affirmative action

Examples of affirmative action in the following topics:

• State Initiatives Against Affirmative Action

  • States and the federal government have argued about the appropriate implementation of affirmative action policies.
  • Duke Power Company, the first court case to assess affirmative action in employment that made it to the Supreme Court in 1971, states took action to limit the application of affirmative action programs in their jurisdictions.
  • Opponents to affirmative action have been even more vociferous about the use of affirmative action in higher education than when affirmative action pertains to employment policies.
  • Since the implementation of state policies resisting affirmative action programs, the federal government has pushed back to ensure that affirmative action policies are implemented.
  • State referenda have been the most successful way for opponents of affirmative action to limit its reach.

• Controversies Surrounding Affirmative Action

  • However, supporters of affirmative action have encountered opposition.
  • This argument supports the idea of solely-class based affirmative action or the idea that affirmative action programs should be instituted based on social class rather than race .
  • Opponents of affirmative action have tried to disassemble affirmative action programs.
  • Affirmative action programs have engendered lawsuits disputing their constitutionality.
  • Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has argued that affirmative action programs disadvantage minority students because others think that they achieved success due to affirmative action rather than their own merits.

• The Supreme Court Revisits Affirmative Action

  • The first affirmative action case to come before the Supreme Court dealt with affirmative action in employment.
  • Though the current debate over affirmative actionin the United States generally refers to affirmative action programs in admissions to institutions of higher education, the term originally developed in regard to actions to proactively hire candidates from minority backgrounds.
  • In broad terms, affirmative action programs in employment refer to the preferential treatment of minority employees in the hiring or management process.
  • The first Supreme Court cases adjudicating affirmative action dealt with affirmative action in cases of employment.
  • The first court case in the United States over affirmative action was Griggs v.

• Referenda on Affirmative Action

  • Affirmative action measures, particularly those pertaining to higher education, have been politically controversial in the United States.
  • Affirmative action measures, particularly those pertaining to higher education, have been politically controversial in the United States.
  • Though the majority of legal discussions about affirmative action have pertained to law suits, many states have had referenda on the topic.
  • Prior to the passage of the proposition, the University of California system had used mechanisms of affirmative action.
  • The measure, in effect, banned affirmative action at the state level.

• Strict Scrutiny

  • Strict scrutiny is the standard that is employed in litigating affirmative action cases.
  • Because affirmative action programs do not treat citizens equally, the implementation of affirmative action programs must pass the strict scrutiny standard for the programs to be constitutional, or legal and in accordance with the law and principles outlined in the American Constitution.
  • Judges apply strict scrutiny tests when a case regarding affirmative action come before them.
  • Affirmative action cases fall in this category.
  • Thus, it is used in all legal contestations of affirmative action.

• The Diversity Debate

  • Debates over affirmative action center around the question of whether diversity in the classroom merits a program of state intervention.
  • These questions are at the heart of the debate over affirmative action.
  • In addition to the perceived legal obstacles to the implementation of affirmative action programs, some opponents of affirmative action believe that race-conscious approaches to diversity in the classroom are harmful.
  • Supporters of affirmative action programs posit that all students benefit from diversity in schools.
  • Reconstruct frequently-made arguments for and against affirmative action in higher education

• Continuing Challenges in Race Relations in the U.S.

  • The Civil Rights Movement influenced racial integration, but tensions with affirmative action and racism still affect racial relations.
  • Two issues relating to race that remain controversial are the debates surrounding affirmative action and racial profiling.
  • The controversy surrounding affirmative action's effectiveness is based on the idea of class inequality.
  • This argument supports the idea of solely class-based affirmative action.
  • Opponents emphasize that affirmative action is counterproductive.

• The End of Affirmative Action?

  • Since Bakke, the Supreme Court has been questioning the constitutionality of affirmative action programs.
  • Since the case of Regents of the University of California v.Bakke in 1978, several Supreme Court cases have revisited questions of affirmative action in higher education.
  • The Supreme Court is expected to rule again on affirmative action in the upcoming term in the case of Fisher v.
  • Since Bakke in 1978, the Supreme Court has slowly been limiting the types of affirmative action programs that are deemed constitutional.
  • Analyze the two affirmative action cases in which the University of Michigan was involved in the early 2000s

• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

  • The 1978 Supreme Court case Bakke was the first case before the Court of affirmative action in higher education.
  • At that time, UC Davis was employing an overt form of affirmative action.
  • Though fragmented and far from a unanimous decision, the Court ultimately held that affirmative action programs are constitutional.
  • Bakke is significant for its holding and for the role of the decision in the adjudication of affirmative action.
  • Bakke was the first case the Supreme Court decided that referenced affirmative action policies in higher education.

• Current Challenges for Education

  • Some challenges in education include curriculum unification, racial achievement gap, and controversy over sex education and affirmative action.
  • In 2003 a Supreme Court decision concerning affirmative action in universities allowed educational institutions to consider race as a factor in admitting students, but ruled that strict point systems are unconstitutional.
  • Opponents of racial affirmative action argue that the program actually benefits middle- and upper-class people of color at the expense of the lower class.
  • Prominent African American academics Henry Louis Gates and Lani Guinier, while favoring affirmative action, have argued that in practice, it has led to recent black immigrants and their children being greatly overrepresented at elite institutions, at the expense of the historic African American community made up of descendants of slaves.