what is affirmative action?

Question

it has been assigned to me to research affirmative action so i can debate for its abolishment. i thought i knew what affirmative action was until i read of a personal account of affirmative action in my research:

"I stand before you as the proud product of affirmative action...I specifically do not mean that I have ever had a job or educationional opportunity I was unqualified for. I specifically do not mean that I benefited, ever, from quotas, or that I ever took a job away from a white man."

-- We Won't Go Back. Charles R. Lawrence III

If the woman who wrote this was not less qualified, and did not take a job from a white man, what did affirmative action do for her that she could not have obtained without it?

Answer 1

Affirmative Action, policies used in the United States to increase opportunities for minorities by favoring them in hiring and promotion, college admissions, and the awarding of government contracts. Depending upon the situation, “minorities” might include any underrepresented group, especially one defined by race, ethnicity, or gender. Generally, affirmative action has been undertaken by governments, businesses, or educational institutions to remedy the effects of past discrimination against a group, whether by a specific entity, such as a corporation, or by society as a whole

Answer 2

Affirmative Action is assigning special Rights or Privileges based on race or gender. Plain and simple.

And just because one Columbia Professor claims to not have been aided by AA(and I'm sure he wasn't) does not mean there aren't many others who have benefited by obtaining jobs they weren't qualified for.

Answer 3

Affirmative Action was a good program in its beginnings. But now it has turned into a legal discriminatory program that allows you to discriminate on the basis of color or race. Which is against all civil and equal rights laws currently on the books. Are minorities saying that given equal education all these years they are still not able to compete on an equal basis? Are they not capable? Should we have people not capable in jobs they aren't capable of doing without favored status? In my humble opinion I believe Affirmative Action is now an insult to the capabilities of all races and minorities.

Answer 4

Black political analyst Sheldon Steele (Stanford U.) wrote a book called "White guilt". It deals with negative effects of AA on black community as well, so you may want to read it.

Most of Black students, who are accepted into top colleges by AA, come from rich families, and ideally, it should not be them who benefits from AA.

Deserving people from low income families rarely benefit from AA. They rather experience negative effects, if they achieve something, despite all odds, someone still Unjustibly will call them "AA Product", or smth like that.

Answer 5

People who endure to accomplish their goal, whatever the obstacles, can take pride in their position in life. Those that get
to same place, by taking a shortcut are perfect examples of
affirmative action.

Answer 6

The American Heritage Dictionary defines affirmative action as "A policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment. "

That sums it up quite well.

Answer 7

It is racism against whites. Since the job I work at is 70% Hispanic (mostly illegal), I should be crying "Affirmative action!" But AA works just like hate crimes law: it doesn't benefit the whites, just minorities.

Answer 8

affirmative action is the muliculturalist's way of getting payback on good americans.

Answer 9

affirmative action is for PEOPLE
cant find jobs

which is better than making an angry republican over welfare.

GIVE THEM JOBS
BE LEGAL
these enough in EXXON MOBILS PRIFTS to go around

BUSH JUST LOST 300 billion

Answer 10

AA is government sanctioned Racism!