Affirmative Action Program example essay topic

Affirmative Action For many years, people have presumed that Affirmative Action has played and continues to play a vital and important role in the lives of most minorities. However, some people have raised questions about the effectiveness of Affirmative Action. Since it's conception, it has been believed that in some instances, Affirmative Action has been more harmful then helpful. One may ask the question, is Affirmative Action really worth fighting for? Some may argue, that if it had not been for Affirmative Action, the minority unemployment rate would be much higher. Like any program, Affirmative Action has its flaws.

One major downside occurs when employers over look one's credentials and hires people solely on the color of their skin. It can not be denied however, that Affirmative Action has aided in the struggle to bring about the social inclusion of minorities in the work place and schools. When society begins to misuse the Affirmative Action programs and begins using it as a form of reverse discrimination, then it becomes hard for sates to continue implementing it. These programs where not intended to take job opportunities away from qualified white applicants. If anything, Affirmative Action was meant to be administered by way of the least intrusive means.

This program was created to allow minorities to have the same chance to excel in the workforce that the average Caucasian has. I have to admit, I am a strong supporter of Affirmative Action and equality by any means necessary. Equality is something that we as minorities have fought so hard to achieve. Taking Affirmative Action away from minorities would be equivalent to setting the African American race back a hundred years. At the same time, using Affirmative Action as a crutch as opposed to a stepping stone, will also aid in the decline of minorities, in the work force and everywhere else. In the United States, promoting diversity in the workplace is becoming virtually impossible.

Laws such as Tile VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the fourteenth Amendments were both created to protect the American people from discrimination on the grounds of race, creed, religion, sex and color. However; Affirmative Action was created to encourage diversity on the basis of race, creed and color. The real problem is created, when job employers do not apply enough strict scrutiny to the hiring process. The lack of strict scrutiny being applied to the hiring process makes it easy for an employer to cross the thin line between discrimination and equality.

What I mean by this is, when an employer decides that he or she needs to create a more diverse working environment, the employer may tend to hire a person, strictly on the basis of color and not so much on their merit and ability to handle the job at hand. Unless an employer can prove that the person he or she has hired is more qualified for the position than one of the applicants that was turned down, then he or she is liable to be faced with a case of reverse discrimination. If we take a look at Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Fourteenth Amendment, we will see that the two are in direct contrast with the Affirmative Action clause. This way you can see how easy it is for an employer to cross the very thin line between equality and discrimination.

This is why it is so very hard for an employer to incorporate the Affirmative Action program without violating Title VII and the Fourteenth Amendment. In some ways, Affirmative Action can be helpful, but by the same token, it is possible for it to create more harm than good. Affirmative Action has aided in manufacturing the social inclusion of minorities in the work place. However, due to the way that Affirmative Action has been abused and manipulated, many cases of reverse discrimination have come about. This is why so many people feel that Affirmative Action is more of a nuisance than it is morally justifiable.

I can not speak for everyone in saying that the Affirmative Action programs are a good idea. It is up to each individual to make up their own minds about how they feel about the different Affirmative Action programs. Those of us who are for Affirmative Action, should speak out and do our best to keep it going strong for the next few generations to come. This Paper was written By Mary E. Flowers..