Affirmative Action Should Not Be Continued Essay -- argumentative, pers

Affirmative action started in the 1960’s as a way to end discrimination against African American and later all minorities - including women. By migrating people of all color into workplaces and colleges/universities seemed to be the suitable solution to diversify our nation. Although blacks had been freed for a 100 years, they continually struggled with segregation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned the segregation of all sort in the United States, however that was not enough. Congress mandated the affirmative action program as a plan of desegregation. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy made reference to this plan, but it was not until September 1965 that it was enforced by President Lyndon Johnson. The program affected federal jobs, to include federal contracting company, and universities. In order to receive federal funding, each entity had to hire and enroll minorities. Affirmative action was a good jump start to get our nation to where it is today. However, affi rmative action should not be continued because it is a form of discrimination, it is more harmful than helpful, and it supplements race or gender for one’s qualification. The government thinks that implementing affirmative action will repair inequality, but it cannot. In the midst of tying to promote equality, they are promoting discrimination. Discrimination is the violation of one’s human rights based on gender, sex, race, ethnicity and/or relation. President Johnson felt that blacks being free and able to go to the same school as Caucasians were not just enough for the past discrimination and turmoil the African Americans went through. Affirmative action was used as a cure to remedy lost times. Sandal made some valid points; he noted that th... .../wp-srv/politics/special/affirm/stories/aaop031595.htm Murphy, S. (2010 July 23). Judge tells city to hire four white firefighters. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/08/26/judge_tells_city_to_hire_four_white_firefighters/ Plous, S. (2003). Ten myths about affirmative action. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/readroom/articles/affirm.htm Pottinger, J. (1972). The drive toward equality. New York: Change Magazine. Sandel, M. (2009). Justice: What’s the right thing to do? New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux Sargis, D. (2004 March 2). Race-based college scholarships. Retrieved from http://www.intellectualconservative.com/article3183.html Timeline of Affirmative Action Milestone (2010 July, 05). Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/affirmativetimeline1.html