Affirmative Action
Key Facts
Affirmative Action is where minorities are positively discriminated against and is favoured by the Democrats
It means equality of results, not just equality of opportunity
It was introduced by Kennedy when he created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision
Nixon enhanced this by saying employers should have quotas for minorities to fill
Republicans criticise it for being 'reverse racism' as there have been examples of white students losing out to less qualified black students eg. Alan Bakke
Arguments Against
Arguments For
It leads to greater diversity and multi-culturalism
It rights previous wrongs eg. slavery
It opens up education and employment to minorities who otherwise couldn't have considered it
It creates a diverse student body, hopefully leading to less racism in the future
It may be the most effective simple way to deliver equality of opportunity
It works! Between 1960 and 1995 the percentage of black people graduating from university rose by 10%
Issue of reverse discrimination- eg. Alan Bakke was denied a place at medical school
It can lead to minorities being admitted to courses they can't cope with- studies show black students do worse in the more prestigious colleges they otherwise wouldn't have been admitted to
They may be condescending to minorities as it implies they can't achieve things alone
It perpetuates a society based on race- Republicans favour a 'colour-blind' approach
Some say it's still just a quota policy under a different name, but this was deemed unconstitutional in 1978
The Supreme Court deemed quotas unconstitutional in 1978, but continue to agree with Affirmative Action
Has It worked?
Yes
No
It ignores issues of class; lower class black people still can't afford to go to college, and neither can white lower class people.
The election of Obama is evidence of a more post-racial America
America is still incredibly racially divided (evidence is Trump's election). More drastic action is needed to help black people get out of the cycle of poverty eg. racial reparations, which Obama was criticised for failing to do.
Studies show racial discrimination in the workplace is still widespread
The wage gap between black and white people has been widening since 1979
It has increased tensions against minorities. Despite quotas only being used very rarely and under government supervision, there is a perception that minorities are only there because of their race.
There are now more black people in white collar jobs than when affirmative action began
The goal was to even the playing field a little more, not fix racial disparity in America. The goal is for affirmative action to have made itself redundant by 2028
Many states eg. Nebraska have banned all affirmative action programs