The fallacy of meritocracy holds no true weight when considering years of gatekeeping, social inequalities and discriminatory practices perpetrated against poor young African Americans. There can never be a colorblind society if biased SAT’s, affirmative action and multicultural competency programs fail to be effective on university campuses across the nation. The notion of diversity is only an idea in theory, never to be fully instituted or absorbed into the social fabric of American culture. Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson and Harry S. Truman were all aware of this dilemma.
The origins of affirmative action stems from sociopolitical disputes and institutional reforms in the U.S. during the 1940s, 1950s and1960s (Sugrue, 1998). Affirmative …show more content…
In 1947, the Commission realized the importance of limiting “gatekeeping “by arguing against it and stressing the value of making college more affordable and accessible to students with low incomes; thus, increasing the potential talent pool of leaders for the future. Held in abeyance, the report floated around, acknowledge by leading intellectuals, but never destined to take full flight off the ground. Yet its influence on sociopolitical policies has a strong impact on higher education today.
Post-WW II America had been damaged by enormous racial inequality. The majority of American production jobs remained exclusively white, especially in careers dealing with skilled labor, sales, manufacturing and general office support (Sugrue, 1998). The unemployment rate among African Americans was practically double in comparison to European Americans in the 1950s, as countless young African Americans remained trapped by increasing unemployment …show more content…
Proposition 209, enacted in California in 1996 is a perfect example of this. It officially demolished established affirmative action programs in public service, government contracts and academic institutions (Myers, 2007). Antonovics (2014) notes that data compiled from the University of California reveals eliminating affirmative action programs drastically decreased enrollment amongst underrepresented minorities (URM) compare to non-URMs at specific UC institutions. Although UC revised the admission process by dropping their acceptance score for the SAT and giving consideration to GPA and family background, these alterations failed to return URM admittance numbers to their prior
The origins of affirmative action stems from sociopolitical disputes and institutional reforms in the U.S. during the 1940s, 1950s and1960s (Sugrue, 1998). Affirmative …show more content…
In 1947, the Commission realized the importance of limiting “gatekeeping “by arguing against it and stressing the value of making college more affordable and accessible to students with low incomes; thus, increasing the potential talent pool of leaders for the future. Held in abeyance, the report floated around, acknowledge by leading intellectuals, but never destined to take full flight off the ground. Yet its influence on sociopolitical policies has a strong impact on higher education today.
Post-WW II America had been damaged by enormous racial inequality. The majority of American production jobs remained exclusively white, especially in careers dealing with skilled labor, sales, manufacturing and general office support (Sugrue, 1998). The unemployment rate among African Americans was practically double in comparison to European Americans in the 1950s, as countless young African Americans remained trapped by increasing unemployment …show more content…
Proposition 209, enacted in California in 1996 is a perfect example of this. It officially demolished established affirmative action programs in public service, government contracts and academic institutions (Myers, 2007). Antonovics (2014) notes that data compiled from the University of California reveals eliminating affirmative action programs drastically decreased enrollment amongst underrepresented minorities (URM) compare to non-URMs at specific UC institutions. Although UC revised the admission process by dropping their acceptance score for the SAT and giving consideration to GPA and family background, these alterations failed to return URM admittance numbers to their prior