The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

Throughout the history of the United States, minorities have been kept out of institutions and refused access to higher education. Affirmative Action started in 1965 in hopes to grant minorities more access to jobs , but has grown to also encompass ensuring that minorities are allowed admittance to higher education facilities. The goal was to equalize the population in terms of opportunity, and also be equitable in how people were treated. Since its implementation, many people have opposed it and have given reasons for why the system is flawed. However, Affirmative Action is a policy that needs to be kept in place because it helps fight against racial discrimination and helps minorities who have been historically excluded from schools. On the side of the opposition, there are many well-thought out points. One article argued that there are now “victims of reverse discrimination” , who are extremely qualified white people that were not accepted …show more content…
Minorities typically do not receive the same treatment from society and do not have the same privileges as the majority, which puts them at a disadvantage in terms of experience and education. After affirmative action policies were brought into place, more minorities were able to find jobs they were not able to before. They were accepted to schools that had been traditionally white-male dominated. They started getting into fields of work that had previously been white-male dominated. If affirmative action had never been put in place, it is very likely that these achievements would have been much more difficult to achieve. Though the system has some faults, it is overall a beneficial system that has helped fight against racial discrimination and helps minorities who have been historically excluded from schools, and it should be