In 1961, John F. Kennedy first coined the term “affirmative action” to assure that disadvantaged groups received equal employment and educational opportunities as well as were treated without discrimination (“Affirmative Action: Overview”). Since the 60s, affirmative action programs have been implemented by employers and colleges across the United States with the interest of promoting diversity among the workforce. However, as society has progressed, these policies have become outdated. Affirmative action should be eliminated in America because it stigmatizes minorities and women, facilitates reverse discrimination, and lowers academic standards for disadvantaged groups.
Affirmative action policies arose from the Civil Rights Movement in the …show more content…
Members of advantaged groups often believe the success of individuals from minority groups stems solely from preferential treatment, rather than their own merit. Douglas Massey, who has previously researched immigration at Princeton University, conducted a study in 2009 that showed that affirmative action ultimately increases the social stigma minorities “already experience because of their race or ethnicity” (“Affirmative Action stigmatizes…”). Massey analyzed the role of affirmative action in twenty-eight universities in the United States. He found that out of 4,000 students in these universities, eighty-four percent of African-American students and sixty-six percent of Hispanic students had Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores below the universities’ averages. Massey also discovered the greater difference in SAT scores between individuals of minority groups and the average SAT scores among all students, the less likely minorities were to earn a high grade point average (GPA). The “large difference between the minority average and the institutional average” aggravates already existing stereotypes of disadvantaged minorities as intellectually inferior as well as creates a hostile learning environment for the individuals of these groups (“Affirmative action stigmatizes…”). David Kravitz, a professor at the George Mason University’s School of Business, conducted a study similar …show more content…
There have been several states who have already passed legislation against affirmative action because it promotes reverse discrimination by imposing strong preferential treatment for minorities in public education and areas of employment. In 2012, Oklahoma voters approved a referendum that prohibited the state of Oklahoma from giving preferential treatment to or discriminating against an individual because of their “race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting” (“Affirmative Action: State…”). Earlier in 2011, the state of New Hampshire approved a similar piece of legislation that stopped the use of affirmative action in university admissions process and recruiting in state agencies. Nebraska, Washington, California, and Arizona have also taken similar measures as New Hampshire and Oklahoma to eliminate the use of affirmative action