Pro Affirmative Action Essay

Affirmative action is a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination of minorities through active measures in order to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment. In other words, it is policy that was established to hopefully eliminate racial preference and equalize the United States. The fight against discrimination has been a long lasting one that started with the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson, which ended in the desegregation of all schools (Ficker). Affirmative action was put into place in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Executive Order that mandated government contractors to “take affirmative action” in all aspects of hiring and employing minorities (Brunner). Upon its arrival, the policy experienced great success. Schools and work places were becoming more integrated and the United States as a whole was becoming and equal nation. The policy of affirmative action still stands today but it comes with much debate. Many argue that our nation is now equal and we should exonerate this policy due to the fact that it is unfair to the white population. As much as these people do not want to believe it, the United States is still a prejudice nation, and it is because of this simple fact that affirmative action is necessary. Affirmative action is a very legitimate policy and it is the best move the U.S. has ever made towards equality. The most prominent argument against affirmative action states that the policy is reverse discrimination, and in no case can a means of discrimination equalize the nation. The question at hand is: is discriminating against the white population the best way to make up for past discrimination? The landmark case of Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke played a huge role in this problem. The case consisted of a white male, Bakke, who had been denied two years in a row to medical school. In place of him, “less qualified” minority students were being accepted due to the fact that the