The Negative Effects Of Affirmative Action

Affirmative action policies are policies in which an institution or organization actively engages in multiple efforts to improve opportunities for historically marginalized and excluded groups in America (Pojman, 1998). These policies focus on both employment and education. In institutions of higher education, affirmative action refers to admission and recruitment policies that provide equal and equitable access to education for those groups that have been excluded or underrepresented, such as women and racial/ethnic minorities (Coate & Laury, 1993). The controversy surrounding whether or not it is constitutional to implement affirmative action programs, as whether or not these policies help racial relations has been a topic of great debate.
Affirmative action was created so that the initial focus solely on improving opportunities for African Americans in employment and education (Coate & Laury, 1993). The Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 outlawed educational segregation, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 …show more content…
For those proponents of affirmative action, possibly more time can be spent discussing alternatives to the policies that can help to lessen some of the unintended negative effects of affirmative action; also, one might suggest the revision of programs that would help people from disadvantaged backgrounds regardless of their race or sex (Bergman 1996). An example of this is, since African American students suffer higher rates of poverty, they would be a fair candidate for the help offered by programs that are more economic in nature. A drawback of this proposition is that it would be difficult to determine which individuals are truly disadvantaged, and what constitutes one to be