Kendrick Kier

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Affirmative Action
Presented by

• Kendrick Kier

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Definition

• It is the set of public policies and initiatives
  designed to help eliminate past and present
  discrimination base on race, color, religion,
  sex, or national origin.
• It is a specific action taken to provide equal
  opportunity for members of disadvantaged groups.
• It is a door-opener for people who would
  otherwise be shut out of good schools.

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What it is NOT

• It is NOT reverse discrimination.
• It is NOT a system for hiring unqualified people.
• It is NOT a quota system.
• It is NOT a remedy for past discrimination.

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The Origin of Affirmative Action

• Began with the Constitutional Amendments.
• The 13th amendment made slavery illegal.
• The 14th amendment guarantees equal protection.
• The 15th amendment prohibits racial
  discrimination involving voting rights.
• The Civil Rights Act guarantees every citizen
  the same right to make and enforce contractsas
  is enjoyed by white citizens

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Origin contd

• In 1896, the Supreme Court decided to uphold the
  the decision of the separate, but equal
  doctrine in the Plessy v. Ferguson case.
• In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed
  Executive Order 8802 which prohibited
  segregationist hiring.
• The 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board
  of Education overthrew Plessy v. Ferguson.

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Origin contd

• The actual phrase affirmative action was first
  used by President Lyndon Johnson in his 1965
  Executive Order 11246.
• Johnson changed the requirements of affirmative
  action in 1967 to also benefit women.
• There were two other laws passed to guarantee
  equal protection and make discrimination illegal
  1964 Civil Rights Act 1965 Voting Rights Act.

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Laws Appealing to Affirmative Action

• Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• Executive Order 11246

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Affirmative Action Today

• Floridas governor, Jeb Bush, has a proposal to
  ban all raced-based affirmative action in Florida
  schools and government contracts.
• Bush is offering a 20 plan.
• Americans are worried that the enrollment will
  drop without affirmative action.
• Florida states that around 400 more minority
  students would be eligible for admission under
  the Bush plan.

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Today contd

• The University of California voted to end the
  program of giving preferences to blacks and other
  minorities, along with women.
• There was an investigation to determine if the
  ban of preferences violated the civil rights of
  minority students, this may cause the university
  to lose millions of dollars in federal funds.
• The was a proposal made to help minorities in
  higher education without recourse to preferences.

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African American Groups taking action.

• The Urban Leagues cancelled its Los Angeles
  conference in 1996.
• The NCBL board of directors also boycotted
  conferences.
• The National Bar Association cancelled its 1997
  conference also.

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Congress proposed a measure that would make
unlawful for any employer to grant preferential
treatment in hiring to any person or group on the
bases of race, color, religion, sex or national
origin. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?
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Do you think affirmative action programs designed
to help minorities get better jobs and education
go too far these days, or dont they go far
enough or are they just about adequate now?
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THE END!!

• THANK YOU!!!!

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