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Affirmative action in the United States

In the United States, affirmative action consists of government-mandated, government-approved, and voluntary private programs granting special consideration to groups considered or classified as historically excluded, specifically racial minorities and women.[1][2] These programs tend to focus on access to education and employment in order to redress the disadvantages[3][4][5][6][7] associated with past and present discrimination.[8] Another goal of affirmative action policies is to ensure that public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.[9]

Legality of affirmative action in the United States by state
  Affirmative action and other forms of selective employment are banned
  Affirmative action and other forms of selective employment are not banned

As of 2024, affirmative action rhetoric has been increasingly replaced by emphasis on Diversity, equity, and inclusion and nine states explicitly ban its use in the employment process.[10][11] The Supreme Court in 2023 explicitly rejected affirmative action regarding race in college admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The Court held that affirmative action programs "lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today".[12][13][14]

History edit

Summary edit

The modern history begins in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy in 1961 issued Executive Order 10925, which required government contractors to take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin."[15] Affirmative action then evolved into a complex system of group preferences which would face many legal challenges. Affirmative action included the use of racial quotas until the Supreme Court ruled that quotas were unconstitutional in 1978.[16] Affirmative action currently tends to emphasize not specific quotas but rather "targeted goals" to address past discrimination in a particular institution or in broader society through "good-faith efforts ... to identify, select, and train potentially qualified minorities and women."[2][17] For example, many higher education institutions have voluntarily adopted policies which seek to increase recruitment of racial minorities.[18][page needed] Outreach campaigns, targeted recruitment, employee and management development, and employee support programs are examples of affirmative action in employment.[19] Nine states in the United States have banned race-based affirmative action: California (1996), Washington (1998, rescinded 2022[20]), Florida (1999), Michigan (2006), Nebraska (2008), Arizona (2010), New Hampshire (2012), Oklahoma (2012), and Idaho (2020). Florida's ban was via an executive order and New Hampshire and Idaho's bans were passed by the legislature. The other six bans were approved at the ballot.[21] The 1996 Hopwood v. Texas decision effectively barred affirmative action in the three states within the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit—Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas—until Grutter v. Bollinger abrogated it in 2003.[22]

Affirmative action policies were developed to address long histories of discrimination faced by minorities and women, which reports suggest produced corresponding unfair advantages for whites and males.[23][24] They first emerged from debates over non-discrimination policies in the 1940s and during the civil rights movement.[25] These debates led to federal executive orders requiring non-discrimination in the employment policies of some government agencies and contractors in the 1940s and onward, and to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited racial discrimination in firms with over 25 employees. The first federal policy of race-conscious affirmative action was the Revised Philadelphia Plan, implemented in 1969, which required certain government contractors to set "goals and timetables" for integrating and diversifying their workforce. Similar policies emerged through a mix of voluntary practices and federal and state policies in employment and education. Affirmative action as a practice was partially upheld by the Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), while the use of racial quotas for college admissions was ruled unconstitutional in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978).[a] In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), the Supreme Court majority ruled that race-based affirmative action in college admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, with concurrences highlighting race-based affirmative action's violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Affirmative action remains controversial in American politics. Supporters claim that it promotes equality and representation for groups which are socioeconomically disadvantaged or have faced historical discrimination or oppression and counteracts continuing bias and prejudice against women and minorities. Supporters also point to contemporary examples of conscious and unconscious biases, such as the finding that job-seekers with African American sounding names may be less likely to get a callback than those with white-sounding names, as proof that affirmative action is not obsolete.[17][26][27] Coversely, opponents argue that these policies constitute racism and/or amount to discrimination against other racial and ethnic groups, such as Asian Americans and White Americans, which entails favoring one group over another based upon racial preference rather than achievement, and many believe that the diversity of current American society suggests that affirmative action policies succeeded and are no longer required.[26] Opponents also argue that it tends to benefit the most privileged within minority groups at the expense of the least fortunate within majority groups,[28][page needed] or that when applied to universities it can hinder minority students by placing them in courses too difficult for them.[29]

Origins edit

The policy now called affirmative action was talked about as early as the Reconstruction Era (1863–1877) in which a former slave population lacked the skills and resources for independent living.[30] In 1865, General William Tecumseh Sherman proposed to divide the land and goods from Confederates in Georgia and grant it to freed black slaves. The idea was called the "Forty acres and a mule" policy.[30] The proposal was controversial because it would reverse the policy or peaceful reunion between North and South. Congress never approved. Sherman's military orders were soon revoked by President Andrew Johnson. Requiring private construction firms to hire Blacks on public housing projects funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) was an innovative New Deal policy in the 1930s. About 13% of these new hires were Black, but the policy was not publicized and ended by 1941.[31] In the 1950s and 1960s, the discussion of policies to assist classes of individuals reemerged during the Civil Rights Movement. Civil rights guarantees that came through the interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment affirmed the civil rights of people of color.[32]

Roosevelt administration (1933–1945) edit

The first appearance of the term 'affirmative action' was in the National Labor Relations Act, better known as the Wagner Act, of 1935.[18]: 15  Proposed and championed by U.S. Senator Robert F. Wagner, Democrat of New York, the Wagner Act was in line with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's goal of providing economic security to workers and other low-income groups.[33] During this time period it was not uncommon for employers to blacklist or fire employees associated with unions. The Wagner Act allowed workers to unionize without fear of being discriminated against, and empowered a National Labor Relations Board to review potential cases of worker discrimination. In the event of discrimination, employees were to be restored to an appropriate status in the company through 'affirmative action'.[34] While the Wagner Act protected workers and unions it did not protect minorities, who, exempting the Congress of Industrial Organizations, were often barred from union ranks.[18]: 11  This original coining of the term therefore has little to do with affirmative action policy as it is seen today, but helped set the stage for all policy meant to compensate or address an individual's unjust treatment.[35]

FDR's New Deal programs often contained equal opportunity clauses stating "no discrimination shall be made on account of race, color or creed".[18]: 11  No enforfement was attempted outside the PWA housing projects. FDR's largest contribution to affirmative action, however, lay in his Executive Order 8802 of 1941 which prohibited discrimination in the defense industry or government.[18]: 22  The executive order promoted the idea that if taxpayer funds were accepted through a government contract, then all taxpayers should have an equal opportunity to work through the contractor.[18]: 23–4  To enforce this idea, Roosevelt created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) with the power to investigate hiring practices by government contractors.[18]: 22 

Truman administration (1945–1953) edit

Following the Sergeant Isaac Woodard incident, President Harry S. Truman, himself a combat veteran of World War I, issued Executive Order 9808[36] establishing the President's Committee on Civil Rights to examine the violence and recommend appropriate federal legislation. Hearing of the incident, Truman turned to NAACP leader Walter Francis White and declared, "My God! I had no idea it was as terrible as that. We've got to do something." In 1947 the committee published its findings, To Secure These Rights. The book was widely read, influential, and considered utopian for the times: "In our land men are equal, but they are free to be different. From these very differences among our people has come the great human and national strength of America." The report discussed and demonstrated racial discrimination in basic freedoms, education, public facilities, personal safety, and employment opportunities. The committee was disturbed by the state of race relations, and included the evacuation of Americans of Japanese descent during the war "made without a trial or any sort of hearing...Fundamental to our whole system of law is the belief that guilt is personal and not a matter of heredity or association." The recommendations were radical, calling for federal policies and laws to end racial discrimination and bring about equality: "We can tolerate no restrictions upon the individual which depend upon irrelevant factors such as his race, his color, his religion, or the social position to which he is born." To Secure These Rights set the liberal legislative agenda for the next generation that eventually would be signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson.[18]: 35–36 

To Secure These Rights also called for desegregation of the Armed Forces. "Prejudice in any area is an ugly, undemocratic phenomenon, but in the armed services, where all men run the risk of death, it is especially repugnant." The rationale was fairness: "When an individual enters the service of the country, he necessarily surrenders some of the rights and privileges which are inherent in American citizenship." In return, the government "undertakes to protect his integrity as an individual." Yet that was not possible in the segregated Army, since "any discrimination which...prevents members of the minority groups from rendering full military service in defense of their country is for them a humiliating badge of inferiority." The report called for an end to "all discrimination and segregation based on race, color, creed, or national origins in...all branches of the Armed Services."[18]: 38–39 

In 1947 Truman and his advisors came up with a plan for a large standing military, called Universal Military Training, and presented it to Congress. The plan opposed all segregation in the new post-war Armed Forces: "Nothing could be more tragic for the future attitude of our people, and for the unity of our nation" than a citizens' military that emphasized "class or racial difference."[18]: 39–40 

On February 2, 1948, President Truman delivered a special message to Congress. It consisted of ten objectives that Congress should focus on when enacting legislation. Truman concluded by saying, "If we wish to inspire the peoples of the world whose freedom is in jeopardy, if we wish to restore hope to those who have already lost their civil liberties, if we wish to fulfill the promise that is ours, we must correct the remaining imperfections in our practice of democracy."[37]

In June, Truman became the first president to address the NAACP. His speech was a significant departure from traditional race relations in the United States. In front of 10,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, the president left no doubt where he stood on civil rights. According to his speech, America had "reached a turning point in the long history of our country's efforts to guarantee freedom and equality to all our citizens...Each man must be guaranteed equality of opportunity." He proposed what black citizens had been calling for – an enhanced role of federal authority through the states. "We must make the Federal government a friendly, vigilant defender of the rights and equalities of all Americans. And again I mean all Americans."[18]: 40 

On July 26, Truman mandated the end of hiring and employment discrimination in the federal government, reaffirming FDR's order of 1941.[18]: 40  He issued two executive orders on July 26, 1948: Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 9981. Executive Order 9980, named Regulations Governing for Employment Practices within the Federal Establishment, instituted fair employment practices in the civilian agencies of the federal government. The order created the position of Fair Employment Officer. The order "established in the Civil Service Commission a Fair Employment Board of not less than seven persons."[36] Executive Order 9981, named Establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, called for the integration of the Armed Forces and the creation of the National Military Establishment to carry out the executive order.[38]

On December 3, 1951, Truman issued Executive Order 10308, named Improving the Means for Obtaining Compliance with the Nondiscrimination Provisions of Federal Contracts,[39] which established an anti-discrimination committee on government contract compliance responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the federal government comply with all laws and regulations enacted by Congress and the committee on the grounds of discriminatory practices.[39]

Eisenhower administration (1953–1961) edit

When Eisenhower was elected president in 1952 after defeating Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, he believed hiring practices and anti-discrimination laws should be decided by the states, although the administration gradually continued to desegregate the Armed Forces and the federal government.[18]: 50  The President also established the Government Contract Committee in 1953, which "conducted surveys of the racial composition of federal employees and tax-supported contractors".[18]: 50–51  The committee, chaired by Vice President Richard Nixon, had minimal outcomes in that they imposed the contractors with the primary responsibility of desegregation within their own companies and corporations.[18]: 51 

Kennedy administration (1961–1963) edit

In the 1960 presidential election, Democratic candidate and eventual winner John F. Kennedy "criticized President Eisenhower for not ending discrimination in federally supported housing" and "advocated a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission".[18]: 59  Shortly after taking office, Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925 in March 1961, requiring government contractors to "consider and recommend additional affirmative steps which should be taken by executive departments and agencies to realize more fully the national policy of nondiscrimination.... The contractor will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin".[18]: 60  The order also established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (PCEEO), chaired by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Federal contractors who failed to comply or violated the executive order were punished by contract cancellation and the possible debarment from future government contracts. The administration was "not demanding any special preference or treatment or quotas for minorities" but was rather "advocating racially neutral hiring to end job discrimination".[18]: 61  Turning to issues of women's rights, Kennedy initiated a Commission on the Status of Women in December 1961. The commission was charged with "examining employment policies and practices of the government and of contractors" with regard to sex.[18]: 66 

In June 1963, President Kennedy continued his policy of affirmative action by issuing another mandate, Executive Order 11114. The order supplemented to his previous 1961 executive order declaring it was the "policy of the United States to encourage by affirmative action the elimination of discrimination in employment".[18]: 72  Through this order, all federal funds, such as "grants, loans, unions and employers who accepted taxpayer funds, and other forms of financial assistance to state and local governments," were forced to comply to the government's policies on affirmative action in employment practices.[18]: 72 

Johnson administration (1963–1969) edit

Lyndon B. Johnson, the Texas Democrat and Senate Majority Leader from 1955 to 1961, began to consider running for high office, and in doing so showed how his racial views differed from those held by many White Americans in the traditional South. In 1957, Johnson brokered a civil rights act through Congress. The bill established a Civil Rights Division and Commission in the Justice Department. The commission was empowered to investigate allegations of minority deprivation of rights.[18]: 57 

The first time "affirmative action" is used by the federal government concerning race is in President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order 10925, which was chaired by Vice President Johnson. At Johnson's inaugural ball in Texas, he met with a young black lawyer, Hobart Taylor, Jr., and gave him the task to co-author the executive order. "Affirmative action" was chosen due to its alliterative quality. The term "active recruitment" started to be used as well. This order, albeit heavily worked up as a significant piece of legislation, in reality carried little actual power. The scope was limited to a couple hundred defense contractors, leaving nearly $7.5 billion in federal grants and loans unsupervised.[18]: 60 

NAACP had many problems with JFK's "token" proposal. They wanted jobs. One day after the order took effect, NAACP labor secretary Herbert Hill filed complaints against the hiring and promoting practices of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Lockheed was doing business with the Defense Department on the first billion-dollar contract. Due to taxpayer-funding being 90% of Lockheed's business, along with disproportionate hiring practices, black workers charged Lockheed with "overt discrimination." Lockheed signed an agreement with Vice President Johnson that pledged an "aggressive seeking out for more qualified minority candidates for technical and skill positions.[18]: 63–64  This agreement was the administration's model for a "plan of progress." Johnson and his assistants soon pressured other defense contractors, including Boeing and General Electric, to sign similar voluntary agreements indicating plans for progress. However, these plans were just that, voluntary. Many corporations in the South, still afflicted with Jim Crow laws, largely ignored the federal recommendations.[18]: 63–64 

This eventually led to LBJ's Civil Rights Act, which came shortly after President Kennedy's assassination. This document was more holistic than any President Kennedy had offered, and therefore more controversial. It aimed not only to integrate public facilities, but also private businesses that sold to the public, such as motels, restaurants, theaters, and gas stations. Public schools, hospitals, libraries, parks, among other things, were included in the bill as well. It also worked with JFK's executive order 11114 by prohibiting discrimination in the awarding of federal contracts and holding the authority of the government to deny contracts to businesses who discriminate. Maybe most significant of all, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act aimed to end discrimination in all firms with 25 or more employees. Another provision established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as the agency charged with ending discrimination in the nation's workplace.[18]: 74 

Conservatives said that Title VII of the bill advocated a de facto quota system, and asserted unconstitutionality as it attempts to regulate the workplace. Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey corrected this notion: "there is nothing in [Title VII] that will give power to the Commission to require hiring, firing, and promotion to meet a racial 'quota.' [. . .] Title VII is designed to encourage the hiring on basis of ability and qualifications, not race or religion." Title VII prohibits discrimination. Humphrey was the silent hero of the bill's passing through Congress. He pledged that the bill required no quotas, just nondiscrimination. Doing so, he convinced many pro-business Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (IL) to support Title VII.[18]: 78–80 

On July 2, 1964, the Act was signed into law by President Johnson. A Harris poll that spring showed 70% citizen approval of the Act.[18]: 82 

Nixon administration (1969–1974) edit

The strides that the Johnson presidency made in ensuring equal opportunity in the workforce were built upon by his successor Richard Nixon. In 1969, the Nixon administration initiated the "Philadelphia Order". It was regarded as the most forceful plan thus far to guarantee fair hiring practices in construction jobs. Philadelphia was selected as the test case because, as Assistant Secretary of Labor Arthur Fletcher explained, "The craft unions and the construction industry are among the most egregious offenders against equal opportunity laws . . . openly hostile toward letting blacks into their closed circle." The order included definite "goals and timetables." As President Nixon asserted, "We would not impose quotas, but would require federal contractors to show 'affirmative action' to meet the goals of increasing minority employment."[40] It was through the Philadelphia Plan that the Nixon administration formed their adapted definition of affirmative action and became the official policy of the US government. The plan was defined as "racial goals and timetables, not quotas".[18]: 124 

Ford administration (1974–1977) edit

After the Nixon administration, advancements in affirmative action became less prevalent. "During the brief Ford administration, affirmative action took a back seat, while enforcement stumbled along."[18]: 145  Equal rights was still an important subject to many Americans, yet the world was changing and new issues were being raised. People began to look at affirmative action as a glorified issue of the past and now there were other areas that needed focus. "Of all the triumphs that have marked this as America's Century –...none is more inspiring, if incomplete, than our pursuit of racial justice."[41]

In the first half of the 20th century segregation was considered fair and normal. Due to changes made in American society and governmental policies the United States is past the traditional assumptions of race relations.[18]: 275 

"Affirmative action is a national policy that concerns the way Americans feel about race, past discrimination, preferences, merit – and about themselves. This is why it is an American dilemma, and that is why we must understand how it developed and how its rationale and definition have changed since the 1960s."[18]: 283 

Reagan administration (1981–1989) edit

In 1983, Reagan signed Executive Order 12432, which instructed government agencies to create a development plan for Minority Business Enterprises. While the Reagan administration opposed discriminatory practices, it did not support the implementation of quotas and goals (Executive Order 11246).[42] Bi-partisan opposition in Congress and other government officials blocked the repeal of this Executive Order[clarification needed]. Reagan was particularly known for his opposition to affirmative action programs. He reduced funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, arguing that "reverse discrimination" resulted from these policies.[43] However, the courts reaffirmed affirmative action policies such as quotas. In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled that courts could order race-based quotas to fight discrimination in worker unions in Sheet Metal Workers' International Association v. EEOC, 478 U.S. 42. In 1987, in Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County, California, 480 U.S. 616, the Supreme Court ruled that sex or race was a factor that could be considered in a pool of qualified candidates by employers.[44]

Obama administration (2009–2017) edit

After the election and inauguration of Barack Obama in the 2008 election, a huge excitement swept the nation for the first African-American president of the United States. Many supporters and citizens began to hope for a future with affirmative action that would be secure under a black president. However, progress was not as apparent within the first few years of president Obama's administration. In 2009, education statistics denote the problems of college admissions in the US: "The College Board recently released the average 2009 SAT scores by race and ethnicity. They found that the gap between Black and Latino student versus White and Asian students has widened, despite the College Board's recent efforts to change questions to eliminate cultural biases."[45] To the administration, it was apparent that more work was needed to better the situation. The following year in 2010, Obama presented his plan regarding the past administration's policy, under George W. Bush, called the "No Child Left Behind Act." Unlike the No Child Left Behind Act, president Obama's policy would instead reward schools and institutions for working with minorities and oppressed students. Additionally, in an indirect manner, the Obama administration aimed to garner support for more federal money and funds to be allocated to financial aid and scholarships to universities and colleges within the United States.[45] They also have endorsed the decision of Fisher vs. University of Texas where the Supreme Court decision which endorses "the use of affirmative action to achieve a diverse student body so long as programs are narrowly tailored to advance this goal."[46]

Trump administration (2017–2021) edit

The Trump administration supported rolling back Obama-era policies on affirmative action,[47] and Trump advocated that institutions, including universities, colleges, and schools, should use "race-neutral alternatives" concerning admissions. The guidelines the administration set were aimed to curb the Supreme Court decision's in Fisher v. University of Texas.[46][48][49]

In 2019, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, a lawsuit alleging discrimination in admission against Asian Americans by the college, that Harvard's system, while imperfect, nonetheless passed constitutional muster.[50][51]

Biden administration (2021–) edit

The case was appealed, and in January 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case together with a similar case related to admissions practices at the University of North Carolina.[52][53] The case was argued on October 31, 2022.[54] After the court rejected affirmative action at U.S. colleges and universities on June 29, 2023, President Joe Biden said he "strongly" disagreed with the decision. In a televised address, he urged the nation to make sure the decision did not become "the last word" on affirmative action. "Discrimination still exists in America," he said.[55]

Legal history edit

Executive orders and legislation edit

Established the concept of affirmative action by mandating that projects financed with federal funds "take affirmative action" to ensure that hiring and employment practices are made "without regard to race" but does not call for group preferences.
The Johnson administration embraced affirmative action in 1965, by issuing U.S Executive order 11246, later amended by Executive order 11375. The original order mandated that federal contractors cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of race, religion and national origin. It also mandated that these federal contractors ensure equal employment opportunity in their hiring practices.[58] The order was amended to include sex.[59] It prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, skin color, religion, gender, or national origin. The order requires that contractors take affirmative action to ensure that "protected class, underutilized applicants" are employed when available, and that employees are treated without negative discriminatory regard to their protected-class status.
The order specifically requires certain organizations accepting federal funds to take affirmative action to increase employment of members of preferred racial or ethnic groups and women. Any organization with fifty or more employees and an aggregate revenue exceeding $50,000 from a single federal contract during a twelve-month period must have a written affirmative action plan. This plan must include goals and timetables for achieving full utilization of women and members of racial minorities, in quotas based on an analysis of the current workforce compared to the availability in the general labor pool of women and members of racial minorities, but did not not authorize preferences for women and minorities.
The order is enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the U. S. Department of Labor and by the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Justice.[60]
During the Nixon administration, affirmative action was adopted as a federal mandate for companies with federal contracts and for labor unions whose workers were engaged in those projects. This revised Philadelphia Plan was spearheaded by Labor Department official Arthur Fletcher.[61]
This order claims to build upon the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) established in 1969 by clarifying the Secretary of Commerce's authority to "(a) implement Federal policy in support of the minority business enterprise program; (b) provide additional technical and management assistance to disadvantaged businesses; (c) to assist in demonstration projects; and (d) to coordinate the participation of all Federal departments and agencies in an increased minority enterprise effort."
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandated all United States Federal Agencies cannot discriminate against candidates with disabilities.[63]
  • 1979 – U.S. Executive Order 12138[64]
Issued by President Jimmy Carter, this executive order created a National Women's Business Enterprise Policy and required government agencies to take affirmative action in support of women's business enterprises.

Federal court cases edit

The case concerned white and Hispanic firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut, who upon passing their test for promotions to management were denied the promotions, allegedly because of a discriminatory or at least questionable test. The test gave 17 whites and two Hispanics the possibility of immediate promotion. Although 23% of those taking the test were African American, none scored high enough to qualify. Due to the possibility of biased tests in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act,[67][68] no candidates were promoted pending outcome of the controversy.[67][68] In a 5–4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that New Haven had engaged in impermissible racial discrimination against the White and Hispanic majority.
  • 2013 — Fisher v. University of Texas I, 570 U.S. 297 (2013) — clarified Grutter v. Bollinger by stating that a university may not consider race as a factor in admissions unless "available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice," and that such a decision warrants strict scrutiny.
  • 2014 — Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 572 U.S. 291 (2014) — upheld Michigan's ban on affirmative action for public institutions
  • 2016 — Fisher v. University of Texas II, No. 14-981, 579 U.S. ___ (2016) — upheld the university's limited use of race in admissions decisions because the university showed it had a clear goal of limited scope without other workable race-neutral means to achieve it.
  • 2021 — Vitolo v. Guzman, 999 F.3d 353 (6th Cir. 2021)
  • 2022 — Charlton-Perkins v. University of Cincinnati, 35 F.4th 1053 (6th Cir. 2022)
  • 2023 — Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, ___ F.4th ___ (4th Cir. 2023)
  • 2023 — Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, No. 20-1199, 600 U.S. ___ (2023) — overruled Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and Grutter v. Bollinger and disallowed non-individualized racial preferences in admissions for civilian universities
  • TBD — Students for Fair Admissions v. University of Texas at Austin (W.D. Tex.) (pending)
  • TBD — Students for Fair Admissions v. United States Military Academy at West Point (S.D.N.Y.) (pending)[69]

State cases and legislation edit

Arizona edit

In 2010, Arizona voters passed a constitutional ban on government-sponsored affirmative action known as Proposition 107.[70]

California edit

  • 1946 – Mendez v. Westminster School District
  • 1967 – Penn/Stump v. City of Oakland
This Consent Decree stated that men and women should be hired by race and gender as police officers in the same percentage that they are represented in the population of the city. This process took more than twenty years to achieve. At the time, there were approximately 34 black police officers on the Oakland Police Department and no black females among them. At this time, the militant Black Panther Party had formed in part due to police brutality at the hands of Oakland's overwhelmingly white police force. The City of Oakland, by contrast, had a population that was nearly majority African American, prompting the push for recruiting minority police officers.[71]
This proposition mandates that "the state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."[72] Prop 209 has been opposed by some government officials who have stated an intent to ignore the Proposition, including San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.[73]
This initiative proposed an amendment to the Constitution of the State to delete provisions of California Proposition 209 related to public education, in order to allow the State of California giving preferential treatment in public education to individuals and groups on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.[74] The amendment passed in the Assembly, but was withdrawn from consideration in the Senate.[75]
This legislatively referred initiative appeared on the November 2020 ballot and asked California voters whether to repeal 1996's Proposition 209 and reintroduce affirmative action to the state. It was defeated with 57% of voters voting against it.

Florida edit

Idaho edit

Massachusetts edit

  • 1998 – Wessmann v. Gittens 160 F.3d 790 (1st Cir. 1998)

Michigan edit

After Gratz and Grutter, in November 2006, voters in the State of Michigan banned affirmative action by passing Proposal 2, a statewide referendum amending the Michigan Constitution. Proposal 2 bans public affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, public education or public contracting purposes. The amendment, however, contains an exception for actions that are mandated by federal law or that are necessary in order for an institution to receive federal funding. On April 22, 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the ban in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and ruled "that there is no authority...for the judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit to the voters the determination whether racial preferences may be considered in governmental decisions, in particular with respect to school decisions."[76]

Nebraska edit

In November 2008, Nebraska voters passed a constitutional ban on government-sponsored affirmative action. Initiative 424 bars government from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of ethnicity or gender.[77]

New Hampshire edit

As of January 1, 2012 (House Bill 623), affirmative action is not allowed in college admissions and employment.[78]

Oklahoma edit

During the November 6, 2012 election, a majority of Oklahoma voters voted to pass Oklahoma State Question 759, which ended affirmative action in college admissions and public employment.[79]

Texas edit

In 1992, Cheryl Hopwood and three other white law school applicants challenged the University of Texas Law School's affirmative action program and claimed that they were rejected for the 1992–1993 academic year based upon their unfair preferences toward less qualified minority applicants.[80] Hopwood rejected the legitimacy of diversity as a goal for the University of Texas education system since educational diversity was not recognized as a state goal.[80] On March 19, 1996, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit suspended the University of Texas Law School's affirmative action admissions program and the university's subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court in July was declined. Race-sensitive admissions would no longer be permitted at the state's public colleges and universities and had extended effects into universities in Mississippi and Louisiana.[80] In the year after the Hopwood case, only 4 black students were admitted into the law school whereas previous years had averages of above 31 admittances.[81] To ameliorate the effects of the Hopwood case, the University of Texas legislature passed the Top 10 Percent Rule, which requires public universities to automatically accept students who graduated within the top 10 percent of their high school classes. In 2003, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling of Hopwood v. Texas.[82]
On October 10, 2012, Abigail Fisher challenged The University of Texas at Austin' consideration of race in the undergraduate admissions process.[83] After being denied admission at the University of Texas at Austin for the Fall of 2008 term, Fisher argued that UT Austin's use of race in admissions decisions violated her right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.[83] The United States District Court ruled in favor of the university that race can be considered as a factor in admissions, but must be able to prove that "available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice."[84] The Fifth Circuit also ruled in favor of the university and the case was ultimately brought to the Supreme Court. In a vote of 7–1, the Supreme Court ruled to send the case back down to the Fifth Circuit for further review under the strict scrutiny standard which is the highest standard of judicial review. On July 15, 2014, the Fifth Circuit voted 2–1 to again uphold UT Austin's consideration of race in admissions.[84] Fisher petitioned the Supreme Court to hear her case once again. In June 2015, the Court agreed to do so. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgement of the Fifth Circuit (i.e. sided with the University) in a 4–3 decision, Fisher v. University of Texas.

Washington edit

Initiative 200 was a 1998 ballot initiative that prohibits "preferential treatment" based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, and contracting. The Washington Supreme Court interpreted I-200 to forbid affirmative actions that promote a "less qualified" applicant over a "better qualified" one, but not programs that sought to achieve diversity without consideration of individual merit. In April 2019, the Washington Legislature passed Initiative 1000, ending the ban on affirmative action.[85] However, in November 2019, Referendum 88 blocked Initiative 1000 from going into effect.[86][87]
  • 2000 – Smith v. University of Washington 233 F.3d 1188 (9th Cir. 2000)[88]
  • 2003 – Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, 149 Wn.2d 660, 72 P.3d 151 (2003), 2003
  • 2004 – Smith v. University of Washington 392 F.3d 367 (9th Cir. 2004)
  • 2019 – Initiative 1000 (I-1000) would reintroduce Affirmative Action back to the state of Washington. However, residents of Washington initiated a "Let People Vote!" movement and called for a referendum. Referendum 88 would then decide whether I-1000 would be able to go into effect. It was defeated in the November election in 2019 by a direct majority vote, effectively continuing the ban on Affirmative Action put in place by Initiative 200 in 1998.

Arguments in favor of affirmative action edit

President Kennedy stated in Executive Order 10925 that "discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin is contrary to the Constitutional principles and policies of the United States"; that "it is the plain and positive obligation of the United States Government to promote and ensure equal opportunity for all qualified persons, without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin, employed or seeking employment with the Federal Government and on government contracts"; that "it is the policy of the executive branch of the Government to encourage by positive measures equal opportunity for all qualified persons within the Government"; and that "it is in the general interest and welfare of the United States to promote its economy, security, and national defense through the most efficient and effective utilization of all available manpower".[56]

Some individual American states also have orders that prohibit discrimination and outline affirmative action requirements with regard to race, creed, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, and disability status.[89]

Proponents of affirmative action argue that by nature the system is not only race based, but also class and gender based. To eliminate two of its key components would undermine the purpose of the entire system. The African American Policy Forum believes that the class based argument is based on the idea that non-poor minorities do not experience racial and gender based discrimination. The AAPF believes that "Race-conscious affirmative action remains necessary to address race-based obstacles that block the path to success of countless people of color of all classes". The group goes on to say that affirmative action is responsible for creating the African American middle class, so it does not make sense to say that the system only benefits the middle and upper classes.[90]

Researchers told ABC News in 2023 that economic inequality, segregation and academic inequity in K-12 schools, as well as the lasting effect of past exclusion from colleges and universities have led to the continued underrepresentation of Black and brown students in four-year institutions.[91]

Example of success in women edit

Supporters of affirmative action point out the benefits women gained from the policy as evidence of its ability to assist historically marginalized groups. In the fifty years that disenfranchised groups have been the subject of affirmative action laws, their representation has risen dramatically[92] in the workforce, but some research suggests the increase in white women is due to their decision to enter their workforce rather than affirmative action.[93]

According to anti-racism activist Tim Wise:

Thanks in large measure to affirmative action and civil rights protections that opened up previously restricted opportunities to women of all colors, from 1972 to 1993:

– The percentage of women architects increased from 3% to nearly 19% of the total;

– The percentage of women doctors more than doubled from 10% to 22% of all doctors;

– The percentage of women lawyers grew from 4% to 23% of the national total;

– The percentage of female engineers went from less than 1% to nearly 9%;

– The percentage of female chemists grew from 10% to 30% of all chemists; and,

– The percentage of female college faculty went from 28% to 42% of all faculty. (Moseley-Braun 1995, 8)

Furthermore, since only 1983, the percentage of women business managers and professionals grew from 41% of all such persons, to 48%, while the number of female police officers more than doubled, from 6% to 13% (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 1995, Table 649). According to a 1995 study, there are at least six million women — the overwhelming majority of them white — who simply wouldn't have the jobs they have today, but for the inroads made by affirmative action (Cose 1997, 171).[94]

Need to counterbalance historic inequalities edit

African Americans edit

For the first 250 years of America's recorded history, Africans were traded as commodities and forced to work without pay, first as indentured servants then as slaves. In much of the United States at this time, they were barred from all levels of education, from basic reading to higher-level skills useful outside of the plantation setting.[95]

After slavery's abolition in 1865, Black-Americans saw the educational gap between themselves and whites compounded by segregation. They were forced to attend separate, under-funded schools due to Plessy v. Ferguson. Though de jure school segregation ended with Brown v. Board of Education, de facto segregation continues in education into the present day.[96]

Following the end of World War II the educational gap between White and Black Americans was widened by Franklin D. Roosevelt's GI Bill. This piece of legislation paved the way for white GIs to attend college. Despite their veteran status returning black servicemen were not afforded loans at the same rate as whites. Furthermore, at the time of its introduction, segregation was still the law of the land barring blacks from the best institutions. Overall, "Nearly 8 million servicemen and servicewomen were educated under the provisions of the GI Bill after World War II. But for blacks, higher educational opportunities were so few that the promise of the GI Bill went largely unfulfilled."[97]

Hispanic Americans edit

According to a study by Dr. Paul Brest, Hispanics or "Latinos" include immigrants who are descendants of immigrants from the countries comprising Central and South America.[98] In 1991, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans made up 80% of the Latino population in the United States. Latinos are disadvantaged compared to White Americans and are more likely to live in poverty.[98] They are the least well-educated major ethnic group and suffered a 3% drop in high school completion rate while African Americans experienced a 12% increase between 1975 and 1990.[98] In 1990, they constituted 9% of the population, but only received 3.1% of the bachelors's degrees awarded. At times when it was favorable to lawmakers, Latinos were considered "white" under Jim Crow laws during Reconstruction.[98] In other cases, according to Paul Brest, Latinos have been classified as an inferior race and a threat to white purity. Latinos have encountered considerable discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and education.[98] Brest finds that stereotypes continue to be largely negative and many perceive Latinos as "lazy, unproductive, and on the dole."[98] Furthermore, native-born Latino-Americans and recent immigrants are seen as identical since outsiders tend not to differentiate between Latino groups.[98]

Native Americans edit

The category of Native American applies to the diverse group of people who lived in North America before European settlement.[98] During the U.S. government's westward expansion, Native Americans were displaced from their land which had been their home for centuries. Instead, they were forced onto reservations which were far smaller and less productive.[98] According to Brest, land belonging to Native Americans was reduced from 138 million acres in 1887 to 52 million acres in 1934.[98] In 1990, the poverty rate for Native Americans was more than triple that of the whites and only 9.4% of Native Americans have completed a bachelor's degree as opposed to 25.2% of whites and 12.2% of African Americans.[98]

Asian Americans edit

Early Asian immigrants experienced prejudice and discrimination in the forms of not having the ability to become naturalized citizens. They also struggled with many of the same school segregation laws that African Americans faced.[98] Particularly, during World War II, Japanese Americans were interned in camps and lost their property, homes, and businesses.[98] Discrimination against Asians began with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and then continued with the Scott Act of 1888 and the Geary Act of 1892. At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States passed the Immigration Act of 1924 to prevent Asian immigration out of fear that Asians were stealing white jobs and lowering the standard for wages.[98] In addition, whites and non-Asians do not differentiate among the different Asian groups and perpetuate the "model minority" stereotype. According to a 2010 article by Professor Qin Zhang of Fairfield University, Asians are characterized as one dimensional in having great work ethic and valuing education, but lacking in communication skills and personality.[98][99] A negative outcome of this incorrect stereotype is that Asians have been portrayed as having poor leadership and interpersonal skills. This has contributed to the "glass ceiling" phenomenon in which although there are many qualified Asian Americans, they occupy a disproportionately small number of executive positions in businesses;[98] although this has recently changed with the many successes of Asian billionaires,[100] pop-culture icons including Bruce Lee, sports figures such as Jeremy Lin, gold-medal figure skater Michelle Kwan, and free-style skier Eileen Gu.

Fair vs. equal/discrimination vs. inclusion edit

Many proponents of affirmative action recognize that the policy is inherently unequal; however, minding the inescapable fact that historic inequalities exist in America, they believe the policy is much more fair than one in which these circumstances are not taken into account. Furthermore, those in favor of affirmative action see it as an effort towards inclusion rather than a discriminatory practice. "Job discrimination is grounded in prejudice and exclusion, whereas affirmative action is an effort to overcome prejudicial treatment through inclusion. The most effective way to cure society of exclusionary practices is to make special efforts at inclusion, which is exactly what affirmative action does."[101]

Diversity edit

The National Conference of State Legislatures stated in a 2014 overview that many supporters for affirmative action argue that policies stemming from affirmative action help to open doors for historically excluded groups in workplace settings and higher education.[1] Workplace diversity has become a business management concept in which employers actively seek to promote an inclusive workplace.[102] By valuing diversity, employers possess the capacity to create an environment in which there is a culture of respect for individual differences as well as the ability to draw in talent and ideas from all segments of the population.[103] By creating this diverse workforce, these employers and companies gain a competitive advantage in an increasingly global economy.[103] According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, many private sector employers have concluded that a diverse workforce makes a "company stronger, more profitable, and a better place to work." Therefore, these diversity promoting policies are implemented for competitive reasons rather than as a response to discrimination, but have shown the value in having diversity.[102]

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), in 2000 concluded that the consensus of research found that "the resulting diversity actually helps the institution achieve its educational goals....racial and ethnic diversity has both direct and indirect positive effects on the educational outcomes and experiences of college students" [104] [105] According to a study by Geoffrey Maruyama and José F. Moreno, the results showed that faculty members believed diversity helps students to reach the essential goals of a college education, Caucasian students suffer no detrimental effects from classroom diversity, and that attention to multicultural learning improves the ability of colleges and universities to accomplish their missions.[105] Furthermore, a diverse population of students offers unique perspectives in order to challenge preconceived notions through exposure to the experiences and ideas of others.[106] According to Professor Gurin of the University of Michigan, skills such as "perspective-taking, acceptance of differences, a willingness and capacity to find commonalities among differences, acceptance of conflict as normal, conflict resolution, participation in democracy, and interest in the wider social world" can potentially be developed in college while being exposed to heterogeneous group of students.[105] In addition, broadening perspectives helps students confront personal and substantive stereotypes and fosters discussion about racial and ethnic issues in a classroom setting.[106] Furthermore, the 2000 AAUP study states that having a diversity of views leads to a better discussion and greater understanding among the students on issues of race, tolerance, fairness, etc.[105]

Fidan Ana Kurtulus, an economics professor, found that during the 1970s and early 1980s, affirmative action led to an increase in the share of women and minorities working in federal contractors compared to firms that were not required to follow affirmative action guidelines.[107][108]

Prominent people in support of affirmative action edit

There are a multitude of supporters as well as opponents to the policy of affirmative action. Many presidents throughout the last century have failed to take a very firm stance on the policy, and the public has had to discern the president's opinion for themselves. Bill Clinton, however, made his stance on affirmative action very clear in a speech on July 19, 1995, nearly two and a half years after his inauguration. In his speech, he discussed the history in the United States that brought the policy into fruition: slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation. Clinton also mentioned a point similar to President Lyndon B. Johnson's "Freedom is not Enough" speech, and declared that just outlawing discrimination in the country would not be enough to give everyone in America equality. He addressed the arguments that affirmative action hurt the white middle class and said that the policy was not the source of their problems. Clinton plainly outlined his stance on affirmative action, saying:

Let me be clear about what affirmative action must not mean and what I won't allow it to be. It does not mean – and I don't favor – the unjustified preference of the unqualified over the qualified of any race or gender. It doesn't mean – and I don't favor – numerical quotas. It doesn't mean – and I don't favor – rejection or selection of any employee or student solely on the basis of race or gender without regard to merit...

In the end, Clinton stated that all the evidence shows that, even though affirmative action should be a temporary policy, the time had not come for it to be ended. He felt it was still a relevant practice and overall, the goal of the nation should be to "mend it, but don't end it." Clinton's words became a slogan for many Americans on the topic of affirmative action.[18]

Arguments against affirmative action edit

Affirmative action has been the subject of numerous court cases, where it is often contested on constitutional grounds. Some states specifically prohibit affirmative action, such as California (Proposition 209), Washington (Initiative 200), Michigan (Michigan Civil Rights Initiative), and Nebraska (Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative).

Bias edit

College Acceptance Rates (2005)[109]
Overall Acceptance Rate Black Acceptance Rate % Difference
Harvard 10.0% 16.7% + 67.0%
MIT 15.9% 31.6% + 98.7%
Brown 16.6% 26.3% + 58.4%
Penn 21.2% 30.1% + 42.0%
Georgetown 22.0% 30.7% + 39.5%

A 2005 study by Princeton sociologists Thomas J. Espenshade and Chang Y. Chung compared the effects of affirmative action on racial and special groups at three highly selective private research universities. The data from the study represent admissions disadvantage and advantage in terms of SAT points (on the old 1600-point scale):

  • Whites (non-recruited athlete/non-legacy status): 0 (control group)
  • Blacks: +230
  • Hispanics: +185
  • Asians: –50
  • Recruited athletes: +200
  • Legacies (children of alumni): +160[110]

In 2009, Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade and researcher Alexandria Walton Radford, in their book No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, examined data on students applying to college in 1997 and calculated that Asian-Americans needed nearly perfect SAT scores of 1550 to have the same chance of being accepted at a top private university as whites who scored 1410 and African Americans who got 1100.[111]

Medical School Acceptance Rates (2009–11)[citation needed]
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3.20-3.39 MCAT 27–29, GPA 3.20–3.39 MCAT 27–29, GPA 3.40–3.59
Asian 7.7% 17.6% 30.0%
White 12.3% 24.5% 35.9%
Hispanic 36.0% 54.5% 68.7%
Black 67.3% 83.3% 85.9%
Medical School Acceptance Rates (2013–15)[112]
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3.20–3.39 MCAT 27–29, GPA 3.20–3.39 MCAT 27–29, GPA 3.40–3.59
Asian 6.5% 13.9% 20.4%
White 8.2% 19.0% 30.6%
Hispanic 30.9% 43.7% 61.7%
Black 58.7% 75.1% 81.1%

After controlling for grades, test scores, family background (legacy status), and athletic status (whether or not the student was a recruited athlete), Espenshade and Radford found that whites were three times, Hispanics six times, and blacks more than 15 times as likely to be accepted at a US university as Asian Americans.[113] Thomas Espenshade cautions though, "I stop short of saying that Asian-American students are being discriminated against in the college application process because we don't have sufficient empirical evidence to support that claim."[114]

Mismatch effect edit

According to Richard Sander, artificially elevating minority students into schools they otherwise would not be capable of attending discourages them and tends to engender failure and high dropout rates for these students. For example, about half of Black college students rank in the bottom 20 percent of their classes,[115] Black law school graduates are four times as likely to fail bar exams as are whites, and interracial friendships are more likely to form among students with relatively similar levels of academic preparation; thus, Black and Hispanic people are more socially integrated on campuses where they are less academically mismatched.[116] He states that the supposed "beneficiaries" of affirmative action – minorities – do not actually benefit and rather are harmed by the policy.[117] Sander's ideas have been disputed, and his empirical analyses have been subject to substantial criticism.[118] A group including some of the country's lead statistical methodologists told the Supreme Court that Sander's analyses were sufficiently flawed that the Court would be wise to ignore them entirely.[119] A 2008 study by Jesse Rothstein and Albert H. Yoon confirmed Sander's mismatch findings, but also found that eliminating affirmative action would "lead to a 63 percent decline in Black matriculants at all law schools and a 90 percent decline at elite law schools."[120] These high numbers predictions were doubted in a review of previous studies by Peter Arcidiacono and Michael Lovenheim. Their 2016 article found a strong indication that racial preference results in a mismatch effect. However, they argued that the attendance by some African-American law students to less-selective schools would significantly improve the low first attempt rate at passing the state bar, but they cautioned that such improvements could be outweighed by decreases in law school attendance.[121]

A 2021 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that the 1998 ban on race-based affirmative action in California public universities led to lower wages for minority applicants and deterred qualified students from applying, which it stated was inconsistent with the mismatch effect.[122] A 2023 study published in Research in Higher Education also argues against mismatch and explains that Ariciacono and Lovenheim's findings are not supported when considering additional states and years. [123]

Class inequality edit

The controversy surrounding affirmative action's effectiveness is based on the idea of class inequality. Opponents of racial affirmative action argue that the program actually benefits middle- and upper-class African Americans and Hispanic Americans at the expense of lower-class European Americans and Asian Americans. This argument supports the idea of class-based affirmative action. America's poor population is disproportionately made up of people of color, so class-based affirmative action would disproportionately help people of color. This would eliminate the need for race-based affirmative action as well as reducing any disproportionate benefits for middle- and upper-class people of color.[124]

In 1976, a group of Italian American professors at City University of New York successfully advocated to be added as an affirmative action category for promotion and hiring. Italian Americans are usually considered white in the US and would not be covered under affirmative action policies, but statistical evidence suggested that Italian Americans were underrepresented relative to the proportion of Italian American residents in New York City.[125][better source needed]

Libertarian economist Thomas Sowell wrote in his book, Affirmative Action Around the World: An Empirical Study, that affirmative action policies encourage non-preferred groups to designate themselves as members of preferred groups [i.e., primary beneficiaries of affirmative action] to take advantage of group preference policies.[126]

Diversity edit

Critics of affirmative action assert that while supporters define diversity as "heterogeneous in meaningful ways, for example, in skill set, education, work experiences, perspectives on a problem, cultural orientation, and so forth", the implementation is often solely based on superficial factors including gender, race and country of origin.[127]

Prominent people against affirmative action edit

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opposes affirmative action. He believes the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment forbids consideration of race, such as in race-based affirmative action or preferential treatment. He also believes it creates "a cult of victimization" and implies blacks require "special treatment in order to succeed." Thomas also cites his own experiences of affirmative action programs as a reason for his criticism.[128][129]

Frederick Lynch, the author of Invisible Victims: White Males and the Crisis of Affirmative Action, did a study on white males that said they were victims of reverse discrimination.[130] Lynch explains that these white men felt frustrated and unfairly victimized by affirmative action.[131] Shelby Steele, another author against affirmative action, wanted to see affirmative action go back to its original meaning of enforcing equal opportunity. He argued that blacks had to take full responsibility in their education and in maintaining a job. Steele believes that there is still a long way to go in America to reach the goal of eradicating discrimination.[131]

Libertarian economist Thomas Sowell identified what he says are negative results of affirmative action in his book, Affirmative Action Around the World: An Empirical Study.[126] Sowell writes that affirmative action policies encourage non-preferred groups to designate themselves as members of preferred groups [i.e., primary beneficiaries of affirmative action] to take advantage of group preference policies; that they tend to benefit primarily the most fortunate among the preferred group (e.g., upper and middle class blacks), often to the detriment of the least fortunate among the non-preferred groups (e.g., poor white or Asian); that they reduce the incentives of both the preferred and non-preferred to perform at their best – the former because doing so is unnecessary and the latter because it can prove futile – thereby resulting in net losses for society as a whole; and that they engender animosity toward preferred groups as well.[126]: 115–147 

Implementation in universities edit

In the United States, a prominent form of racial preferences relates to access to education, particularly admission to universities and other forms of higher education. Race, ethnicity, native language, social class, geographical origin, parental attendance of the university in question (legacy admissions), and/or gender are sometimes taken into account when the university assesses an applicant's grades and test scores. Individuals can also be awarded scholarships and have fees paid on the basis of criteria listed above.[citation needed] Sex-based affirmative action is legal under Title IX, which exempts sex-based discrimination in admissions to private undergraduate colleges.[132]

In the early 1970s, Walter J. Leonard, an administrator at Harvard University, invented the Harvard Plan, "one of the country's earliest and most effective affirmative-action programs, which became a model for other universities around the country."[133] In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that public universities (and other government institutions) could not set specific numerical targets based on race for admissions or employment; the Court said that "goals" and "timetables" for diversity could be set instead.[134][better source needed]

Dean of Yale Law School Louis Pollak wrote in 1969 that for the previous 15 years Yale "customarily gave less weight to the LSAT and the rest of the standard academic apparatus in assessing black applicants". He wrote that while most black students had "not achieved academic distinction", "very few have failed to graduate" and that "many black alumni have ... speedily demonstrated professional accomplishments of a high order". Pollak justified the university's plans to increase the number of minority students admitted with lowered standards "in the fact ... that the country needs far more—and especially far more well-trained—black lawyers, bearing in mind that today only 2 or 3 per cent of the American bar is black", and that if Yale could help "in meeting this important national need, it ought to try to do so". He believed that the "minor fraction of the student body"—up to two dozen in the class entering that year—with "prior educational deficiencies" was not likely to damage the school, and expected that the number of "well prepared" black applicants would greatly increase in the future.[135]

Scholars such as Ronald Dworkin have asserted that no college applicant has a right to expect that a university will design its admissions policies in a way that prizes any particular set of qualities.[136] In this view, admission is not an honor bestowed to reward superior merit but rather a way to advance the mission as each university defines it. If diversity is a goal of the university and their racial preferences do not discriminate against applicants based on hatred or contempt, then affirmative action can be judged acceptable based on the criteria related to the mission the university sets for itself.[137]

Consistent with this view, admissions officers often claim to select students not based on academic record alone but also on commitment, enthusiasm, motivation, and potential.[138] Highly selective institutions of higher learning do not simply select only the highest SAT performers to populate their undergraduate courses, but high performers, with scores of 2250 to 2400 points, are extraordinarily well-represented at these institutions.[139]

To accommodate the ruling in Hopwood v. Texas banning any use of race in school admissions, the State of Texas passed a law guaranteeing entry to any state university if a student finished in the top 10% of their graduating class. Florida and California also have similar college admission guarantees. Class rank tends to benefit top students at less competitive high schools, to the detriment of students at more competitive high schools. This effect, however, may be intentional since less-funded, less competitive schools are more likely to be schools where minority enrollment is high. Critics argue that class rank is more a measure of one's peers than of one's self. The top 10% rule adds racial diversity only because schools are still highly racially segregated because of residential patterns.[140] To some extent, the class rank rule has the same effect as traditional affirmative action.[140] From 1996 to 1998, Texas did not practice affirmative action in public college admissions, and minority enrollment dropped. The state's adoption of the "top 10 percent" rule has helped return minority enrollment to pre-1996 levels.[140] Race-conscious admissions continue to be practiced in Texas following Fisher v. University of Texas.

Effectiveness edit

Professor Cornel West estimated that when he attended Harvard College in the early-1970's, 95% of black students were descended from American black families dating back to the Jim Crow era.[141] But during a panel discussion at Harvard University's reunion for black alumni during the 2003–04 academic year, two prominent black professors at the institution—Lani Guinier and Henry Louis Gates—pointed out that one unintended effect of affirmative-action policies at Harvard designed to increase the number of black students had been the replacement of American black students with black immigrants. Guinier and Gates claimed that only about a third of black Harvard undergraduates were from families in which all four grandparents were born into the African American community, and that the majority of black students at Harvard were Caribbean and African immigrants or their children, and/or mixed-race children of biracial couples.[142] By 2007, 41% of black students at Ivy League colleges were reportedly first- or second-generation immigrants, a group which made up only 13% of the US black population. In 2020, Harvard students whose families had been in the US for generations began referring to themselves as "Generational African-Americans", who hypothesized that their numbers were vanishingly small.[141] The subject is alleged to be "taboo" among admissions officers, and black Harvard students have claimed the university has discouraged them from collecting demographic information about the backgrounds of the black student population.[142]

UCLA professor Richard H. Sander published an article in the November 2004 issue of the Stanford Law Review that questioned the effectiveness of racial preferences in law schools. He noted that, prior to his article, there had been no comprehensive study on the effects of affirmative action.[117] The article presents a study that shows that half of all black law students rank near the bottom of their class after the first year of law school and that black law students are more likely to drop out of law school and to fail the bar exam.[117] The article offers a tentative estimate that the production of new black lawyers in the United States would grow by eight percent if affirmative action programs at all law schools were ended. Less qualified black students would attend less prestigious schools where they would be more closely matched in abilities with their classmates and thus perform relatively better.[117] Sander helped to develop a socioeconomically based affirmative action plan for the UCLA School of Law after the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996, which prohibited the use of racial preferences by public universities in California. This change occurred after studies showed that the graduation rate of blacks at UCLA was 41%, compared to 73% for whites.

A 2007 study by Mark Long, an economics professor at the University of Washington, demonstrated that when state referendums and court decisions forced flagship public universities in California, Texas, and Washington to abandon their large, race-based affirmative-action preferences in admissions, so-called "Top-X" alternatives to racial preferences—in which the highest-graded students at all public high schools in the state were guaranteed admission to public colleges—were unable to make up for the losses in black and Hispanic enrollment. Specifically, apparent rebounds of black and Hispanic enrollment were, in fact, explained by increasing minority enrollment in high schools of those states, and the primary beneficiaries of these "class-based" affirmative action policies appeared to be white students. On the other hand, Long noted that affirmative action itself has both moral and material costs, including the unpopularity of race-based affirmative action in college admissions; the high costs associated with full-file reviews of applicants; and the specter of litigation.[143]

A 2020 study by UC Berkeley Center Studies in Higher Education researcher Zachary Bleemer on the impact of California's ban on affirmative action on student outcomes using a difference-in-difference research design and a newly constructed longitudinal database linking all 1994–2002 University of California applicants to their college enrollment, course performance, major choice, degree attainment, and wages into their mid-30s found "the first causal evidence that banning affirmative action exacerbates socioeconomic inequities."[144] According to the study, the ban on affirmative action decreased Black and Latino student enrollment within the University of California system, reduced their likelihood of graduating and attending graduate school, and resulted in a decline in wages. At the same time, the policy did not significantly impact white and Asian American students.

A 2023 study by Harvard University Fellow in Ethnoracial Relations David Mickey-Pabello provides evidence that more schools were impacted by state-level bans on affirmative action than previously known. Mickey-Pabello describes a process termed the "anti-affirmative action avalanche" where underrepresented minority students are displaced from the most highly selective schools, and some ultimately enroll at for-profit schools.[145] The for-profit schools that had high enrollments of underrepresented minority students after state-level affirmative action bans in this study were also subsequently involved in lawsuits for predatory and illegal recruitment practices. [146][147]

Complaints and lawsuits edit

Dean Pollak wrote of the Yale quota for black students in response to a letter from Judge Macklin Fleming of the California Court of Appeal. Fleming criticized the Yale system as "a long step toward the practice of apartheid and the maintenance of two law schools under one roof", with consequent "damage to the standards of Yale Law School". He warned that such an admission policy "will serve to perpetuate the very ideas and prejudices it is designed to combat. If in a given class the great majority of the black students are at the bottom of the class", it would result in racial stratification between students, demands by black students to weaken academic standards, and other racially based "aggressive conduct". Fleming noted that racial quotas were a zero-sum game, as "discrimination in favor of X is automatic discrimination against Y"; Asians in California, for example, were overrepresented in engineering schools and would suffer if black and Mexican applicants received preferential treatment. He stated that a quota system violated "the American creed, one that Yale has proudly espoused ... that an American should be judged as an individual and not as a member of a group".[135]

In 2006, Jian Li, a Chinese undergraduate at Yale University, filed a civil rights complaint with the Office for Civil Rights against Princeton University, claiming that his race played a role in their decision to reject his application for admission and seeking the suspension of federal financial assistance to the university until it "discontinues discrimination against Asian Americans in all forms" by eliminating race and legacy preferences. Princeton Dean of Admissions Janet Rapelye responded to the claims in the November 30, 2006, issue of the Daily Princetonian by stating that "the numbers don't indicate [discrimination]." She said that Li was not admitted because "many others had far better qualifications." Li's extracurricular activities were described as "not all that outstanding".[148] Li countered in an email, saying that his placement on the waitlist undermines Rapelye's claim. "Princeton had initially waitlisted my application," Li said. "So if it were not for a yield which was higher than expected, the admissions office very well may have admitted a candidate whose "outside activities were not all that outstanding".[149] In September 2015, the Department of Justice concluded its nine-year investigation into alleged anti-Asian bias at Princeton and cleared Princeton of charges that it discriminated against Asian American applicants.[150] Furthermore, the department found that a number of Asian American students benefitted from race-conscious admissions.[151]

 
A protest in Boston's Copley Square on October 14, 2018, to support the lawsuit from Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard

In 2012, Abigail Fisher, an undergraduate student at Louisiana State University, and Rachel Multer Michalewicz, a law student at Southern Methodist University, filed a lawsuit to challenge the University of Texas admissions policy, asserting it had a "race-conscious policy" that "violated their civil and constitutional rights".[152] The University of Texas employs the "Top Ten Percent Law", under which admission to any public college or university in Texas is guaranteed to high school students who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school class.[153] Fisher has brought the admissions policy to court because she believes that she was denied acceptance to the University of Texas based on her race, and thus, her right to equal protection according to the 14th Amendment was violated.[154] The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher on October 10, 2012, and rendered an ambiguous ruling in 2013 that sent the case back to the lower court, stipulating only that the university must demonstrate that it could not achieve diversity through other, non-race sensitive means. In July 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that UT maintained a "holistic" approach in its application of affirmative action, and could continue the practice. On February 10, 2015, lawyers for Fisher filed a new case in the Supreme Court. It is a renewed complaint that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit got the issue wrong—on the second try as well as on the first.[155] The Supreme Court agreed in June 2015 to hear the case a second time. In July 2016 a majority of the Court found in favor of the University of Texas at Austin, with Justice Kennedy finding for the Court that the university's affirmative action policies were constitutional, despite the requirement of strict scrutiny.

Students for Fair Admissions edit

On November 17, 2014, Students for Fair Admissions, an offshoot of the Project on Fair Representation, filed lawsuits in federal district court challenging the admissions practices of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The UNC-Chapel Hill lawsuit alleges discrimination against white and Asian students, while the Harvard lawsuit focuses on discrimination against Asian applicants. Both universities requested the court to halt the lawsuits until the U.S. Supreme Court provides clarification of relevant law by ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin for the second time.[156]

In May 2015, a coalition of more than 60 Asian-American organizations filed federal complaints with the Education and Justice Departments against Harvard University. The coalition asked for a civil rights investigation into what they described as Harvard's discriminatory admission practices against Asian-American applicants.[157][158][159] The complaint asserts that recent studies indicate that Harvard has engaged in systematic and continuous discrimination against Asian Americans in its "holistic" admissions process. Asian-American applicants with near-perfect test scores, top-one-percent grade point averages, academic awards, and leadership positions are allegedly rejected by Harvard because the university uses racial stereotypes, racially differentiated standards, and de facto racial quotas.[160] Harvard denies engaging in discrimination and said its admissions philosophy complies with the law. The school said the percentage of Asian-American students admitted has grown from 17% to 21% in a decade while Asian-Americans represent around 6% of the U.S. population.[161] The lawsuit against Harvard was heard in Boston federal court in October 2018. On October 1, 2019, Judge Allison D. Burroughs rejected the plaintiffs' claims, ruling that Harvard's admissions practices meet constitutional requirements and do not discriminate against Asian Americans.[162] SFFA filed an appeal in the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the university.[32][163]

In June 2023, on further appeal, a majority of the Supreme Court actually found in favor of SFFA, ruling that the practice was unconstitutional and that when favoring black and Hispanic applicants the university did disadvantage Asian applicants in the admissions process as the process was a "zero sum" game where the granting of preferences to some minorities due to their race necessarily disadvantaged others because of their race.

In August 2020, the US Department of Justice notified Yale University of its findings that Yale illegally discriminates against Asian American and white applicants and demanded Yale cease using race or national origin in its upcoming 2020–2021 undergraduate admissions cycles.[164] Yale has issued a statement viewing the allegation as "baseless" and "rushed" and "will not change its admissions processes in response to today's letter because the DOJ is seeking to impose a standard that is inconsistent with existing law".[165]

Numerous myths and misperceptions regarding affirmative actions shape public opinion on the issue.[166] These misperceptions often shape public opinion on specific cases as well. For example, in Students for Fair Admissions, the conflation of two separate issues—Harvard University's affirmative action policy and specific claims of discrimination by Harvard University – colors individuals judgements on affirmative action as a whole.[156] Such conflation allows "longstanding myths about affirmative action and socially salient racial stereotypes concerning who does, and does not, belong in elite institutions of higher education" to prosper.[156] Hence, it is often difficult for public opinion polls on cases, let alone the general issue of affirmative action, to be unaffected by such myths.

Racial quotas in college admissions edit

The use of affirmative action in higher education has been debated countless of times during college admissions seasons, especially due to the mismatch effect. Though it creates opportunities for people of color and for people of minority groups to access higher education, many public universities, have been attacked for depending on racial quotas, implemented through affirmative action policies, to reach diversity goals. This has prompted for high-profile lawsuits and Supreme Court rulings based on arguments of reverse racism or discrimination that prevents admissions to "more qualified" white students to take place.[167] Consequently, these cases have constantly reshaped the view on affirmative action policies by referring to it, in its original sense, a race-conscious policy, which ultimately obliges the inclusion of people of minority groups in higher education.[168] Most importantly, it has questioned whether or not affirmative action is effective in achieving numerical goals while avoiding preferential treatment, where many[who?] have deemed it a form of "reverse discrimination."[169]

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California edit

In 1974, the California Supreme Court ruled that UC Davis violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Civil Rights Act because they were relying on racial quotas heavily.[170] Allen Bakke was a thirty-five-year-old man who applied to UC Davis medical school in two consecutive years, but was rejected both times.[170] This was because UC Davis had a special admission affirmative action program that reserved 16 spots for minority students, out of 100 admission slots, which Bakke argued was the reason he was rejected twice from the medical program despite having a high GPA and MCAT score.[170] In this special program, mostly run by members from minority groups, applicants who were considered disadvantaged did not have to meet the 2.5 grade point average minimum that the general admissions program implemented, and were only rated against other applicants from minority groups.[171] Since UC Davis was not able to prove that Bakke wouldn't have been admitted even if the special admission programs didn't exist, it was concluded that he was being discriminated by the color of his skin and was not being treated equally due to the racial quota.[171] Thus, Bakke was admitted to the school, as 8 out of 9 judges declared that the heavy reliance on the racial quota violated the Equal Protection Clause on the Fourteenth Amendment.[172] This ruling, however, did not prohibit the use of race as a factor in college admissions decisions,[172] it only prohibited its use for non-competitive admissions that favored a small demographic of minority group students.[169]

"Diversity" now became a factor in constitutional law, as the Court ruled it was allowable to consider race as a plus factor when trying to foster "diversity" in their classes.[173][174]

Public opinion regarding affirmative action edit

Public opinion polls on affirmative action have varied significantly. It is likely that survey design, the framing of the survey question itself, and other factors may have significant effects on the survey results. The following polls only discuss affirmative action in higher education. In general, "affirmative action" is supported by the general public, but "considerations based on race" are opposed.

In a survey conducted by Gallup in 2013,[175] 67% of U.S. adults believed college admission should be solely based on merit. According to Gallup: "One of the clearest examples of affirmative action in practice is colleges' taking into account a person's racial or ethnic background when deciding which applicants will be admitted. Americans seem reluctant to endorse such a practice, and even blacks, who have historically been helped by such programs, are divided on the matter. Aside from African Americans, a majority of all other major subgroups believe colleges should determine admissions solely on merit."

In a national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2014, among 3,335 Americans, 63% felt that affirmative action programs designed to increase the number of African American and minority students on college campuses are a good thing.[176]

In February 2019, Gallup published the results of a November and December 2018 survey and found that support for affirmative action programs was growing.[177] They polled 6,502 Americans. Of survey respondents, 65% favored affirmative action programs for women and 61% favored affirmative action programs for minorities.

Also in February 2019, the Pew Research Center published the results of a January and February 2019 survey and found that 73% of its respondents said that race or ethnicity should not be a factor in college admissions decisions.[178] According to this survey's results, majorities across racial and ethnic groups agree that race should not be a factor in college admissions decisions. White adults are particularly likely to hold this view: 78% say this, compared with 65% of Hispanics, 62% of African Americans, and 58% of Asians.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Regents was subsequently affirmed in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), decided concurrently with Grutter.

References edit

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Further reading edit

  • Anderson, Terry H. (2004). The pursuit of fairness: a history of affirmative action. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195157642., a standard scholarly history.
  • Bolick, Clint (2008). "Affirmative Action". In Hamowy, Ronald (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE; Cato Institute. pp. 6–8. doi:10.4135/9781412965811.n5. ISBN 978-1-4129-6580-4. LCCN 2008009151. OCLC 750831024., a negative assessment from the right.
  • Condit, Deirdre M.; Condit, Celeste M.; Achter, Paul J. (Spring 2001). "Human equality, affirmative action, and genetic models of human variation". Rhetoric & Public Affairs. 4 (1): 85–108. doi:10.1353/rap.2001.0003. JSTOR 41939651. S2CID 144851327.
  • Dobbin, Frank. Inventing equal opportunity (Princeton UP, 2009), scholarly history argues that Congress and the courts followed the lead of programs created by corporations.
  • Featherman, David L. et al. eds. The next twenty-five years: affirmative action in higher education in the United States and South Africa (U of Michigan Press, 2010).
  • Gillon, Steven M. "The strange career of affirmative action: the Civil Rights Act of 1964" in his "That's Not What We Meant to Do": Reform and Its Unintended Consequences in Twentieth-Century America (WW Norton, 2000) pp. 120-162.
  • Golland, David Hamilton (2008). Constructing affirmative action: federal contract compliance and the building construction trades, 1956–1973 (PhD thesis). City University of New York. OCLC 279305174. Order No. DA3325474.
  • Harpalani, Vinay (November 2012). "Diversity within racial groups and the constitutionality of race-conscious admissions". University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. 15 (2): 463–537.
  • Harper, Shannon, and Barbara Reskin. "Affirmative action at school and on the job." Annual Review of Sociology . 31 (2005): 357-379. online
  • Harrison, David A., et al. "Understanding attitudes toward affirmative action programs in employment: Summary and meta-analysis of 35 years of research." Journal of Applied Psychology 91#5 (2006): 1013+ online.
  • Holzer, Harry, and David Neumark. "Assessing affirmative action." Journal of Economic Literature 38.3 (2000): 483-568; summary of 200 studies on the actual effects. online
  • Hubbard, Gary William. "Affirmative Action: The Law and Politics of Equality" (PhD dissertation, The University of Nebraska - Lincoln; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  1978. 7910502)
  • Katznelson, Ira. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America (W. W. Norton, 2006)
  • Lee, Jennifer. "Asian Americans, affirmative action & the rise in Anti-Asian hate." Daedalus 150.2 (2021): 180-198. online
  • Menand, Louis. "The changing meaning of affirmative action." The New Yorker 306 (2020): 339+ online.
  • Monea, Nino. "Next on the Chopping Block: The Litigation Campaign against Race-Conscious Policies Beyond Affirmative Action in University Admissions." (SSRN 4440549, 2023) online
  • Pierce, Jennifer. Racing for innocence: Whiteness, gender, and the backlash against affirmative action (Stanford University Press, 2012).online
  • Portocarrero, Sandra, and James T. Carter. "Diversity initiatives in the US workplace: A brief history, their intended and unintended consequences." Sociology Compass 16.7 (2022): e13001. doi:10.1111/soc4.13001
  • Rubio, Philip F. A history of affirmative action, 1619-2000 (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2009), a major scholarly history. online
  • Schwarzschild, Maimon and Heriot, Gail L. "Race Preferences, Diversity, and Students for Fair Admissions: A New Day, a New Clarity" (January 16, 2024). SMU Law Review, Forthcoming (2024), San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 24-003, online
  • Smithsimon, Gregory. Liberty Road: Black Middle-Class Suburbs and the Battle Between Civil Rights and Neoliberalism (NYU Press, 2022) online.
  • Staff writer (Spring 1998). "Affirmative action wins a major victory in the U.S. Senate". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 19 (19): 12–13. doi:10.2307/2998878. JSTOR 2998878.
  • Thurber, Timothy M. "Racial Liberalism, Affirmative Action, and the Troubled History of the President's Committee on Government Contracts." Journal of Policy History 18.4 (2006): 446-476.
  • Urofsky, Melvin I. The Affirmative Action Puzzle: A Living History From Reconstruction to Today (2020); online book; also see New York Times book review
  • Weiss, Robert John. "We want jobs: a history of affirmative action" (PhD dissertation, New York University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  1985. 8604096).
  • Weiss, Robert J. "Affirmative Action: A Brief History" Journal of intergroup relations (1987), 15#2 p.40-53; ISSN: 0047-2492
  • Zamani-Gallaher, Eboni M. The case for affirmative action on campus: Concepts of equity, considerations for practice (Stylus Publishing, 2009), with timeline. online.

Primary sources edit

  • Robinson, Jo Ann, ed. Affirmative action : a documentary history (2001)

Legal edit

  • Abigail Noel Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (Case 11-345): Brief of the American Educational Research Association et al. as amici curiae in support of respondents (PDF). The Supreme Court of the United States.

External links edit

  • "Race, Gender, and Affirmative Action: Resource Page for Teaching and Study (2008), annotated bibliography and teaching guide from U of Michigan.

affirmative, action, united, states, united, states, affirmative, action, consists, government, mandated, government, approved, voluntary, private, programs, granting, special, consideration, groups, considered, classified, historically, excluded, specifically. In the United States affirmative action consists of government mandated government approved and voluntary private programs granting special consideration to groups considered or classified as historically excluded specifically racial minorities and women 1 2 These programs tend to focus on access to education and employment in order to redress the disadvantages 3 4 5 6 7 associated with past and present discrimination 8 Another goal of affirmative action policies is to ensure that public institutions such as universities hospitals and police forces are more representative of the populations they serve 9 Legality of affirmative action in the United States by state Affirmative action and other forms of selective employment are banned Affirmative action and other forms of selective employment are not bannedAs of 2024 affirmative action rhetoric has been increasingly replaced by emphasis on Diversity equity and inclusion and nine states explicitly ban its use in the employment process 10 11 The Supreme Court in 2023 explicitly rejected affirmative action regarding race in college admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard The Court held that affirmative action programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race unavoidably employ race in a negative manner involve racial stereotyping and lack meaningful end points We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way and we will not do so today 12 13 14 Contents 1 History 1 1 Summary 1 2 Origins 1 3 Roosevelt administration 1933 1945 1 4 Truman administration 1945 1953 1 5 Eisenhower administration 1953 1961 1 6 Kennedy administration 1961 1963 1 7 Johnson administration 1963 1969 1 8 Nixon administration 1969 1974 1 9 Ford administration 1974 1977 1 10 Reagan administration 1981 1989 1 11 Obama administration 2009 2017 1 12 Trump administration 2017 2021 1 13 Biden administration 2021 2 Legal history 2 1 Executive orders and legislation 2 2 Federal court cases 2 3 State cases and legislation 2 3 1 Arizona 2 3 2 California 2 3 3 Florida 2 3 4 Idaho 2 3 5 Massachusetts 2 3 6 Michigan 2 3 7 Nebraska 2 3 8 New Hampshire 2 3 9 Oklahoma 2 3 10 Texas 2 3 11 Washington 3 Arguments in favor of affirmative action 3 1 Example of success in women 3 2 Need to counterbalance historic inequalities 3 2 1 African Americans 3 2 2 Hispanic Americans 3 2 3 Native Americans 3 2 4 Asian Americans 3 3 Fair vs equal discrimination vs inclusion 3 4 Diversity 3 5 Prominent people in support of affirmative action 4 Arguments against affirmative action 4 1 Bias 4 2 Mismatch effect 4 3 Class inequality 4 4 Diversity 4 5 Prominent people against affirmative action 5 Implementation in universities 5 1 Effectiveness 5 2 Complaints and lawsuits 5 3 Students for Fair Admissions 5 4 Racial quotas in college admissions 5 4 1 Bakke v Regents of the University of California 6 Public opinion regarding affirmative action 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 10 1 Primary sources 10 2 Legal 11 External linksHistory editSummary edit The modern history begins in 1961 when President John F Kennedy in 1961 issued Executive Order 10925 which required government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race creed color or national origin 15 Affirmative action then evolved into a complex system of group preferences which would face many legal challenges Affirmative action included the use of racial quotas until the Supreme Court ruled that quotas were unconstitutional in 1978 16 Affirmative action currently tends to emphasize not specific quotas but rather targeted goals to address past discrimination in a particular institution or in broader society through good faith efforts to identify select and train potentially qualified minorities and women 2 17 For example many higher education institutions have voluntarily adopted policies which seek to increase recruitment of racial minorities 18 page needed Outreach campaigns targeted recruitment employee and management development and employee support programs are examples of affirmative action in employment 19 Nine states in the United States have banned race based affirmative action California 1996 Washington 1998 rescinded 2022 20 Florida 1999 Michigan 2006 Nebraska 2008 Arizona 2010 New Hampshire 2012 Oklahoma 2012 and Idaho 2020 Florida s ban was via an executive order and New Hampshire and Idaho s bans were passed by the legislature The other six bans were approved at the ballot 21 The 1996 Hopwood v Texas decision effectively barred affirmative action in the three states within the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Louisiana Mississippi and Texas until Grutter v Bollinger abrogated it in 2003 22 Affirmative action policies were developed to address long histories of discrimination faced by minorities and women which reports suggest produced corresponding unfair advantages for whites and males 23 24 They first emerged from debates over non discrimination policies in the 1940s and during the civil rights movement 25 These debates led to federal executive orders requiring non discrimination in the employment policies of some government agencies and contractors in the 1940s and onward and to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited racial discrimination in firms with over 25 employees The first federal policy of race conscious affirmative action was the Revised Philadelphia Plan implemented in 1969 which required certain government contractors to set goals and timetables for integrating and diversifying their workforce Similar policies emerged through a mix of voluntary practices and federal and state policies in employment and education Affirmative action as a practice was partially upheld by the Supreme Court in Grutter v Bollinger 2003 while the use of racial quotas for college admissions was ruled unconstitutional in Regents of the University of California v Bakke 1978 a In Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard 2023 the Supreme Court majority ruled that race based affirmative action in college admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment with concurrences highlighting race based affirmative action s violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act Affirmative action remains controversial in American politics Supporters claim that it promotes equality and representation for groups which are socioeconomically disadvantaged or have faced historical discrimination or oppression and counteracts continuing bias and prejudice against women and minorities Supporters also point to contemporary examples of conscious and unconscious biases such as the finding that job seekers with African American sounding names may be less likely to get a callback than those with white sounding names as proof that affirmative action is not obsolete 17 26 27 Coversely opponents argue that these policies constitute racism and or amount to discrimination against other racial and ethnic groups such as Asian Americans and White Americans which entails favoring one group over another based upon racial preference rather than achievement and many believe that the diversity of current American society suggests that affirmative action policies succeeded and are no longer required 26 Opponents also argue that it tends to benefit the most privileged within minority groups at the expense of the least fortunate within majority groups 28 page needed or that when applied to universities it can hinder minority students by placing them in courses too difficult for them 29 Origins edit The policy now called affirmative action was talked about as early as the Reconstruction Era 1863 1877 in which a former slave population lacked the skills and resources for independent living 30 In 1865 General William Tecumseh Sherman proposed to divide the land and goods from Confederates in Georgia and grant it to freed black slaves The idea was called the Forty acres and a mule policy 30 The proposal was controversial because it would reverse the policy or peaceful reunion between North and South Congress never approved Sherman s military orders were soon revoked by President Andrew Johnson Requiring private construction firms to hire Blacks on public housing projects funded by the Public Works Administration PWA was an innovative New Deal policy in the 1930s About 13 of these new hires were Black but the policy was not publicized and ended by 1941 31 In the 1950s and 1960s the discussion of policies to assist classes of individuals reemerged during the Civil Rights Movement Civil rights guarantees that came through the interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment affirmed the civil rights of people of color 32 Roosevelt administration 1933 1945 edit The first appearance of the term affirmative action was in the National Labor Relations Act better known as the Wagner Act of 1935 18 15 Proposed and championed by U S Senator Robert F Wagner Democrat of New York the Wagner Act was in line with President Franklin D Roosevelt s goal of providing economic security to workers and other low income groups 33 During this time period it was not uncommon for employers to blacklist or fire employees associated with unions The Wagner Act allowed workers to unionize without fear of being discriminated against and empowered a National Labor Relations Board to review potential cases of worker discrimination In the event of discrimination employees were to be restored to an appropriate status in the company through affirmative action 34 While the Wagner Act protected workers and unions it did not protect minorities who exempting the Congress of Industrial Organizations were often barred from union ranks 18 11 This original coining of the term therefore has little to do with affirmative action policy as it is seen today but helped set the stage for all policy meant to compensate or address an individual s unjust treatment 35 FDR s New Deal programs often contained equal opportunity clauses stating no discrimination shall be made on account of race color or creed 18 11 No enforfement was attempted outside the PWA housing projects FDR s largest contribution to affirmative action however lay in his Executive Order 8802 of 1941 which prohibited discrimination in the defense industry or government 18 22 The executive order promoted the idea that if taxpayer funds were accepted through a government contract then all taxpayers should have an equal opportunity to work through the contractor 18 23 4 To enforce this idea Roosevelt created the Fair Employment Practices Committee FEPC with the power to investigate hiring practices by government contractors 18 22 Truman administration 1945 1953 edit Following the Sergeant Isaac Woodard incident President Harry S Truman himself a combat veteran of World War I issued Executive Order 9808 36 establishing the President s Committee on Civil Rights to examine the violence and recommend appropriate federal legislation Hearing of the incident Truman turned to NAACP leader Walter Francis White and declared My God I had no idea it was as terrible as that We ve got to do something In 1947 the committee published its findings To Secure These Rights The book was widely read influential and considered utopian for the times In our land men are equal but they are free to be different From these very differences among our people has come the great human and national strength of America The report discussed and demonstrated racial discrimination in basic freedoms education public facilities personal safety and employment opportunities The committee was disturbed by the state of race relations and included the evacuation of Americans of Japanese descent during the war made without a trial or any sort of hearing Fundamental to our whole system of law is the belief that guilt is personal and not a matter of heredity or association The recommendations were radical calling for federal policies and laws to end racial discrimination and bring about equality We can tolerate no restrictions upon the individual which depend upon irrelevant factors such as his race his color his religion or the social position to which he is born To Secure These Rights set the liberal legislative agenda for the next generation that eventually would be signed into law by Lyndon B Johnson 18 35 36 To Secure These Rights also called for desegregation of the Armed Forces Prejudice in any area is an ugly undemocratic phenomenon but in the armed services where all men run the risk of death it is especially repugnant The rationale was fairness When an individual enters the service of the country he necessarily surrenders some of the rights and privileges which are inherent in American citizenship In return the government undertakes to protect his integrity as an individual Yet that was not possible in the segregated Army since any discrimination which prevents members of the minority groups from rendering full military service in defense of their country is for them a humiliating badge of inferiority The report called for an end to all discrimination and segregation based on race color creed or national origins in all branches of the Armed Services 18 38 39 In 1947 Truman and his advisors came up with a plan for a large standing military called Universal Military Training and presented it to Congress The plan opposed all segregation in the new post war Armed Forces Nothing could be more tragic for the future attitude of our people and for the unity of our nation than a citizens military that emphasized class or racial difference 18 39 40 On February 2 1948 President Truman delivered a special message to Congress It consisted of ten objectives that Congress should focus on when enacting legislation Truman concluded by saying If we wish to inspire the peoples of the world whose freedom is in jeopardy if we wish to restore hope to those who have already lost their civil liberties if we wish to fulfill the promise that is ours we must correct the remaining imperfections in our practice of democracy 37 In June Truman became the first president to address the NAACP His speech was a significant departure from traditional race relations in the United States In front of 10 000 people at the Lincoln Memorial the president left no doubt where he stood on civil rights According to his speech America had reached a turning point in the long history of our country s efforts to guarantee freedom and equality to all our citizens Each man must be guaranteed equality of opportunity He proposed what black citizens had been calling for an enhanced role of federal authority through the states We must make the Federal government a friendly vigilant defender of the rights and equalities of all Americans And again I mean all Americans 18 40 On July 26 Truman mandated the end of hiring and employment discrimination in the federal government reaffirming FDR s order of 1941 18 40 He issued two executive orders on July 26 1948 Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 9981 Executive Order 9980 named Regulations Governing for Employment Practices within the Federal Establishment instituted fair employment practices in the civilian agencies of the federal government The order created the position of Fair Employment Officer The order established in the Civil Service Commission a Fair Employment Board of not less than seven persons 36 Executive Order 9981 named Establishing the President s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services called for the integration of the Armed Forces and the creation of the National Military Establishment to carry out the executive order 38 On December 3 1951 Truman issued Executive Order 10308 named Improving the Means for Obtaining Compliance with the Nondiscrimination Provisions of Federal Contracts 39 which established an anti discrimination committee on government contract compliance responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the federal government comply with all laws and regulations enacted by Congress and the committee on the grounds of discriminatory practices 39 Eisenhower administration 1953 1961 edit When Eisenhower was elected president in 1952 after defeating Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson he believed hiring practices and anti discrimination laws should be decided by the states although the administration gradually continued to desegregate the Armed Forces and the federal government 18 50 The President also established the Government Contract Committee in 1953 which conducted surveys of the racial composition of federal employees and tax supported contractors 18 50 51 The committee chaired by Vice President Richard Nixon had minimal outcomes in that they imposed the contractors with the primary responsibility of desegregation within their own companies and corporations 18 51 Kennedy administration 1961 1963 edit In the 1960 presidential election Democratic candidate and eventual winner John F Kennedy criticized President Eisenhower for not ending discrimination in federally supported housing and advocated a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission 18 59 Shortly after taking office Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925 in March 1961 requiring government contractors to consider and recommend additional affirmative steps which should be taken by executive departments and agencies to realize more fully the national policy of nondiscrimination The contractor will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race creed color or national origin 18 60 The order also established the President s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity PCEEO chaired by Vice President Lyndon B Johnson Federal contractors who failed to comply or violated the executive order were punished by contract cancellation and the possible debarment from future government contracts The administration was not demanding any special preference or treatment or quotas for minorities but was rather advocating racially neutral hiring to end job discrimination 18 61 Turning to issues of women s rights Kennedy initiated a Commission on the Status of Women in December 1961 The commission was charged with examining employment policies and practices of the government and of contractors with regard to sex 18 66 In June 1963 President Kennedy continued his policy of affirmative action by issuing another mandate Executive Order 11114 The order supplemented to his previous 1961 executive order declaring it was the policy of the United States to encourage by affirmative action the elimination of discrimination in employment 18 72 Through this order all federal funds such as grants loans unions and employers who accepted taxpayer funds and other forms of financial assistance to state and local governments were forced to comply to the government s policies on affirmative action in employment practices 18 72 Johnson administration 1963 1969 edit Lyndon B Johnson the Texas Democrat and Senate Majority Leader from 1955 to 1961 began to consider running for high office and in doing so showed how his racial views differed from those held by many White Americans in the traditional South In 1957 Johnson brokered a civil rights act through Congress The bill established a Civil Rights Division and Commission in the Justice Department The commission was empowered to investigate allegations of minority deprivation of rights 18 57 The first time affirmative action is used by the federal government concerning race is in President John F Kennedy s Executive Order 10925 which was chaired by Vice President Johnson At Johnson s inaugural ball in Texas he met with a young black lawyer Hobart Taylor Jr and gave him the task to co author the executive order Affirmative action was chosen due to its alliterative quality The term active recruitment started to be used as well This order albeit heavily worked up as a significant piece of legislation in reality carried little actual power The scope was limited to a couple hundred defense contractors leaving nearly 7 5 billion in federal grants and loans unsupervised 18 60 NAACP had many problems with JFK s token proposal They wanted jobs One day after the order took effect NAACP labor secretary Herbert Hill filed complaints against the hiring and promoting practices of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation Lockheed was doing business with the Defense Department on the first billion dollar contract Due to taxpayer funding being 90 of Lockheed s business along with disproportionate hiring practices black workers charged Lockheed with overt discrimination Lockheed signed an agreement with Vice President Johnson that pledged an aggressive seeking out for more qualified minority candidates for technical and skill positions 18 63 64 This agreement was the administration s model for a plan of progress Johnson and his assistants soon pressured other defense contractors including Boeing and General Electric to sign similar voluntary agreements indicating plans for progress However these plans were just that voluntary Many corporations in the South still afflicted with Jim Crow laws largely ignored the federal recommendations 18 63 64 This eventually led to LBJ s Civil Rights Act which came shortly after President Kennedy s assassination This document was more holistic than any President Kennedy had offered and therefore more controversial It aimed not only to integrate public facilities but also private businesses that sold to the public such as motels restaurants theaters and gas stations Public schools hospitals libraries parks among other things were included in the bill as well It also worked with JFK s executive order 11114 by prohibiting discrimination in the awarding of federal contracts and holding the authority of the government to deny contracts to businesses who discriminate Maybe most significant of all Title VII of the Civil Rights Act aimed to end discrimination in all firms with 25 or more employees Another provision established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as the agency charged with ending discrimination in the nation s workplace 18 74 Conservatives said that Title VII of the bill advocated a de facto quota system and asserted unconstitutionality as it attempts to regulate the workplace Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey corrected this notion there is nothing in Title VII that will give power to the Commission to require hiring firing and promotion to meet a racial quota Title VII is designed to encourage the hiring on basis of ability and qualifications not race or religion Title VII prohibits discrimination Humphrey was the silent hero of the bill s passing through Congress He pledged that the bill required no quotas just nondiscrimination Doing so he convinced many pro business Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen IL to support Title VII 18 78 80 On July 2 1964 the Act was signed into law by President Johnson A Harris poll that spring showed 70 citizen approval of the Act 18 82 Nixon administration 1969 1974 edit The strides that the Johnson presidency made in ensuring equal opportunity in the workforce were built upon by his successor Richard Nixon In 1969 the Nixon administration initiated the Philadelphia Order It was regarded as the most forceful plan thus far to guarantee fair hiring practices in construction jobs Philadelphia was selected as the test case because as Assistant Secretary of Labor Arthur Fletcher explained The craft unions and the construction industry are among the most egregious offenders against equal opportunity laws openly hostile toward letting blacks into their closed circle The order included definite goals and timetables As President Nixon asserted We would not impose quotas but would require federal contractors to show affirmative action to meet the goals of increasing minority employment 40 It was through the Philadelphia Plan that the Nixon administration formed their adapted definition of affirmative action and became the official policy of the US government The plan was defined as racial goals and timetables not quotas 18 124 Ford administration 1974 1977 edit After the Nixon administration advancements in affirmative action became less prevalent During the brief Ford administration affirmative action took a back seat while enforcement stumbled along 18 145 Equal rights was still an important subject to many Americans yet the world was changing and new issues were being raised People began to look at affirmative action as a glorified issue of the past and now there were other areas that needed focus Of all the triumphs that have marked this as America s Century none is more inspiring if incomplete than our pursuit of racial justice 41 In the first half of the 20th century segregation was considered fair and normal Due to changes made in American society and governmental policies the United States is past the traditional assumptions of race relations 18 275 Affirmative action is a national policy that concerns the way Americans feel about race past discrimination preferences merit and about themselves This is why it is an American dilemma and that is why we must understand how it developed and how its rationale and definition have changed since the 1960s 18 283 Reagan administration 1981 1989 edit In 1983 Reagan signed Executive Order 12432 which instructed government agencies to create a development plan for Minority Business Enterprises While the Reagan administration opposed discriminatory practices it did not support the implementation of quotas and goals Executive Order 11246 42 Bi partisan opposition in Congress and other government officials blocked the repeal of this Executive Order clarification needed Reagan was particularly known for his opposition to affirmative action programs He reduced funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission arguing that reverse discrimination resulted from these policies 43 However the courts reaffirmed affirmative action policies such as quotas In 1986 the Supreme Court ruled that courts could order race based quotas to fight discrimination in worker unions in Sheet Metal Workers International Association v EEOC 478 U S 42 In 1987 in Johnson v Transportation Agency Santa Clara County California 480 U S 616 the Supreme Court ruled that sex or race was a factor that could be considered in a pool of qualified candidates by employers 44 Obama administration 2009 2017 edit After the election and inauguration of Barack Obama in the 2008 election a huge excitement swept the nation for the first African American president of the United States Many supporters and citizens began to hope for a future with affirmative action that would be secure under a black president However progress was not as apparent within the first few years of president Obama s administration In 2009 education statistics denote the problems of college admissions in the US The College Board recently released the average 2009 SAT scores by race and ethnicity They found that the gap between Black and Latino student versus White and Asian students has widened despite the College Board s recent efforts to change questions to eliminate cultural biases 45 To the administration it was apparent that more work was needed to better the situation The following year in 2010 Obama presented his plan regarding the past administration s policy under George W Bush called the No Child Left Behind Act Unlike the No Child Left Behind Act president Obama s policy would instead reward schools and institutions for working with minorities and oppressed students Additionally in an indirect manner the Obama administration aimed to garner support for more federal money and funds to be allocated to financial aid and scholarships to universities and colleges within the United States 45 They also have endorsed the decision of Fisher vs University of Texas where the Supreme Court decision which endorses the use of affirmative action to achieve a diverse student body so long as programs are narrowly tailored to advance this goal 46 Trump administration 2017 2021 edit The Trump administration supported rolling back Obama era policies on affirmative action 47 and Trump advocated that institutions including universities colleges and schools should use race neutral alternatives concerning admissions The guidelines the administration set were aimed to curb the Supreme Court decision s in Fisher v University of Texas 46 48 49 In 2019 the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v President and Fellows of Harvard College a lawsuit alleging discrimination in admission against Asian Americans by the college that Harvard s system while imperfect nonetheless passed constitutional muster 50 51 Biden administration 2021 edit The case was appealed and in January 2022 the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case together with a similar case related to admissions practices at the University of North Carolina 52 53 The case was argued on October 31 2022 54 After the court rejected affirmative action at U S colleges and universities on June 29 2023 President Joe Biden said he strongly disagreed with the decision In a televised address he urged the nation to make sure the decision did not become the last word on affirmative action Discrimination still exists in America he said 55 Legal history editExecutive orders and legislation edit 1961 Executive Order 10925 56 issued by President KennedyEstablished the concept of affirmative action by mandating that projects financed with federal funds take affirmative action to ensure that hiring and employment practices are made without regard to race but does not call for group preferences 1964 Section 717 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based on race color religion sex and national origin but does not authorize group preferences 57 1965 U S Executive Order 11246 and Executive Order 11375The Johnson administration embraced affirmative action in 1965 by issuing U S Executive order 11246 later amended by Executive order 11375 The original order mandated that federal contractors cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of race religion and national origin It also mandated that these federal contractors ensure equal employment opportunity in their hiring practices 58 The order was amended to include sex 59 It prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment because of race skin color religion gender or national origin The order requires that contractors take affirmative action to ensure that protected class underutilized applicants are employed when available and that employees are treated without negative discriminatory regard to their protected class status The order specifically requires certain organizations accepting federal funds to take affirmative action to increase employment of members of preferred racial or ethnic groups and women Any organization with fifty or more employees and an aggregate revenue exceeding 50 000 from a single federal contract during a twelve month period must have a written affirmative action plan This plan must include goals and timetables for achieving full utilization of women and members of racial minorities in quotas based on an analysis of the current workforce compared to the availability in the general labor pool of women and members of racial minorities but did not not authorize preferences for women and minorities The order is enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the U S Department of Labor and by the Office of Civil Rights of the U S Department of Justice 60 1969 Revised Philadelphia PlanDuring the Nixon administration affirmative action was adopted as a federal mandate for companies with federal contracts and for labor unions whose workers were engaged in those projects This revised Philadelphia Plan was spearheaded by Labor Department official Arthur Fletcher 61 1971 Executive Order No 11625 62 issued by President NixonThis order claims to build upon the Office of Minority Business Enterprise MBE established in 1969 by clarifying the Secretary of Commerce s authority to a implement Federal policy in support of the minority business enterprise program b provide additional technical and management assistance to disadvantaged businesses c to assist in demonstration projects and d to coordinate the participation of all Federal departments and agencies in an increased minority enterprise effort 1973 Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandated all United States Federal Agencies cannot discriminate against candidates with disabilities 63 1979 U S Executive Order 12138 64 Issued by President Jimmy Carter this executive order created a National Women s Business Enterprise Policy and required government agencies to take affirmative action in support of women s business enterprises 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 65 people with disabilities as a group were more fully recognized as being protected by this act Federal court cases edit 1971 Griggs v Duke Power Company 401 U S 424 1971 established theory of disparate impact 1974 DeFunis v Odegaard 416 U S 312 1974 1974 Kahn v Shevin 416 U S 351 1974 1974 Morton v Mancari 417 U S 535 1974 1975 Schlesinger v Ballard 419 U S 498 1975 1977 Califano v Webster 430 U S 313 1977 1977 Hazelwood School District v United States 433 U S 299 1977 1978 Regents of the University of California v Bakke 438 U S 265 1978 The UC Davis School of Medicine admissions program violated the Equal Protection Clause with the institution of quotas for underrepresented minorities However Justice Lewis F Powell Jr s concurring opinion deemed diversity in higher education a compelling interest and held that race could be one of the factors in university admissions 1979 United Steelworkers v Weber 443 U S 193 1979 1980 Fullilove v Klutznick 448 U S 448 1980 1983 Boston Firefighters v NAACP 461 U S 477 1983 1984 Firefighters v Stotts 467 U S 561 1984 1986 Wygant v Jackson Board of Education 476 U S 267 1986 1986 Sheet Metal Workers v EEOC 478 U S 421 1986 1986 Firefighters v City of Cleveland 478 U S 501 1986 1987 United States v Paradise 480 U S 149 1987 1987 Johnson v Transportation Agency 480 U S 616 1987 1989 City of Richmond v J A Croson Co 488 U S 469 1989 state and local programs that use racial classifications must meet strict scrutiny 1989 Wards Cove Packing Co v Atonio 490 U S 642 1989 revised the standards established by the 1971 Griggs decision 1990 Metro Broadcasting Inc v FCC 497 U S 547 1990 1992 Lamprecht v FCC 958 F 2d 382 D C Cir 1992 1992 United States v Fordice 505 U S 717 1992 1993 Northeastern Fla Chapter Associated Gen Contractors of America v City of Jacksonville 508 U S 656 1993 1995 Adarand Constructors Inc v Pena 515 U S 200 1995 federal programs that use racial classifications must meet strict scrutiny 1996 Hopwood v Texas 78 F 3d 932 5th Cir 1996 66 first successful legal challenge to race conscious admissions since Regents of the University of California v Bakke 1996 Piscataway School Board v Taxman 91 F 3d 1547 3d Cir 1996 1998 Lutheran Church Missouri Synod v FCC 141 F 3d 344 D C Cir 1998 1999 Texas v Lesage 528 U S 18 1999 2000 Adarand Constructors Inc v Slater 528 U S 216 2000 2001 Adarand Constructors Inc v Mineta 534 U S 103 2001 2001 MD DC DE Broadcasters Association v FCC 253 F 3d 732 D C Cir 2001 2003 Gratz v Bollinger 539 U S 244 2003 2003 Grutter v Bollinger 539 U S 306 2003 2006 Doe v Kamehameha Schools Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate 470 F 3d 827 9th Cir 2006 en banc 2007 Parents Involved in Community Schools v Seattle School District No 1 551 U S 701 2007 2009 Ricci v DeStefano 557 U S 557 2009 The case concerned white and Hispanic firefighters in New Haven Connecticut who upon passing their test for promotions to management were denied the promotions allegedly because of a discriminatory or at least questionable test The test gave 17 whites and two Hispanics the possibility of immediate promotion Although 23 of those taking the test were African American none scored high enough to qualify Due to the possibility of biased tests in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 67 68 no candidates were promoted pending outcome of the controversy 67 68 In a 5 4 vote the Supreme Court ruled that New Haven had engaged in impermissible racial discrimination against the White and Hispanic majority 2013 Fisher v University of Texas I 570 U S 297 2013 clarified Grutter v Bollinger by stating that a university may not consider race as a factor in admissions unless available workable race neutral alternatives do not suffice and that such a decision warrants strict scrutiny 2014 Schuette v Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action 572 U S 291 2014 upheld Michigan s ban on affirmative action for public institutions 2016 Fisher v University of Texas II No 14 981 579 U S 2016 upheld the university s limited use of race in admissions decisions because the university showed it had a clear goal of limited scope without other workable race neutral means to achieve it 2021 Vitolo v Guzman 999 F 3d 353 6th Cir 2021 2022 Charlton Perkins v University of Cincinnati 35 F 4th 1053 6th Cir 2022 2023 Coalition for TJ v Fairfax County School Board F 4th 4th Cir 2023 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v President and Fellows of Harvard College No 20 1199 600 U S 2023 overruled Regents of the University of California v Bakke and Grutter v Bollinger and disallowed non individualized racial preferences in admissions for civilian universities TBD Students for Fair Admissions v University of Texas at Austin W D Tex pending TBD Students for Fair Admissions v United States Military Academy at West Point S D N Y pending 69 State cases and legislation edit Arizona edit In 2010 Arizona voters passed a constitutional ban on government sponsored affirmative action known as Proposition 107 70 California edit 1946 Mendez v Westminster School District 1967 Penn Stump v City of OaklandThis Consent Decree stated that men and women should be hired by race and gender as police officers in the same percentage that they are represented in the population of the city This process took more than twenty years to achieve At the time there were approximately 34 black police officers on the Oakland Police Department and no black females among them At this time the militant Black Panther Party had formed in part due to police brutality at the hands of Oakland s overwhelmingly white police force The City of Oakland by contrast had a population that was nearly majority African American prompting the push for recruiting minority police officers 71 1996 Proposition 209This proposition mandates that the state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race sex color ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment public education or public contracting 72 Prop 209 has been opposed by some government officials who have stated an intent to ignore the Proposition including San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer 73 2014 Senate Constitutional Amendment No 5This initiative proposed an amendment to the Constitution of the State to delete provisions of California Proposition 209 related to public education in order to allow the State of California giving preferential treatment in public education to individuals and groups on the basis of race sex color ethnicity or national origin 74 The amendment passed in the Assembly but was withdrawn from consideration in the Senate 75 2020 Proposition 16This legislatively referred initiative appeared on the November 2020 ballot and asked California voters whether to repeal 1996 s Proposition 209 and reintroduce affirmative action to the state It was defeated with 57 of voters voting against it Florida edit Idaho edit Massachusetts edit 1998 Wessmann v Gittens 160 F 3d 790 1st Cir 1998 Michigan edit 2006 Proposal 2After Gratz and Grutter in November 2006 voters in the State of Michigan banned affirmative action by passing Proposal 2 a statewide referendum amending the Michigan Constitution Proposal 2 bans public affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race gender color ethnicity or national origin for public employment public education or public contracting purposes The amendment however contains an exception for actions that are mandated by federal law or that are necessary in order for an institution to receive federal funding On April 22 2014 the Supreme Court upheld the ban in Schuette v Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and ruled that there is no authority for the judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit to the voters the determination whether racial preferences may be considered in governmental decisions in particular with respect to school decisions 76 Nebraska edit 2008 Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative 424In November 2008 Nebraska voters passed a constitutional ban on government sponsored affirmative action Initiative 424 bars government from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of ethnicity or gender 77 New Hampshire edit As of January 1 2012 House Bill 623 affirmative action is not allowed in college admissions and employment 78 Oklahoma edit During the November 6 2012 election a majority of Oklahoma voters voted to pass Oklahoma State Question 759 which ended affirmative action in college admissions and public employment 79 Texas edit 1996 Hopwood v University of Texas Law SchoolIn 1992 Cheryl Hopwood and three other white law school applicants challenged the University of Texas Law School s affirmative action program and claimed that they were rejected for the 1992 1993 academic year based upon their unfair preferences toward less qualified minority applicants 80 Hopwood rejected the legitimacy of diversity as a goal for the University of Texas education system since educational diversity was not recognized as a state goal 80 On March 19 1996 the U S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit suspended the University of Texas Law School s affirmative action admissions program and the university s subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court in July was declined Race sensitive admissions would no longer be permitted at the state s public colleges and universities and had extended effects into universities in Mississippi and Louisiana 80 In the year after the Hopwoodcase only 4 black students were admitted into the law school whereas previous years had averages of above 31 admittances 81 To ameliorate the effects of the Hopwoodcase the University of Texas legislature passed the Top 10 Percent Rule which requires public universities to automatically accept students who graduated within the top 10 percent of their high school classes In 2003 the Supreme Court overturned the ruling of Hopwood v Texas 82 2013 2016 Fisher v University of TexasOn October 10 2012 Abigail Fisher challenged The University of Texas at Austin consideration of race in the undergraduate admissions process 83 After being denied admission at the University of Texas at Austin for the Fall of 2008 term Fisher argued that UT Austin s use of race in admissions decisions violated her right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment 83 The United States District Court ruled in favor of the university that race can be considered as a factor in admissions but must be able to prove that available workable race neutral alternatives do not suffice 84 The Fifth Circuit also ruled in favor of the university and the case was ultimately brought to the Supreme Court In a vote of 7 1 the Supreme Court ruled to send the case back down to the Fifth Circuit for further review under the strict scrutiny standard which is the highest standard of judicial review On July 15 2014 the Fifth Circuit voted 2 1 to again uphold UT Austin s consideration of race in admissions 84 Fisher petitioned the Supreme Court to hear her case once again In June 2015 the Court agreed to do so The Supreme Court affirmed the judgement of the Fifth Circuit i e sided with the University in a 4 3 decision Fisher v University of Texas Washington edit 1998 Initiative 200Initiative 200 was a 1998 ballot initiative that prohibits preferential treatment based on race sex color ethnicity or national origin in public employment education and contracting The Washington Supreme Court interpreted I 200 to forbid affirmative actions that promote a less qualified applicant over a better qualified one but not programs that sought to achieve diversity without consideration of individual merit In April 2019 the Washington Legislature passed Initiative 1000 ending the ban on affirmative action 85 However in November 2019 Referendum 88 blocked Initiative 1000 from going into effect 86 87 2000 Smith v University of Washington 233 F 3d 1188 9th Cir 2000 88 2003 Parents Involved in Community Schools v Seattle School District No 1 149 Wn 2d 660 72 P 3d 151 2003 2003 2004 Smith v University of Washington 392 F 3d 367 9th Cir 2004 2019 Initiative 1000 I 1000 would reintroduce Affirmative Action back to the state of Washington However residents of Washington initiated a Let People Vote movement and called for a referendum Referendum 88 would then decide whether I 1000 would be able to go into effect It was defeated in the November election in 2019 by a direct majority vote effectively continuing the ban on Affirmative Action put in place by Initiative 200 in 1998 Arguments in favor of affirmative action editPresident Kennedy stated in Executive Order 10925 that discrimination because of race creed color or national origin is contrary to the Constitutional principles and policies of the United States that it is the plain and positive obligation of the United States Government to promote and ensure equal opportunity for all qualified persons without regard to race creed color or national origin employed or seeking employment with the Federal Government and on government contracts that it is the policy of the executive branch of the Government to encourage by positive measures equal opportunity for all qualified persons within the Government and that it is in the general interest and welfare of the United States to promote its economy security and national defense through the most efficient and effective utilization of all available manpower 56 Some individual American states also have orders that prohibit discrimination and outline affirmative action requirements with regard to race creed color religion sexual orientation national origin gender age and disability status 89 Proponents of affirmative action argue that by nature the system is not only race based but also class and gender based To eliminate two of its key components would undermine the purpose of the entire system The African American Policy Forum believes that the class based argument is based on the idea that non poor minorities do not experience racial and gender based discrimination The AAPF believes that Race conscious affirmative action remains necessary to address race based obstacles that block the path to success of countless people of color of all classes The group goes on to say that affirmative action is responsible for creating the African American middle class so it does not make sense to say that the system only benefits the middle and upper classes 90 Researchers told ABC News in 2023 that economic inequality segregation and academic inequity in K 12 schools as well as the lasting effect of past exclusion from colleges and universities have led to the continued underrepresentation of Black and brown students in four year institutions 91 Example of success in women edit Supporters of affirmative action point out the benefits women gained from the policy as evidence of its ability to assist historically marginalized groups In the fifty years that disenfranchised groups have been the subject of affirmative action laws their representation has risen dramatically 92 in the workforce but some research suggests the increase in white women is due to their decision to enter their workforce rather than affirmative action 93 According to anti racism activist Tim Wise Thanks in large measure to affirmative action and civil rights protections that opened up previously restricted opportunities to women of all colors from 1972 to 1993 The percentage of women architects increased from 3 to nearly 19 of the total The percentage of women doctors more than doubled from 10 to 22 of all doctors The percentage of women lawyers grew from 4 to 23 of the national total The percentage of female engineers went from less than 1 to nearly 9 The percentage of female chemists grew from 10 to 30 of all chemists and The percentage of female college faculty went from 28 to 42 of all faculty Moseley Braun 1995 8 Furthermore since only 1983 the percentage of women business managers and professionals grew from 41 of all such persons to 48 while the number of female police officers more than doubled from 6 to 13 U S Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census 1995 Table 649 According to a 1995 study there are at least six million women the overwhelming majority of them white who simply wouldn t have the jobs they have today but for the inroads made by affirmative action Cose 1997 171 94 Need to counterbalance historic inequalities edit African Americans edit For the first 250 years of America s recorded history Africans were traded as commodities and forced to work without pay first as indentured servants then as slaves In much of the United States at this time they were barred from all levels of education from basic reading to higher level skills useful outside of the plantation setting 95 After slavery s abolition in 1865 Black Americans saw the educational gap between themselves and whites compounded by segregation They were forced to attend separate under funded schools due to Plessy v Ferguson Though de jure school segregation ended with Brown v Board of Education de facto segregation continues in education into the present day 96 Following the end of World War II the educational gap between White and Black Americans was widened by Franklin D Roosevelt s GI Bill This piece of legislation paved the way for white GIs to attend college Despite their veteran status returning black servicemen were not afforded loans at the same rate as whites Furthermore at the time of its introduction segregation was still the law of the land barring blacks from the best institutions Overall Nearly 8 million servicemen and servicewomen were educated under the provisions of the GI Bill after World War II But for blacks higher educational opportunities were so few that the promise of the GI Bill went largely unfulfilled 97 Hispanic Americans edit According to a study by Dr Paul Brest Hispanics or Latinos include immigrants who are descendants of immigrants from the countries comprising Central and South America 98 In 1991 Mexican Americans Puerto Ricans and Cuban Americans made up 80 of the Latino population in the United States Latinos are disadvantaged compared to White Americans and are more likely to live in poverty 98 They are the least well educated major ethnic group and suffered a 3 drop in high school completion rate while African Americans experienced a 12 increase between 1975 and 1990 98 In 1990 they constituted 9 of the population but only received 3 1 of the bachelors s degrees awarded At times when it was favorable to lawmakers Latinos were considered white under Jim Crow laws during Reconstruction 98 In other cases according to Paul Brest Latinos have been classified as an inferior race and a threat to white purity Latinos have encountered considerable discrimination in areas such as employment housing and education 98 Brest finds that stereotypes continue to be largely negative and many perceive Latinos as lazy unproductive and on the dole 98 Furthermore native born Latino Americans and recent immigrants are seen as identical since outsiders tend not to differentiate between Latino groups 98 Native Americans edit The category of Native American applies to the diverse group of people who lived in North America before European settlement 98 During the U S government s westward expansion Native Americans were displaced from their land which had been their home for centuries Instead they were forced onto reservations which were far smaller and less productive 98 According to Brest land belonging to Native Americans was reduced from 138 million acres in 1887 to 52 million acres in 1934 98 In 1990 the poverty rate for Native Americans was more than triple that of the whites and only 9 4 of Native Americans have completed a bachelor s degree as opposed to 25 2 of whites and 12 2 of African Americans 98 Asian Americans edit Early Asian immigrants experienced prejudice and discrimination in the forms of not having the ability to become naturalized citizens They also struggled with many of the same school segregation laws that African Americans faced 98 Particularly during World War II Japanese Americans were interned in camps and lost their property homes and businesses 98 Discrimination against Asians began with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and then continued with the Scott Act of 1888 and the Geary Act of 1892 At the beginning of the 20th century the United States passed the Immigration Act of 1924 to prevent Asian immigration out of fear that Asians were stealing white jobs and lowering the standard for wages 98 In addition whites and non Asians do not differentiate among the different Asian groups and perpetuate the model minority stereotype According to a 2010 article by Professor Qin Zhang of Fairfield University Asians are characterized as one dimensional in having great work ethic and valuing education but lacking in communication skills and personality 98 99 A negative outcome of this incorrect stereotype is that Asians have been portrayed as having poor leadership and interpersonal skills This has contributed to the glass ceiling phenomenon in which although there are many qualified Asian Americans they occupy a disproportionately small number of executive positions in businesses 98 although this has recently changed with the many successes of Asian billionaires 100 pop culture icons including Bruce Lee sports figures such as Jeremy Lin gold medal figure skater Michelle Kwan and free style skier Eileen Gu Fair vs equal discrimination vs inclusion edit Many proponents of affirmative action recognize that the policy is inherently unequal however minding the inescapable fact that historic inequalities exist in America they believe the policy is much more fair than one in which these circumstances are not taken into account Furthermore those in favor of affirmative action see it as an effort towards inclusion rather than a discriminatory practice Job discrimination is grounded in prejudice and exclusion whereas affirmative action is an effort to overcome prejudicial treatment through inclusion The most effective way to cure society of exclusionary practices is to make special efforts at inclusion which is exactly what affirmative action does 101 Diversity edit Main article Diversity equity and inclusion The National Conference of State Legislatures stated in a 2014 overview that many supporters for affirmative action argue that policies stemming from affirmative action help to open doors for historically excluded groups in workplace settings and higher education 1 Workplace diversity has become a business management concept in which employers actively seek to promote an inclusive workplace 102 By valuing diversity employers possess the capacity to create an environment in which there is a culture of respect for individual differences as well as the ability to draw in talent and ideas from all segments of the population 103 By creating this diverse workforce these employers and companies gain a competitive advantage in an increasingly global economy 103 According to the U S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission many private sector employers have concluded that a diverse workforce makes a company stronger more profitable and a better place to work Therefore these diversity promoting policies are implemented for competitive reasons rather than as a response to discrimination but have shown the value in having diversity 102 The American Association of University Professors AAUP in 2000 concluded that the consensus of research found that the resulting diversity actually helps the institution achieve its educational goals racial and ethnic diversity has both direct and indirect positive effects on the educational outcomes and experiences of college students 104 105 According to a study by Geoffrey Maruyama and Jose F Moreno the results showed that faculty members believed diversity helps students to reach the essential goals of a college education Caucasian students suffer no detrimental effects from classroom diversity and that attention to multicultural learning improves the ability of colleges and universities to accomplish their missions 105 Furthermore a diverse population of students offers unique perspectives in order to challenge preconceived notions through exposure to the experiences and ideas of others 106 According to Professor Gurin of the University of Michigan skills such as perspective taking acceptance of differences a willingness and capacity to find commonalities among differences acceptance of conflict as normal conflict resolution participation in democracy and interest in the wider social world can potentially be developed in college while being exposed to heterogeneous group of students 105 In addition broadening perspectives helps students confront personal and substantive stereotypes and fosters discussion about racial and ethnic issues in a classroom setting 106 Furthermore the 2000 AAUP study states that having a diversity of views leads to a better discussion and greater understanding among the students on issues of race tolerance fairness etc 105 Fidan Ana Kurtulus an economics professor found that during the 1970s and early 1980s affirmative action led to an increase in the share of women and minorities working in federal contractors compared to firms that were not required to follow affirmative action guidelines 107 108 Prominent people in support of affirmative action edit There are a multitude of supporters as well as opponents to the policy of affirmative action Many presidents throughout the last century have failed to take a very firm stance on the policy and the public has had to discern the president s opinion for themselves Bill Clinton however made his stance on affirmative action very clear in a speech on July 19 1995 nearly two and a half years after his inauguration In his speech he discussed the history in the United States that brought the policy into fruition slavery Jim Crow and segregation Clinton also mentioned a point similar to President Lyndon B Johnson s Freedom is not Enough speech and declared that just outlawing discrimination in the country would not be enough to give everyone in America equality He addressed the arguments that affirmative action hurt the white middle class and said that the policy was not the source of their problems Clinton plainly outlined his stance on affirmative action saying Let me be clear about what affirmative action must not mean and what I won t allow it to be It does not mean and I don t favor the unjustified preference of the unqualified over the qualified of any race or gender It doesn t mean and I don t favor numerical quotas It doesn t mean and I don t favor rejection or selection of any employee or student solely on the basis of race or gender without regard to merit In the end Clinton stated that all the evidence shows that even though affirmative action should be a temporary policy the time had not come for it to be ended He felt it was still a relevant practice and overall the goal of the nation should be to mend it but don t end it Clinton s words became a slogan for many Americans on the topic of affirmative action 18 Arguments against affirmative action editAffirmative action has been the subject of numerous court cases where it is often contested on constitutional grounds Some states specifically prohibit affirmative action such as California Proposition 209 Washington Initiative 200 Michigan Michigan Civil Rights Initiative and Nebraska Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative Bias edit College Acceptance Rates 2005 109 Overall Acceptance Rate Black Acceptance Rate DifferenceHarvard 10 0 16 7 67 0 MIT 15 9 31 6 98 7 Brown 16 6 26 3 58 4 Penn 21 2 30 1 42 0 Georgetown 22 0 30 7 39 5 A 2005 study by Princeton sociologists Thomas J Espenshade and Chang Y Chung compared the effects of affirmative action on racial and special groups at three highly selective private research universities The data from the study represent admissions disadvantage and advantage in terms of SAT points on the old 1600 point scale Whites non recruited athlete non legacy status 0 control group Blacks 230 Hispanics 185 Asians 50 Recruited athletes 200 Legacies children of alumni 160 110 In 2009 Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade and researcher Alexandria Walton Radford in their book No Longer Separate Not Yet Equal examined data on students applying to college in 1997 and calculated that Asian Americans needed nearly perfect SAT scores of 1550 to have the same chance of being accepted at a top private university as whites who scored 1410 and African Americans who got 1100 111 Medical School Acceptance Rates 2009 11 citation needed MCAT 24 26 GPA 3 20 3 39 MCAT 27 29 GPA 3 20 3 39 MCAT 27 29 GPA 3 40 3 59Asian 7 7 17 6 30 0 White 12 3 24 5 35 9 Hispanic 36 0 54 5 68 7 Black 67 3 83 3 85 9 Medical School Acceptance Rates 2013 15 112 MCAT 24 26 GPA 3 20 3 39 MCAT 27 29 GPA 3 20 3 39 MCAT 27 29 GPA 3 40 3 59Asian 6 5 13 9 20 4 White 8 2 19 0 30 6 Hispanic 30 9 43 7 61 7 Black 58 7 75 1 81 1 After controlling for grades test scores family background legacy status and athletic status whether or not the student was a recruited athlete Espenshade and Radford found that whites were three times Hispanics six times and blacks more than 15 times as likely to be accepted at a US university as Asian Americans 113 Thomas Espenshade cautions though I stop short of saying that Asian American students are being discriminated against in the college application process because we don t have sufficient empirical evidence to support that claim 114 Mismatch effect edit According to Richard Sander artificially elevating minority students into schools they otherwise would not be capable of attending discourages them and tends to engender failure and high dropout rates for these students For example about half of Black college students rank in the bottom 20 percent of their classes 115 Black law school graduates are four times as likely to fail bar exams as are whites and interracial friendships are more likely to form among students with relatively similar levels of academic preparation thus Black and Hispanic people are more socially integrated on campuses where they are less academically mismatched 116 He states that the supposed beneficiaries of affirmative action minorities do not actually benefit and rather are harmed by the policy 117 Sander s ideas have been disputed and his empirical analyses have been subject to substantial criticism 118 A group including some of the country s lead statistical methodologists told the Supreme Court that Sander s analyses were sufficiently flawed that the Court would be wise to ignore them entirely 119 A 2008 study by Jesse Rothstein and Albert H Yoon confirmed Sander s mismatch findings but also found that eliminating affirmative action would lead to a 63 percent decline in Black matriculants at all law schools and a 90 percent decline at elite law schools 120 These high numbers predictions were doubted in a review of previous studies by Peter Arcidiacono and Michael Lovenheim Their 2016 article found a strong indication that racial preference results in a mismatch effect However they argued that the attendance by some African American law students to less selective schools would significantly improve the low first attempt rate at passing the state bar but they cautioned that such improvements could be outweighed by decreases in law school attendance 121 A 2021 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that the 1998 ban on race based affirmative action in California public universities led to lower wages for minority applicants and deterred qualified students from applying which it stated was inconsistent with the mismatch effect 122 A 2023 study published in Research in Higher Education also argues against mismatch and explains that Ariciacono and Lovenheim s findings are not supported when considering additional states and years 123 Class inequality edit The controversy surrounding affirmative action s effectiveness is based on the idea of class inequality Opponents of racial affirmative action argue that the program actually benefits middle and upper class African Americans and Hispanic Americans at the expense of lower class European Americans and Asian Americans This argument supports the idea of class based affirmative action America s poor population is disproportionately made up of people of color so class based affirmative action would disproportionately help people of color This would eliminate the need for race based affirmative action as well as reducing any disproportionate benefits for middle and upper class people of color 124 In 1976 a group of Italian American professors at City University of New York successfully advocated to be added as an affirmative action category for promotion and hiring Italian Americans are usually considered white in the US and would not be covered under affirmative action policies but statistical evidence suggested that Italian Americans were underrepresented relative to the proportion of Italian American residents in New York City 125 better source needed Libertarian economist Thomas Sowell wrote in his book Affirmative Action Around the World An Empirical Study that affirmative action policies encourage non preferred groups to designate themselves as members of preferred groups i e primary beneficiaries of affirmative action to take advantage of group preference policies 126 Diversity edit Critics of affirmative action assert that while supporters define diversity as heterogeneous in meaningful ways for example in skill set education work experiences perspectives on a problem cultural orientation and so forth the implementation is often solely based on superficial factors including gender race and country of origin 127 Prominent people against affirmative action edit Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opposes affirmative action He believes the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment forbids consideration of race such as in race based affirmative action or preferential treatment He also believes it creates a cult of victimization and implies blacks require special treatment in order to succeed Thomas also cites his own experiences of affirmative action programs as a reason for his criticism 128 129 Frederick Lynch the author of Invisible Victims White Males and the Crisis of Affirmative Action did a study on white males that said they were victims of reverse discrimination 130 Lynch explains that these white men felt frustrated and unfairly victimized by affirmative action 131 Shelby Steele another author against affirmative action wanted to see affirmative action go back to its original meaning of enforcing equal opportunity He argued that blacks had to take full responsibility in their education and in maintaining a job Steele believes that there is still a long way to go in America to reach the goal of eradicating discrimination 131 Libertarian economist Thomas Sowell identified what he says are negative results of affirmative action in his book Affirmative Action Around the World An Empirical Study 126 Sowell writes that affirmative action policies encourage non preferred groups to designate themselves as members of preferred groups i e primary beneficiaries of affirmative action to take advantage of group preference policies that they tend to benefit primarily the most fortunate among the preferred group e g upper and middle class blacks often to the detriment of the least fortunate among the non preferred groups e g poor white or Asian that they reduce the incentives of both the preferred and non preferred to perform at their best the former because doing so is unnecessary and the latter because it can prove futile thereby resulting in net losses for society as a whole and that they engender animosity toward preferred groups as well 126 115 147 Implementation in universities editIn the United States a prominent form of racial preferences relates to access to education particularly admission to universities and other forms of higher education Race ethnicity native language social class geographical origin parental attendance of the university in question legacy admissions and or gender are sometimes taken into account when the university assesses an applicant s grades and test scores Individuals can also be awarded scholarships and have fees paid on the basis of criteria listed above citation needed Sex based affirmative action is legal under Title IX which exempts sex based discrimination in admissions to private undergraduate colleges 132 In the early 1970s Walter J Leonard an administrator at Harvard University invented the Harvard Plan one of the country s earliest and most effective affirmative action programs which became a model for other universities around the country 133 In 1978 the Supreme Court ruled in Regents of the University of California v Bakke that public universities and other government institutions could not set specific numerical targets based on race for admissions or employment the Court said that goals and timetables for diversity could be set instead 134 better source needed Dean of Yale Law School Louis Pollak wrote in 1969 that for the previous 15 years Yale customarily gave less weight to the LSAT and the rest of the standard academic apparatus in assessing black applicants He wrote that while most black students had not achieved academic distinction very few have failed to graduate and that many black alumni have speedily demonstrated professional accomplishments of a high order Pollak justified the university s plans to increase the number of minority students admitted with lowered standards in the fact that the country needs far more and especially far more well trained black lawyers bearing in mind that today only 2 or 3 per cent of the American bar is black and that if Yale could help in meeting this important national need it ought to try to do so He believed that the minor fraction of the student body up to two dozen in the class entering that year with prior educational deficiencies was not likely to damage the school and expected that the number of well prepared black applicants would greatly increase in the future 135 Scholars such as Ronald Dworkin have asserted that no college applicant has a right to expect that a university will design its admissions policies in a way that prizes any particular set of qualities 136 In this view admission is not an honor bestowed to reward superior merit but rather a way to advance the mission as each university defines it If diversity is a goal of the university and their racial preferences do not discriminate against applicants based on hatred or contempt then affirmative action can be judged acceptable based on the criteria related to the mission the university sets for itself 137 Consistent with this view admissions officers often claim to select students not based on academic record alone but also on commitment enthusiasm motivation and potential 138 Highly selective institutions of higher learning do not simply select only the highest SAT performers to populate their undergraduate courses but high performers with scores of 2250 to 2400 points are extraordinarily well represented at these institutions 139 To accommodate the ruling in Hopwood v Texas banning any use of race in school admissions the State of Texas passed a law guaranteeing entry to any state university if a student finished in the top 10 of their graduating class Florida and California also have similar college admission guarantees Class rank tends to benefit top students at less competitive high schools to the detriment of students at more competitive high schools This effect however may be intentional since less funded less competitive schools are more likely to be schools where minority enrollment is high Critics argue that class rank is more a measure of one s peers than of one s self The top 10 rule adds racial diversity only because schools are still highly racially segregated because of residential patterns 140 To some extent the class rank rule has the same effect as traditional affirmative action 140 From 1996 to 1998 Texas did not practice affirmative action in public college admissions and minority enrollment dropped The state s adoption of the top 10 percent rule has helped return minority enrollment to pre 1996 levels 140 Race conscious admissions continue to be practiced in Texas following Fisher v University of Texas Effectiveness edit Professor Cornel West estimated that when he attended Harvard College in the early 1970 s 95 of black students were descended from American black families dating back to the Jim Crow era 141 But during a panel discussion at Harvard University s reunion for black alumni during the 2003 04 academic year two prominent black professors at the institution Lani Guinier and Henry Louis Gates pointed out that one unintended effect of affirmative action policies at Harvard designed to increase the number of black students had been the replacement of American black students with black immigrants Guinier and Gates claimed that only about a third of black Harvard undergraduates were from families in which all four grandparents were born into the African American community and that the majority of black students at Harvard were Caribbean and African immigrants or their children and or mixed race children of biracial couples 142 By 2007 41 of black students at Ivy League colleges were reportedly first or second generation immigrants a group which made up only 13 of the US black population In 2020 Harvard students whose families had been in the US for generations began referring to themselves as Generational African Americans who hypothesized that their numbers were vanishingly small 141 The subject is alleged to be taboo among admissions officers and black Harvard students have claimed the university has discouraged them from collecting demographic information about the backgrounds of the black student population 142 UCLA professor Richard H Sander published an article in the November 2004 issue of the Stanford Law Review that questioned the effectiveness of racial preferences in law schools He noted that prior to his article there had been no comprehensive study on the effects of affirmative action 117 The article presents a study that shows that half of all black law students rank near the bottom of their class after the first year of law school and that black law students are more likely to drop out of law school and to fail the bar exam 117 The article offers a tentative estimate that the production of new black lawyers in the United States would grow by eight percent if affirmative action programs at all law schools were ended Less qualified black students would attend less prestigious schools where they would be more closely matched in abilities with their classmates and thus perform relatively better 117 Sander helped to develop a socioeconomically based affirmative action plan for the UCLA School of Law after the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996 which prohibited the use of racial preferences by public universities in California This change occurred after studies showed that the graduation rate of blacks at UCLA was 41 compared to 73 for whites A 2007 study by Mark Long an economics professor at the University of Washington demonstrated that when state referendums and court decisions forced flagship public universities in California Texas and Washington to abandon their large race based affirmative action preferences in admissions so called Top X alternatives to racial preferences in which the highest graded students at all public high schools in the state were guaranteed admission to public colleges were unable to make up for the losses in black and Hispanic enrollment Specifically apparent rebounds of black and Hispanic enrollment were in fact explained by increasing minority enrollment in high schools of those states and the primary beneficiaries of these class based affirmative action policies appeared to be white students On the other hand Long noted that affirmative action itself has both moral and material costs including the unpopularity of race based affirmative action in college admissions the high costs associated with full file reviews of applicants and the specter of litigation 143 A 2020 study by UC Berkeley Center Studies in Higher Education researcher Zachary Bleemer on the impact of California s ban on affirmative action on student outcomes using a difference in difference research design and a newly constructed longitudinal database linking all 1994 2002 University of California applicants to their college enrollment course performance major choice degree attainment and wages into their mid 30s found the first causal evidence that banning affirmative action exacerbates socioeconomic inequities 144 According to the study the ban on affirmative action decreased Black and Latino student enrollment within the University of California system reduced their likelihood of graduating and attending graduate school and resulted in a decline in wages At the same time the policy did not significantly impact white and Asian American students A 2023 study by Harvard University Fellow in Ethnoracial Relations David Mickey Pabello provides evidence that more schools were impacted by state level bans on affirmative action than previously known Mickey Pabello describes a process termed the anti affirmative action avalanche where underrepresented minority students are displaced from the most highly selective schools and some ultimately enroll at for profit schools 145 The for profit schools that had high enrollments of underrepresented minority students after state level affirmative action bans in this study were also subsequently involved in lawsuits for predatory and illegal recruitment practices 146 147 Complaints and lawsuits edit Dean Pollak wrote of the Yale quota for black students in response to a letter from Judge Macklin Fleming of the California Court of Appeal Fleming criticized the Yale system as a long step toward the practice of apartheid and the maintenance of two law schools under one roof with consequent damage to the standards of Yale Law School He warned that such an admission policy will serve to perpetuate the very ideas and prejudices it is designed to combat If in a given class the great majority of the black students are at the bottom of the class it would result in racial stratification between students demands by black students to weaken academic standards and other racially based aggressive conduct Fleming noted that racial quotas were a zero sum game as discrimination in favor of X is automatic discrimination against Y Asians in California for example were overrepresented in engineering schools and would suffer if black and Mexican applicants received preferential treatment He stated that a quota system violated the American creed one that Yale has proudly espoused that an American should be judged as an individual and not as a member of a group 135 In 2006 Jian Li a Chinese undergraduate at Yale University filed a civil rights complaint with the Office for Civil Rights against Princeton University claiming that his race played a role in their decision to reject his application for admission and seeking the suspension of federal financial assistance to the university until it discontinues discrimination against Asian Americans in all forms by eliminating race and legacy preferences Princeton Dean of Admissions Janet Rapelye responded to the claims in the November 30 2006 issue of the Daily Princetonian by stating that the numbers don t indicate discrimination She said that Li was not admitted because many others had far better qualifications Li s extracurricular activities were described as not all that outstanding 148 Li countered in an email saying that his placement on the waitlist undermines Rapelye s claim Princeton had initially waitlisted my application Li said So if it were not for a yield which was higher than expected the admissions office very well may have admitted a candidate whose outside activities were not all that outstanding 149 In September 2015 the Department of Justice concluded its nine year investigation into alleged anti Asian bias at Princeton and cleared Princeton of charges that it discriminated against Asian American applicants 150 Furthermore the department found that a number of Asian American students benefitted from race conscious admissions 151 nbsp A protest in Boston s Copley Square on October 14 2018 to support the lawsuit from Students for Fair Admissions against HarvardIn 2012 Abigail Fisher an undergraduate student at Louisiana State University and Rachel Multer Michalewicz a law student at Southern Methodist University filed a lawsuit to challenge the University of Texas admissions policy asserting it had a race conscious policy that violated their civil and constitutional rights 152 The University of Texas employs the Top Ten Percent Law under which admission to any public college or university in Texas is guaranteed to high school students who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school class 153 Fisher has brought the admissions policy to court because she believes that she was denied acceptance to the University of Texas based on her race and thus her right to equal protection according to the 14th Amendment was violated 154 The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher on October 10 2012 and rendered an ambiguous ruling in 2013 that sent the case back to the lower court stipulating only that the university must demonstrate that it could not achieve diversity through other non race sensitive means In July 2014 the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that UT maintained a holistic approach in its application of affirmative action and could continue the practice On February 10 2015 lawyers for Fisher filed a new case in the Supreme Court It is a renewed complaint that the U S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit got the issue wrong on the second try as well as on the first 155 The Supreme Court agreed in June 2015 to hear the case a second time In July 2016 a majority of the Court found in favor of the University of Texas at Austin with Justice Kennedy finding for the Court that the university s affirmative action policies were constitutional despite the requirement of strict scrutiny Students for Fair Admissions edit See also Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard On November 17 2014 Students for Fair Admissions an offshoot of the Project on Fair Representation filed lawsuits in federal district court challenging the admissions practices of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The UNC Chapel Hill lawsuit alleges discrimination against white and Asian students while the Harvard lawsuit focuses on discrimination against Asian applicants Both universities requested the court to halt the lawsuits until the U S Supreme Court provides clarification of relevant law by ruling in Fisher v University of Texas at Austin for the second time 156 In May 2015 a coalition of more than 60 Asian American organizations filed federal complaints with the Education and Justice Departments against Harvard University The coalition asked for a civil rights investigation into what they described as Harvard s discriminatory admission practices against Asian American applicants 157 158 159 The complaint asserts that recent studies indicate that Harvard has engaged in systematic and continuous discrimination against Asian Americans in its holistic admissions process Asian American applicants with near perfect test scores top one percent grade point averages academic awards and leadership positions are allegedly rejected by Harvard because the university uses racial stereotypes racially differentiated standards and de facto racial quotas 160 Harvard denies engaging in discrimination and said its admissions philosophy complies with the law The school said the percentage of Asian American students admitted has grown from 17 to 21 in a decade while Asian Americans represent around 6 of the U S population 161 The lawsuit against Harvard was heard in Boston federal court in October 2018 On October 1 2019 Judge Allison D Burroughs rejected the plaintiffs claims ruling that Harvard s admissions practices meet constitutional requirements and do not discriminate against Asian Americans 162 SFFA filed an appeal in the First Circuit Court of Appeals which sided with the university 32 163 In June 2023 on further appeal a majority of the Supreme Court actually found in favor of SFFA ruling that the practice was unconstitutional and that when favoring black and Hispanic applicants the university did disadvantage Asian applicants in the admissions process as the process was a zero sum game where the granting of preferences to some minorities due to their race necessarily disadvantaged others because of their race In August 2020 the US Department of Justice notified Yale University of its findings that Yale illegally discriminates against Asian American and white applicants and demanded Yale cease using race or national origin in its upcoming 2020 2021 undergraduate admissions cycles 164 Yale has issued a statement viewing the allegation as baseless and rushed and will not change its admissions processes in response to today s letter because the DOJ is seeking to impose a standard that is inconsistent with existing law 165 Numerous myths and misperceptions regarding affirmative actions shape public opinion on the issue 166 These misperceptions often shape public opinion on specific cases as well For example in Students for Fair Admissions the conflation of two separate issues Harvard University s affirmative action policy and specific claims of discrimination by Harvard University colors individuals judgements on affirmative action as a whole 156 Such conflation allows longstanding myths about affirmative action and socially salient racial stereotypes concerning who does and does not belong in elite institutions of higher education to prosper 156 Hence it is often difficult for public opinion polls on cases let alone the general issue of affirmative action to be unaffected by such myths Racial quotas in college admissions edit The use of affirmative action in higher education has been debated countless of times during college admissions seasons especially due to the mismatch effect Though it creates opportunities for people of color and for people of minority groups to access higher education many public universities have been attacked for depending on racial quotas implemented through affirmative action policies to reach diversity goals This has prompted for high profile lawsuits and Supreme Court rulings based on arguments of reverse racism or discrimination that prevents admissions to more qualified white students to take place 167 Consequently these cases have constantly reshaped the view on affirmative action policies by referring to it in its original sense a race conscious policy which ultimately obliges the inclusion of people of minority groups in higher education 168 Most importantly it has questioned whether or not affirmative action is effective in achieving numerical goals while avoiding preferential treatment where many who have deemed it a form of reverse discrimination 169 Bakke v Regents of the University of California edit In 1974 the California Supreme Court ruled that UC Davis violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Civil Rights Act because they were relying on racial quotas heavily 170 Allen Bakke was a thirty five year old man who applied to UC Davis medical school in two consecutive years but was rejected both times 170 This was because UC Davis had a special admission affirmative action program that reserved 16 spots for minority students out of 100 admission slots which Bakke argued was the reason he was rejected twice from the medical program despite having a high GPA and MCAT score 170 In this special program mostly run by members from minority groups applicants who were considered disadvantaged did not have to meet the 2 5 grade point average minimum that the general admissions program implemented and were only rated against other applicants from minority groups 171 Since UC Davis was not able to prove that Bakke wouldn t have been admitted even if the special admission programs didn t exist it was concluded that he was being discriminated by the color of his skin and was not being treated equally due to the racial quota 171 Thus Bakke was admitted to the school as 8 out of 9 judges declared that the heavy reliance on the racial quota violated the Equal Protection Clause on the Fourteenth Amendment 172 This ruling however did not prohibit the use of race as a factor in college admissions decisions 172 it only prohibited its use for non competitive admissions that favored a small demographic of minority group students 169 Diversity now became a factor in constitutional law as the Court ruled it was allowable to consider race as a plus factor when trying to foster diversity in their classes 173 174 Public opinion regarding affirmative action editPublic opinion polls on affirmative action have varied significantly It is likely that survey design the framing of the survey question itself and other factors may have significant effects on the survey results The following polls only discuss affirmative action in higher education In general affirmative action is supported by the general public but considerations based on race are opposed In a survey conducted by Gallup in 2013 175 67 of U S adults believed college admission should be solely based on merit According to Gallup One of the clearest examples of affirmative action in practice is colleges taking into account a person s racial or ethnic background when deciding which applicants will be admitted Americans seem reluctant to endorse such a practice and even blacks who have historically been helped by such programs are divided on the matter Aside from African Americans a majority of all other major subgroups believe colleges should determine admissions solely on merit In a national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2014 among 3 335 Americans 63 felt that affirmative action programs designed to increase the number of African American and minority students on college campuses are a good thing 176 In February 2019 Gallup published the results of a November and December 2018 survey and found that support for affirmative action programs was growing 177 They polled 6 502 Americans Of survey respondents 65 favored affirmative action programs for women and 61 favored affirmative action programs for minorities Also in February 2019 the Pew Research Center published the results of a January and February 2019 survey and found that 73 of its respondents said that race or ethnicity should not be a factor in college admissions decisions 178 According to this survey s results majorities across racial and ethnic groups agree that race should not be a factor in college admissions decisions White adults are particularly likely to hold this view 78 say this compared with 65 of Hispanics 62 of African Americans and 58 of Asians See also editAffirmative action global perspective Affirmative action bake sale Color blindness race Diversity equity and inclusion called DEI Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Race and inequality in the United States Redistributive change Symbolic racism U S Commission on Civil Rights White backlash White privilegeNotes edit Regents was subsequently affirmed in Gratz v Bollinger 2003 decided concurrently with Grutter References edit a b Messerli Joe April 2010 Should affirmative action policies which give preferential treatment based on minority status be eliminated BalancedPolitics org Retrieved March 3 2015 a b Feinberg Walter September 15 2005 Lafollette Hugh ed Affirmative Action The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics 1 doi 10 1093 oxfordhb 9780199284238 003 0012 Herring Cedric Spring 1995 African Americans and disadvantage in the U S labor market Perspectives 2 1 Pdf Chubb C Melis 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Encyclopedia of race ethnicity and society Los Angeles SAGE Publications ISBN 978 1 4129 2694 2 OCLC 166387368 page needed a b c Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination The Virtual Museum of Law video State Bar of Georgia June 20 2018 a b Regents of Univ of California v Bakke 438 U S 265 1978 Justia Law Retrieved May 29 2022 a b Regents of the University of California v Bakke Steven M Gillon The strange career of affirmative action the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in his That s Not What We Meant to Do Reform and Its Unintended Consequences in Twentieth Century America WW Norton 2000 p 152 Brent K Nakamura and Lauren B Edelman Bakke at 40 How diversity matters in the employment context UC Davis Law Review 52 2018 2627 2679 online Jones Jeffery M July 23 2013 In U S Most Reject Considering Race in College Admissions Sixty seven percent say decisions should be based solely on merit Gallup 4 22 14 Affirmative Action Topline PDF Pew Research Center Retrieved April 22 2014 Norman Jim February 27 2019 Americans Support for Affirmative Action Programs Rises Gallup Retrieved July 24 2020 2 25 19 Most Americans say colleges should not consider race or ethnicity in admissions Pew Research Center Retrieved February 25 2019 Further reading editFurther information Diversity equity and inclusion Further reading Anderson Elizabeth S 2002 Integration affirmative action and strict scrutiny NYU Law Review 77 1195 271 Pdf Anderson Terry H 2004 The pursuit of fairness a history of affirmative action New York Oxford University Press ISBN 9780195157642 a standard scholarly history Bolick Clint 2008 Affirmative Action In Hamowy Ronald ed The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism Thousand Oaks CA SAGE Cato Institute pp 6 8 doi 10 4135 9781412965811 n5 ISBN 978 1 4129 6580 4 LCCN 2008009151 OCLC 750831024 a negative assessment from the right Condit Deirdre M Condit Celeste M Achter Paul J Spring 2001 Human equality affirmative action and genetic models of human variation Rhetoric amp Public Affairs 4 1 85 108 doi 10 1353 rap 2001 0003 JSTOR 41939651 S2CID 144851327 Dobbin Frank Inventing equal opportunity Princeton UP 2009 scholarly history argues that Congress and the courts followed the lead of programs created by corporations Featherman David L et al eds The next twenty five years affirmative action in higher education in the United States and South Africa U of Michigan Press 2010 Gillon Steven M The strange career of affirmative action the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in his That s Not What We Meant to Do Reform and Its Unintended Consequences in Twentieth Century America WW Norton 2000 pp 120 162 Golland David Hamilton 2008 Constructing affirmative action federal contract compliance and the building construction trades 1956 1973 PhD thesis City University of New York OCLC 279305174 Order No DA3325474 Harpalani Vinay November 2012 Diversity within racial groups and the constitutionality of race conscious admissions University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 15 2 463 537 Harper Shannon and Barbara Reskin Affirmative action at school and on the job Annual Review of Sociology 31 2005 357 379 onlineHarrison David A et al Understanding attitudes toward affirmative action programs in employment Summary and meta analysis of 35 years of research Journal of Applied Psychology 91 5 2006 1013 online Holzer Harry and David Neumark Assessing affirmative action Journal of Economic Literature 38 3 2000 483 568 summary of 200 studies on the actual effects online Hubbard Gary William Affirmative Action The Law and Politics of Equality PhD dissertation The University of Nebraska Lincoln ProQuest Dissertations Publishing 1978 7910502 Katznelson Ira When Affirmative Action Was White An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth Century America W W Norton 2006 Lee Jennifer Asian Americans affirmative action amp the rise in Anti Asian hate Daedalus 150 2 2021 180 198 online Menand Louis The changing meaning of affirmative action The New Yorker 306 2020 339 online Monea Nino Next on the Chopping Block The Litigation Campaign against Race Conscious Policies Beyond Affirmative Action in University Admissions SSRN 4440549 2023 onlinePierce Jennifer Racing for innocence Whiteness gender and the backlash against affirmative action Stanford University Press 2012 onlinePortocarrero Sandra and James T Carter Diversity initiatives in the US workplace A brief history their intended and unintended consequences Sociology Compass 16 7 2022 e13001 doi 10 1111 soc4 13001 Rubio Philip F A history of affirmative action 1619 2000 Univ Press of Mississippi 2009 a major scholarly history online Schwarzschild Maimon and Heriot Gail L Race Preferences Diversity and Students for Fair Admissions A New Day a New Clarity January 16 2024 SMU Law Review Forthcoming 2024 San Diego Legal Studies Paper No 24 003 onlineSmithsimon Gregory Liberty Road Black Middle Class Suburbs and the Battle Between Civil Rights and Neoliberalism NYU Press 2022 online Staff writer Spring 1998 Affirmative action wins a major victory in the U S Senate The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education 19 19 12 13 doi 10 2307 2998878 JSTOR 2998878 Thurber Timothy M Racial Liberalism Affirmative Action and the Troubled History of the President s Committee on Government Contracts Journal of Policy History 18 4 2006 446 476 Urofsky Melvin I The Affirmative Action Puzzle A Living History From Reconstruction to Today 2020 online book also see New York Times book reviewWeiss Robert John We want jobs a history of affirmative action PhD dissertation New York University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing 1985 8604096 Weiss Robert J Affirmative Action A Brief History Journal of intergroup relations 1987 15 2 p 40 53 ISSN 0047 2492Zamani Gallaher Eboni M The case for affirmative action on campus Concepts of equity considerations for practice Stylus Publishing 2009 with timeline online Primary sources edit Robinson Jo Ann ed Affirmative action a documentary history 2001 Legal edit Abigail Noel Fisher v University of Texas at Austin Case 11 345 Brief of the American Educational Research Association et al as amici curiae in support of respondents PDF The Supreme Court of the United States External links edit Race Gender and Affirmative Action Resource Page for Teaching and Study 2008 annotated bibliography and teaching guide from U of Michigan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Affirmative action in the United States amp oldid 1205854364, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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