The Effects That Affirmative Action Has Had on Past and Future Endeavors of Minorities in the United States

The African American experience in the United States is one that could almost be described as irreparable. The African American debut in this country was one that started off as foul as a situation could be. The slavery experience ranks amongst some of the most inhumane eras in the history of mankind. The settlers in the colonies viewed Africans as only 3/5ths of a man and used Africans as tools, or pets, as opposed to acknowledging them as real thinking, loving, feeling human beings. Amazingly so, African Americans were able to advance in this society to a plateau in which we are now, by definition, accepted as equals. Racism still exists in many social institutions and mindsets of our citizens, but opportunity now is vast, compared to how it was over time. With the well documented existence of racism, there has to be an option that levels the playing field for African Americans. That equalizer is affirmative action. Affirmative action is a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment. In addition to providing equal opportunity, affirmative action also serves as a form of reparation for the actions by white America in the past. With the advancement of African Americans in this society, some argue that affirmative action actually is a way to declare inferiority of the black people, and holds African Americans back in terms of progress in the nation. Others argue that it is the only way that the African American person can receive fair treatment in a nation that is still blinded by prejudice. Affirmative action is a crucial debate that has no finite solution. Even if it is granted, there will still be those who view it as a cop-out or "crutch" for African Americans and other minorities. This reason is why affirmative action serves as a double-edged sword. Although the notion of affirmative action serves as a double-edged sword, affirmative action in the 21st century is headed in a direction that will benefit African Americans economically, throughout the venues of employment, income, education, and social status; and by doing so, affirmative action has definitely served as a pivotal method to assuage and suppress racism and prejudice in these United States.

Affirmative action is a staple in today's American employment system, but there was a long road to achieve this right. Affirmative action was first formally introduced in the heat of the civil rights movements. African Americans were struggling hard enough to get basic equal rights as is, but this was still created to officially provide equality. On March 6, 1961, "President John F. Kennedy issues Executive Order 10925, which creates the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and mandates that projects financed with federal funds 'take affirmative action' to ensure that hiring and employment practices are free of racial bias." Later, President Lyndon Johnson went on to sign the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination of all kinds backed on race, color, religion, or national origin. This was one of the most groundbreaking power moves in the civil rights struggle to date. On June 4, 1965, in an eloquent speech to the graduating class at Howard University, President Johnson frames the concept underlying affirmative action, asserting that civil rights laws alone are not enough to remedy discrimination:

"You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: 'now, you are

free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you

please.' You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains,

liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, 'you are free

to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe you have

been completely fair . . . This is the next and more profound stage of the

battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity--not just

legal equity but human ability--not just equality as a right and a theory,

but equality as a fact and as a result." (A.A. Timeline,2005)

This was the mission of affirmative action and there were many bouts in the future that argued for, and against these principles. Ultimately, it led to a totally different shape up employment in the US.

Employment for minorities has grown over the years since the start of affirmative action in number. Affirmative action encourages more numerous and more diverse people in the job industry. Affirmative action promotes equality for all Americans and does not discriminate for race, or gender or religion. As it relates to minorities, the statistics show that more minorities hold jobs in the workforce than before affirmative action was started. This is mostly due to the fact that the number of minorities in the country is steadily increasing, and there are equal rights now. In addition to more jobs occurring, the quality of the jobs is increasing year by year. As minorities in this country steadily increase in number, they are in the process of gaining positions of power. This trend is something to make note of in the upcoming years of our country.

Looking back at the past, we can pattern some of the trends of the workplace. According to the Affirmative Action Review, which was submitted in 1995 to the Clinton staff, "The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers Executive Order 11246, which imposes nondiscrimination and affirmative action obligations on most firms that contract to do business with the Federal government. According to five academic studies, active enforcement by OFCCP during the 1970s caused government contractors to moderately increase their hiring of minority workers (A.A Empirical Research, 1995). The 1970s was shortly after the actual initiation of affirmative action, so change had began to take place already. It went on to note a statistic that, "According to one study, for example, the employment share of black males in contractor firms increased from 5.8 percent in 1974 to 6.7 percent in 1980. In non-contractor firms, the black male share increased more modestly, from 5.3 percent to 5.9 percent. For white males, the employment share fell from 58.3 percent to 53.3 percent in contractor firms, and from 44.8 percent to 41.3 percent in non-contractor firms (A.A Empirical Research, 1995). For this reason, the decline in white employment, both in the contractor and non contractor firms caused a reformation in the policy of affirmative