The Benefits

When affirmative action was first implemented, the system was intended to make up for a history of oppression. While slavery ended before the 20^th century, major effects of discrimination were seen far into the 1960’s and even now some effects are still seen. Affirmative action was established first in industry in an attempt to force employers to cease discriminatory hiring practices. As the years went by, affirmative action began to apply to more things and include more people. The modern affirmative action affects hiring practices in many industries and acceptance policies in higher education. It now applies to a larger range of people including various racial groups, people with disabilities, and women. This practice was intended to level the playing field for those at a disadvantage from past discrimination.

The very beginning of affirmative action used rigid quotas in order to better represent the actual demographics. This led to some odd practices such as busing which would take children to an out of district school to fulfill an interracial balance. While the practice was odd, the method of achieving diversity was accepted on the ground that it made up for the past. These quotas were deemed unfair by Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and a new system came into place.

The modern affirmative action gives a slight advantage to those from a way of life that has suffered oppression/discrimination in the past. The process allows schools to actively reach out to those of minorities and urge them to apply. Additionally, financial aid and other programs may be offered to support those of underrepresented groups. These tactics have significantly increased applications from minority groups and, consequently, enrollment.

Positive effects of affirmative action include a more inclusive environment in education. By giving students of a minority background a little slack in the admission process, students disadvantaged from past accommodations are able to qualify for more schools. 

Statistics show a decrease of minority groups enrolled in schools across various states following respective bans on affirmative action. The difference is significant in states that have a larger minority population. According to a 2013 University of Washington study, following bans of affirmative action in colleges, chance of enrollment for minorities dropped by 23% compared to 1% of those not of a minority.

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While it may not match the title of the blog, affirmative action also helped women achieve more. Similar to racial discrimination, gender discrimination held back women from obtaining the same level of education and employment as men. Affirmative action policies help to redefine the opportunities women have in the world. In education, it is predominantly used to allow women into fields of study from which they were once discouraged from pursuing such as engineering, medicine, and law. Statistics for women employment show that female employment by federal contractors rose by 15.2%.

Affirmative action strives to create equal opportunity for all. While originally created for ensuring African Americans were represented in the work force, affirmative action quickly spread to include others. Today, affirmative action is reaching out to those in poverty and giving those from less fortunate backgrounds greater opportunity to improve their current conditions.

Regardless of the process behind it, affirmative action helps create a more diverse learning environment in schools. The inclusion of minorities creates a diverse cultural and social learning environment. In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of University of Michigan to allow the consideration of race in admission process to "achieve a diverse student body."

There is no doubt that affirmative action has helped move America away from the discrimination of the past. It has assisted those of minorities out of past oppression. This process gave the struggling minority community a foot hold out of the ditch discrimination left it in.

With each new generation, America is moving further away from the wrongdoings of the past. A question being asked is “How appropriate is affirmative action now?” The next blog will go into further detail on the drawbacks and trade-offs of affirmative action.

A History

Affirmative action in education has become a highly debated topic recently. Affirmative action was started as a way to compensate for the discrimination of minorities in education and employment. The idea behind it was that even if minority groups have equal rights, past discrimination has given them a disadvantage in preparedness for future opportunities.

Let’s start by taking a look at the history of affirmative action.

In 1865, African Americans were officially freed from the bonds of slavery by the Thirteenth Amendment; however their treatment would remain unequal for nearly a century after that.

In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower began a trend of executive orders and acts that prohibited discrimination in federal employment.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy coined the phrase affirmative action in an executive order that stated that government contractors “take affirmative action to ensure applicants are employed… without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” Although the phrase was used in regards to government hired contractors, such a statement summarized the general idea behind the order.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and another executive order which effectively banned discrimination of any sort (race, sex, religion, etc.) in employment and publics services. He is quoted with saying, “You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say you are free to compete with all others, and still just believe that you have been completely fair.”

In 1971, the US Department of Labor issued guidelines that attempted to properly represent minorities in the work force, especially in government-sponsored programs.

And that brings us to the current status of affirmative action. It finds itself applied to education and businesses across the nation often seen under the term “equal opportunity establishment.”

Some of these organizations, especially schools, created a quota to fill when it came to accepting minority applicants. During the early years of affirmative action, this managed to get by under the idea of compensating for past injustices. However in 1978 in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, a white student sued the school claiming the quotas prevented more qualified students from obtaining admission. The court found that using race as an admission factor was acceptable and this convention was held until 2003. That year, the Supreme Court found that affirmative action could no longer be justified as compensation for the injustices of the past, but could still exist for schools to maintain diversity.

People, often of the majority, find issues with affirmative action as it treats minorities with special care only because they are of a minority. In a way, such a program is a form of reverse discrimination. These supporters believe that an applicant should be considered based on their merits alone.

In light of this opinion, several states have banned affirmative action to promote the equal treatment of all. As of 2008, these states include California, Michigan, Washington, and Nebraska.