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Affirmative Action: Positive Discrimination

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Affirmative action - an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education; positive discrimination. Affirmative action is one of the most controversial topics in American culture. Many people disagree to these laws because they believe that America doesn’t need them because we aren’t racist. However, many people don’t realize how racist America can still be, even if we aren’t thinking about it. Affirmative Action is necessary to ensure equal opportunity for all. The first reason this idea is true is because affirmative action is the only way to ensure diversity. Another strong reason why we need affirmative action is because it levels the playing ground for all. Finally, …show more content…
One example of this is Project Implicit. They have been studying groups of people for over a decade and found that 75% of whites, Latinos, and Asians have some bias of white over black (Hernandez). If even minorities harbor biases against others based on race, it’s hard to ensure diversity without the power affirmative action. Another piece of evidence that supports this idea is, “ according to one study of over 1300 employers in Boston and Chicago, job applicants with 'white-sounding' names are twice as likely to be called back for interviews as equally qualified applicants with 'black-sounding' names.(Procon.org)” This evidence shows that affirmative action affects us all because even if you are white and you have a “black-sounding” name, you may not get called back just because of your name. There’s a new trend in our country that predicts that by 2030 there will be a majority of nonwhites in people under 18, and they’re saying by 2042 people of color will be the overall majority in America (DoSomething.org). This shows that even countries where minorities are on the brink of being majorities, the unemployment rate of those majorities is far smaller than the minorities. This means that racism still exists, even with our country being very against the idea of racism. In summation, the only way we can ensure diversity in our workforce is to have affirmative action …show more content…
The story will be about the UT vs. Fisher case first introduced to the court in 2012. The case was brought up in court because a black applicant was chosen over a white applicant to the college even though the white applicant had more qualifications. “The first time the case was argued, then-UT president William Powers defended the university's approach on the steps of the Supreme Court. No university, he said, would fill all of its slots based on class rank alone.” The black applicant could have had a better application, and with the power of affirmative action they excelled and got a better chance at an education. Another piece of evidence that proves this claim is true is according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009 about 28 percent of Americans older than 25 years of age had a four-year college degree. That same year only 17 percent of African Americans and 13 percent for Hispanics had a four-year degree. Most jobs require a college degree and if test scores say they can’t get into college, then the work force won’t be diverse. Another example of how affirmative action can help is because it ensures that an applicant’s background is part of the consideration process (Fairchance.org). With this criteria in mind, an underprivileged student that didn’t do well in high school because their life outside of school was

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