Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the name of an American social practice through which members of historically disadvantaged racial and/or ethnic groups are given preferential treatment in an effort to compensate for past harm caused to their ancestors. For thirty years, affirmative action was carefully shielded from open, honest evaluation while it simultaneously grew more pervasive along with the federal bureaucracy and welfare state. The recent political upheaval caused by the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 has opened the door for opponents of affirmative action programs to successfully pursue their gradual elimination. If affirmative action is to continue as an American institution, its supporters must be willing to listen to frank criticisms of affirmative action's shortcomings. Nevertheless, affirmative action programs remain an endangered species. Affirmative action programs were initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 to correct past discrimination. Its purpose was to actively seek out black candidates for jobs, college, or promotions, without treating them differently in the decision to hire, admit, or promote. In the 1970s, however, affirma
Zealousness is an effective way to get attention, but it is not effective in the long run. Affirmative action was established with noble motives and the support of most Americans, but extensive changes have taken place in both American society and affirmative action programs themselves since the 1960s, and the legitimacy and desirability of affirmative action has come under steadily-increasing scrutiny and criticism. For the past thirty years, affirmative action programs have been initiated, enforced, and enlarged by an ever-expanding government bureaucracy. " Constance Horner reports that "Almost 70 percent responding to one national poll indicated a belief that 'the federal government controls too much of our daily lives,'" (Rodrigue, 1995) and "Another poll had two-thirds of Americans choosing 'big government' as the country's gravest peril" (Rodrigue, 1995). Excessively activist affirmative action laws jeopardize the very existence of affirmative action. At its foundation, American culture has a sense of fairness, a belief in racial integration, and a presumption that a civically activist polity will voluntarily (if slowly) make positive social change. tive action took on a new meaning as good-faith efforts to recruit blacks would not withstand a Title VII challenge of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Affirmative action programs at the Federal and local levels have sometimes brought out negative actions. The strategy most frequently employed was to select the best available black candidate even if the best was not good enough for the position. America's current incarnation of affirmative action was formally established by an executive order during the sixties.
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Acceptance Essays
