels of unemployment and ongoing discrimination that women and minorities encountered were hindrances to the vision of the Great Society. The federal government therefore devised "affirmative action" programs to remedy such discriminatory practices and their consequences. Although affirmative action programs were created to give a boost to minority employment, they create a sense of color consciousness and inequalities even in minority employment.…
Affirmative Action, in the United States, was to overcome the effects of past discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. The policy was implemented by federal agencies enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and two executive orders, which provided that government contractors and educational institutions receiving federal funds develop such programs. The Equal…