Essay on Affirmative Action A Road to Discrimination and...

Affirmative Action: A Road to Discrimination and Prejudice Affirmative action: these words bring to mind many different things to many different people. To some it is a leveler of the playing field and a right for past injustices, but to others it is a tool used to cause reverse discrimination and continues prejudices. Affirmative action was born into a time when our country was attempting to provide equality for all and was only intended to be a temporary measure to bring about this equality into areas where it had been lacking. Now almost forty years later this temporary measure known as affirmative action is still being used and has in the most part failed to bring about the equality it was supposed to. Instead, we have today a†¦show more content†¦From this beginning one can see that affirmative action was too narrow in scope to ever actually level the playing field or to make up for past injustices to all without discriminating against some. The main focus of affirmative action was on education and employment. It required that measures be used to ensure that minorities and women be given the same opportunities for promotions, salary increases, career advancements, school admissions, scholarships, and financial aid that all others were given (Brummer, 2003), but originally did not state how this was to be accomplished. By 1970, the federal government had established regulations which required affirmative action through goals and timetables. While unintended in conception, in practice, these too often encouraged preferential treatment for members of one group over members of another. Ultimately affirmative action became based on preferential treatment in the form of quotas and other efforts that made race and gender the determining factors in many aspects of employment and admission to colleges (Wilson, 1995, p. 111). Here lies the root problem with affirmative action in that it causes a new form of discrimination to exis t. Overtime, it has become apparent that affirmative action has exacted a price from its beneficiaries, that is often higher than the supposed rewards that affirmative action was to give, the success of affirmative action was based on its appeal to our heritageShow MoreRelatedEssay on History and Opinions on the Policy of Affirmative Action1725 Words   |  7 Pagestime racism, prejudice, and discrimination has existed. Through the years, society has come a long way in dealing with this everlasting problem; however, the problem still lives in todays world. It affects who we are and where we will go in our life. So if racism can so dramatically alter our life, one might question what can be done to cease this unfair practice? One solution, or rather method to equal out the past inequalities African American and other minorities, is Affirmative Action. The basicRead MoreIs Affirmative Action Fair1826 Words   |  8 PagesInformal Logic Is Affirmative Action Fair? Brian Addis August 23, 2010 Is Affirmative Action Fair? Affirmative action was created to increase the number of people from certain social groups in employment, education, business, government, and other areas (LaNoue, G., 2010). This policy is geared toward women, and minorities such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and disabled people. Generally speaking, Affirmative Action was put intoRead MoreCultural Perspectives On Cultural Diversity977 Words   |  4 Pagesanything or anyone that they simply cannot understand. Essentialism, supports stereotype prejudice, psychologically embedding the thoughts and ideas of these prejudices engrained into the psyche of the individual, making these stereotype prejudice a core value (Bastian, Haslam, 2006). â€Å"People essentialize emotion categories by assuming that members of the same category† behave in the same manner, fostering a prejudice against people (Lindquist, Gendron, Oosterwijk, Barrett, 2013). The psychologicalRead More The E ffects that Affirmative Action Has Had on Past and Future Endeavors of Minorities in the United States2847 Words   |  12 PagesAfrican Americans. That equalizer is affirmative action. Affirmative action is a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment. In addition to providing equal opportunity, affirmative action also serves as a form of reparation for the actions by white America in the past. 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This means that under any such program, more African-Americans would be pulled over for random traffic stops and drug/weapon searches, more middle-eastern-Americans would be monitored in government buildings for terrorist action, and more Hispanic-Americans would be followed and watched for gang activity. This same article has over ten different detailed accounts from individuals of minorities that all have a story to tell about how racial profiling singled them out as lawRead MoreEducation In Richard Rodriguezs The Hunger Of Memory977 Words   |  4 PagesRichard Rodriguez, the author of â€Å"The Hunger of Memory,â €  is a Mexican man who rose above prejudices to become a distinguished member of society through education. Sherman Alexie, the author of â€Å"Superman and Me,† is a Native American man who grew up on an Indian reservation with a love of books and a penchant for learning in an attempt to exceed further than the predetermined path set in front of him. Rodriguez perceives education as something that has built a division between him and his family butRead MoreAnalysis Of Richard Rodriguezs Hunger Of Memory1003 Words   |  5 PagesRichard Rodriguez, the author of Hunger of Memory, is a Mexican man who rose above prejudices to become a distinguished member of society through education. Sherman Alexie, the author of â€Å"Superman and Me,† is a Native American man who grew up on an Indian reservation with a love of books and a penchant for learning in an attempt to exceed further than the predetermined path set in front of him. Rodriguez perceives education as someth ing that has built a division between him and his family but allowedRead MoreWorldwide Telecommunications1024 Words   |  5 PagesThousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, Retrieved November 18, 2006 from: http://informationr.net/ir/reviews/revs227.html Connerley and Pedersen discuss issues that may arise on a day to day basis. The story describes how you can be aware of discrimination, stereotype, and diversity. People of many natures, origins, cultures, and background tend to work with each other and before to long, someone is discriminated against because they are different in some way. These others explain how you canRead MoreAffirmative Action is Ineffective2890 Words   |  12 Pageslimitless opportunity available and equal for all? For years Affirmative Action has tried to level the laying field, but its black field workers are still being oppressed. It is evident that Affirmative action is ineffective with the differences in the number of employed blacks compared to whites and their difficulties to get and keep a job, blacks repetition in society has been tarnished due to stereotypes, and blacks face hidden discrimination. Allover America people are loosing their jobs and