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Affirmative Action vs Reverse Discrimination

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Affirmative Action vs Reverse Discrimination
Affirmative Action or Reverse Discrimination

Colleen Koehn
Business Law 1038
Instructor Jackie Sexson
March 1, 2010
South University Online

There has been a large debate in recent years if affirmative action has gone against the American way, has affirmative action caused reverse discrimination? The establishment of affirmative action was put into place to create equal rights for racial minorities, ethnic minorities, women, the physically disabled and those who served in the military. Affirmative Action was born during the civil rights movement to give special consideration to minorities and women in the work place and education. In order for businesses and schools to increase their diversity they put in place quota systems. The quota system put admissions officers in a position to hire or select students based on their race or sex. Affirmative Action was put into place to equal out discrimination and give all qualified applicants the ability to apply. It was never to be a quota system and for employers or schools to except a less qualified applicant over a highly qualified white man based on race. It was never to harm anyone thru reverse discrimination.
Affirmative Action was put into place to guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex, race or national origin. Writer Dan Froomkin (1998) with the Washington Post brings up the question that affirmative action may not be correcting the problem, “Affirmative Action is the nation’s most ambitious attempt to redress its long history of racial and sexual discrimination. But these days it seems to incite, rather than ease the nation’s internal divisions.(paragraph 1) Has affirmative action gone against the American way, have we taken it so far that it has turned into reverse discrimination? The origin of affirmative action started in 1894 with amendment 13 making slavery illegal and the amendment 14 giving all citizens equal protection under the law. President Roosevelt executive



References: "Affirmative Action." Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. Ed. Shirelle Phelps. Gale Group, 2003. eNotes.com. 2006. 24 April, 2006. <http://law.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/affirmative-action> “Affirmative Action History” The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © Brunner, 2007,ColumbiaUniversityPresshttp://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0841421.html Brunner, Borguna (2006) Affirmative Action History, retrieved from www.infoplease.com Froomkin, Dan (1998) Affirmative Action under Attack, Washington Post, retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com Sykes, Marquita (1995) “The Origins of Affimative Action”Nation Now Times article retrieved from now.orgsnationalNOWtimes. Find law Supreme Court Docket“Gutter vs.Bollinger(2003) http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/docket/2002/april.html http://www.lawmemo.com/supreme/case/Ricci/ sunysb.edu/diversity/glossary.html

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