ipl-logo

Argumentative Essay: Affirmative Action And Civil Rights

365 Words2 Pages

The official definition from Merriam-Webster for affirmative action is “ an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women ; also: a similar effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons” Affirmative action was first introduced in 186, after the signing of The Emancipation Proclamation, when General William T. Sherman suggested that sizeable plantations, in Georgia that were under his command, be split up and 40 acres, along with a mule be given to every family of color. He wanted this so that people, who were set free with nothing and nowhere to go, would have at least a chance of succeeding. This was met with a lot of opposition from high power …show more content…

Affirmative action is guaranteeing the civil rights of designated groups of people by taking positive action. Justice William J. Brennan jr. said once that it is to protect these groups of people from “The lingering effects of pervasive discrimination.” Affirmative action really started growing after the case of BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION. Even after a decade after Brown, there was still very little change. Therefore legislatures and business executives mandated positive actions to be appropriated to integrate schools. This was named Green v. County School Board.

Affirmative action has integrated people who would normally never have gotten that job, or gone to that school, to work there and go to that school. Despite the backlash from certain cases of affirmative action, it is an act that helps diversify places that are dominantly one group of people. It has not only helped people of color achieve more opportunities, but it has also helped women to vote and get jobs they never would’ve been able to hold before. It has helped an array of people and continues to help more people.

It has helped so many people and has tried to make sure that everyone gets an equal opportunity. While not always succeeding because of a large amount of discrimination still present today, affirmative action keeps some places

Show More
Related

  • Herbert Hill Affirmative Action Analysis

    322 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main purpose of Affirmative Action is to put an end to discrimination towards the minorities. Although black citizens were put towards a disadvantage in society with the assistance of Affirmative Action was reversed back towards white citizens. When racials practice that have historically have placed blacks at a disadvantage are removed that is when whites believe that preferential treatment is given back to the blacks. Hill also argues that there needs to be some changes in the labor

    Read More

  • The Non-Violent Protests: The Black Power Movement

    562 Words  | 3 Pages

    In general, the non-violent protests orchestrated by Dr. Martin Luther King and other successful black political leaders were viewed as a success as the mistreatment of African Americans had improved. However, racism is viewed as deeply rooted and it was going away overnight or years to come. The whites were still finding ways in the law to discriminate against African Americans and believe the non-violent protest didn’t benefit them so, this sector of the African Americans led to existence of black power. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. Therefore, this new law outlawed segregation in public accommodations of every of every kind throughout the country (Robin D. G. Kelley, 2000, p. 236).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: My Fight For Racial Justice

    625 Words  | 3 Pages

    “You can’t delete racism. It’s like a cigarette. You can’t stop smoking if you don’t want to, and you can’t stop racism if people don’t want to. But I’ll do everything I can to help” ( Mario Balotelli) Racial Justice is a strenuous topic in America.

    Read More

  • Equal Opportunity Act Of 1964

    148 Words  | 1 Pages

    It was a law that coincided with the minorities, therefore giving them more power. It succeeded because the minorities were unwilling to give up the chance that they have been fighting for. It succeeded cause it made things equal. The problem the law addressed was discrimination in all aspects of employment. The EEOC examines

    Read More

  • Civil Rights Act Of 1964

    63 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, or national origin. This act helped minorities to more easily defend their rights as Americans and to contest organizations that sought to rob them of those rights. Title II of the act holds that all people shall enjoy public accommodations equally, outlawing places such as restaurants from

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The 24th Amendment

    1397 Words  | 6 Pages

    It has helped everybody be equal. Many new black voters were allowed to vote, and just because of the amendment there 's lead to less discrimination. When, “Congress passed that act in 1965, and in combination with the 24th Amendment, it resulted in a quarter of a million new black voters by the end of the year. A decade later that number had more than tripled, and blacks also began serving in Congress and state legislative bodies in record numbers” ("The Importance of the 24th Amendment.").

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Civil Rights Movement In The 1950's And 1960s

    1017 Words  | 5 Pages

    The movements that were upfront with stopping voting discrimination were most successful and gained support nationwide for its goals and objectives. A year later segregation was outlawed by the Omnibus Civil Rights Act. In the end the Civil Rights Movement in 1965-1969 may not have been 100 percent successful but African Americans did make progress and are a few steps closer to being economically, politically and morally equal like any white

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The Civil Rights Movement

    1184 Words  | 5 Pages

    Freedom. The importance of freedom is often forgotten as Americans live day by day taking this gift for granted. In this day and age, freedom seems as a “simple gift’ obtained by every American, but one forgets to think about those who were once unable to enjoy the freedoms one is promised daily. Back in the day, freedom seemed as nothing more than a dream to those of color. Everyday of a colored person’s life consisted of harassment and discrimination as no one cared to treat them as equals.

    Read More

  • Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Essay

    528 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is hailed by many as one of the most important legislations in the American history. The act was passed into law 52 years ago under a lot of pressure and resistance from white senators and African American activists. The act, which was largely known as the “Bill of the century” was aimed at bringing equality for blacks and whites and end racial prejudice. The act was targeted to revolutionize America where blacks and whites would eat together in the same hotels and enjoy similar rights in public places without any discrimination.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 And 1968

    151 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 & 1968 were some of the most progressive events in the Civil Rights movement. They gave equal opportunities in housing, employment, schooling and even went as far as to ban segregation in all public places. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made segregation illegal in public schools and public spaces and made employment discrimination criminal. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 mostly consisted of the Housing Discrimination Act and the Indian Civil Rights Act. They made discrimination in housing matters like renting, selling and buying illegal and established civil rights for Indians and how they would govern themselves.

    Read More

  • Arguments Against Affirmative Action

    1011 Words  | 5 Pages

    Affirmative action has become obsolete in today’s society. Affirmative action is an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women; also: a similar effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Today’s affirmative action will demoralize the very concepts that the policy was implemented to uphold: those of equality for all people regardless of color and discrimination. This policy supports racial multiplicity at the price of distinction, impartiality and experience; it also follows the line of reverse discrimination and sexual bias against white men (Reyna, Tucker, Korfmacher, & Henry, 2005).

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay About Civil Rights

    975 Words  | 4 Pages

    If you take a look at American life 50, 60, and even 70 years ago, its much different from the life that we know today. People of today do not have to constantly watch their backs, or remind their children that they are not allowed to play outside because of one simple factor; skin. Our progress is undoubtedly a positive slope, but as the saying says, there 's surely always room for improvement. The question we should ask ourselves is if we are doing enough to ensure that our past advocates, and philosophers, and supporters did not die in vain because then we would be unworthy of claiming the rights that they fought so hard for. The civil rights movement has always been a major political and civil unrest, but civil rights activists created unrest for their kids, and their grandchildren, to secure equal treatment for everybody.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Civil Rights

    780 Words  | 4 Pages

    Could you ever possibly imagine a time where you couldn’t use the same bathroom as some of your classmates because the had a different skin color? This time in history was known as the Civil Rights Movement, a movement from 1954-1954, in which people fought against racism. Although the Civil Rights Movement mainly affected African Americans, but involved all of American society. Because most racism against ancient African Americans took place in southern United States, civil rights was extremely important to African Americans who lived in the south. Racism was so widely spread it even found its way into professional sports.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Racism

    1537 Words  | 7 Pages

    Racism Racism is the conviction that qualities and capacities can be credited to individuals basically on the premise of their race and that some racial gatherings are better than others. Bigotry and separation have been utilized as capable weapons empowering apprehension or disdain of others in times of contention and war, and notwithstanding amid monetary downturns. Racism is also a very touchy subject for some people, as issues concerning free speech and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come into play. Some people argue that talking about supporting racial discrimination and prejudice is just words and that free speech should allow such views to be aired without restriction. Others point out that these words can lead to some very dire and serious consequences (the Nazi government policies being one example).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Racial Equality

    1734 Words  | 7 Pages

    Throughout many of the affirmative action legal cases, one of the main arguments from proponents is that it is necessary in order to right the wrongs of past racial discrimination. Some say that affirmative action is justified because even though white applicants may be more qualified, this is only because they did not face the same hardships as their minority counterparts (Rachels, Ethics, 1973).  Many argue if we do not integrate disadvantaged minorities into mainstream social institutions, they will continue to suffer the discrimination that has plagued our country for centuries and that this is detrimental to not only the minorities but also society as a whole (Anderson, 2002, 1270–71). However, the debate has recently shifted to the benefits of diversity in the classroom which the Supreme Court has affirmed as being a positive thing

    Read More

More about Argumentative Essay: Affirmative Action And Civil Rights

Open Document