Preview

Reverse Discrimination

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
641 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Reverse Discrimination
Steven O’Connor
Mrs. Cogliano
English 11H
9 April 2010
Reverse Discrimination

Through Affirmative Action white Caucasian males have been adversely subjected to Reverse Discrimination as our society attempted to advance women and minorities. Reverse discrimination is Discrimination against a privileged group in order to correct previous discrimination against a disadvantaged group. The accusation of ‘reverse discrimination’ is often directed against those favoring equity programs or affirmative action programs.(Online Dictionary)
White males undergo Reverse Discrimination in schools, like in the Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke case, and in the workplace as seen in the case involving the promotion of firefighters. After the abolition of slavery the NAACP worked hard to promote specifically African Americans in schools. Schools then under went affirmative action programs to support minorities. “The words ‘affirmative action’ were first used (vaguely) in Executive Order 11246 issued in September 1965. The directive required government contractors to take ‘affirmative action’ to promote hiring of blacks and other minorities” (Frederick 11-12). At the time this seemed fair in order to get minorities up to speed with the white community. Schools started looking specifically for minorities for there schools to make them look better. So although minorities were getting into schools and all was looking well for them people, like Mr. Bakke, were being denied entry even with higher scores than those of minorities. Sixteen of one hundred entry positions had been set aside for minorities, nearly all blacks and Hispanics. Bakke applied twice to the U.C. Davis Medical School. On each occasion, his grades and test scores were much higher than those of minorities who were admitted. When he was refused a second time, he sued, claiming denial of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment.(Lynch 13)
Clearly reverse



Cited: Eisaguirre, Lynne. Affirmative Action: a Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1999. Print. Lynch, Frederick R. Invisible Victims: White Males and the Crisis of Affirmative Action. New York: Greenwood, 1989. Print. Mears, Bill. "High Court Backs Firefighters in Reverse Discrimination Suit - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 08 Apr.2010 . Mosley, Albert G., and Nicholas Capaldi. Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Unfair Preference? Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. Print. Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences. Web. 08 Apr. 2010. . Solomon, Rachel. "Campus Watch: Men in Power, Graduation Ban." The Daily of the University of Washington. Web. 06 Apr. 2010. .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    FACTS/BACKGROUND: Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had twice applied for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. He was rejected both times. The school reserved sixteen places in each entering class of one hundred for "qualified" minorities, as part of the university's affirmative action program, in an effort to redress longstanding, unfair minority exclusions from the medical profession. Bakke's qualifications (college GPA and test scores) exceeded those of any of the minority students admitted in the two years Bakke's applications were rejected. Bakke contended, first in the California courts, then in the Supreme Court, that he was excluded from admission solely on the basis of race.…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Answer: The concept of reverse discrimination is when women and minorities are selected for jobs that white males are more qualified for. Quotas are then established, if a qualified person would not be found for the job, then the unqualified applicants would be hired or no one white male would be selected at all.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eth 125 Week 6 Appendix F

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    |Reverse discrimination |Reverse discrimination is an act of discrimination against majority groups resulting from |…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thernstrom, Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom. America in Black and White: One Nation Indivisible. (New York: Touchstone, 1997), pgs. 184-188…

    • 4130 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    BUSI 642 DB 1

    • 988 Words
    • 3 Pages

    With the definitions out of the way, maybe the courts can provide a little more insight. In 1977, the Supreme Court decided on a case of suspected reverse discrimination. In this case, the backlash from the decision to hire a women for a job opening in the Santa Clara transportation department made its way to the Nation’s Capital. Paul Johnson, (a white male) ranked second among his peers was passed over for a job opening by Diane Joyce (a white female). No controversy is Diane Joyce was ranked number one; however, Joyce was actually ranked fourth. Feeling jilted by the hiring of Joyce, Johnson claimed reverse discrimination. Using rankings alone for the criteria to hire against a position, one would think Johnson would have a case. However, the Supreme Court felt otherwise and ruled in the favor of hiring Joyce.…

    • 988 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Furthermore, the Regents v. Bakke decision upheld the constitutionality of treating race as one consideration among several in admissions procedures, pointing out the value of diversity in learning environments and opposing the application of racial limits. Ultimately, affirmative action is still an important tool for advancing equality of opportunity and diversity, despite recent setbacks. The need to have measurable objectives for affirmative action programs was made clear by the Supreme Court's ruling in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC (2023), which also emphasized the importance of taking race into account as part of an entire admissions process (Professor Stone Class…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines Affirmative Action as “positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity—affirmative action generates intense controversy.” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2001)…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lisa H. Newton brings up an argument that is very taboo in today’s politically correct culture; is reverse discrimination a just action during the post-civil rights movement era? The answer Newton gives is no. Affirmative Action was the policy that set the precedent for reverse discrimination. While I agree with her arguments, I don’t believe she went far enough into the sort of prejudice that Affirmative Action creates.…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In this essay I will expose what I see as the shortcomings of the current…

    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eth 125 Appendix F

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Reverse discrimination- the unfair treatment of members of majority groups resulting from preferential policies, as in college admissions, or employment, intended to remedy earlier discrimination against minorities.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thinking through unacknowledged male privilege as a phenomenon, I realized that, since hierarchies in our society are interlocking, there was most likely a phenomenon of while privilege that was similarly denied and protected. As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ada and Affirmative Action

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages

    MSNBC. 2009. Does affirmative action punish whites? Courts see a growing number of reverse discrimination cases. Retrieved on February 11, 2009 from website; http://www.msnbc.msn.com…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Brunner, Borgna "Bakke and Beyond: A History and Timeline of Affirmative Action." Infoplease.com 20 Nov 2002. Family Education Network…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    “President Kennedy, as a way to fight discrimination, first coined the term Affirmative Action in 1961. Later on President Johnson employed Affirmative Action as a means of “a more profound stage of the battle for civil rights . . . not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and result”” (“Background on Affirmative Action.”). Over the past few decades Affirmative Action has grown out of where it originated from and been altered to the extent where it has lost touch with its original intent. A prime example of the misuse of Affirmative Action can be seen in the college admissions process. The arguments against Affirmative Action fall into two categories. First Affirmative Action is immoral and causes individuals to act in an immoral manner, and second, rather than positive consequences Affirmative Action has a net negative consequence on individuals. The removal of Affirmative Action programs in colleges will lead to a colorblind admissions process that is fair to all races. The use of law enforcement could ensure that minorities are not discriminated against in the…

    • 2888 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    With this historical evidence being put forth about the original intent of the 14th Amendment was found “inconclusive.” In the years to follow, the courts addressed the issue of desegregation. The NAACP wanted it to happen fast and the states warned of the violence if this process was completed too quickly. Even if the original writers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not want to prohibit segregation in education, they did want equal rights in public services. The experiences in the Twentieth century demonstrated the incompatibility of equality.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays