Affirmative Action
Discussion Questions
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What is affirmative action to you?
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Is there a difference between equal opportunity and equal outcome? Is equal representation important in schools and jobs?
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Does affirmative action create equity in education? Does affirmative action help the most underprivileged students?
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Is affirmative action unfair to others; does it undermine the merit principle?
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Is more affirmative action needed today?
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Should affirmative action be continued forever or discontinued at some point?
Research
Accounts for Prejudice
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According to one study of over 1300 Boston and Chicago employers, job applicants with ‘white-sounding’ names are twice as likely to be called back for interviews as equally qualified applicants with ‘black-sounding’ names (2).
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White men hold 95% to 97% of the high-level corporate jobs (6).
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Black people continue to have twice the unemployment rate of White people, and just over half the proportion of people who attend four years or more of college (5).
Ignores Systemic Issues
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The cause of racial educational gaps is poor educational conditions economically disadvantaged Black and Hispanic children are consigned to. By leap-frog-ing less qualified minorities, affirmative action programs can unintentionally sweep systemic problems under the carpet (1).
Additional Statistics
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Without affirmative action, the percentage of Black students at many selective schools would drop to only 2% of the student body (5).
Works Cited
“Parting Shots,” www.edspresso.com, Apr. 2, 2007
Reginald T. Shuford, JD, Senior Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Racial Justice Program, stated the following in his May 21, 2009 article “Why Affirmative Action Remains Essential in the Age of Obama,” published in the Campbell Law Review
Ward Connerly, former University of California Regent, in his Mar. 27. 2000 interview with Salon.com titled “A ‘Poison’ Divides Us”
Jeff Jacoby, JD, Columnist at the , wrote in his Mar. 19, 2004 article titled “On Flattering Minorities” for Townhall.com
Scott Plous, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Wesleyan University, wrote in his article “Ten Myths About Affirmative Action,” posted on his website (accessed Aug. 17, 2005)
The National Organization for Women (NOW), a national feminist organization, stated the following in its article “Talking About Affirmative Action,” available at www.now.org (accessed Nov. 19, 2009)
“Does the US Need Affirmative Action? - ACLU - ProCon.org.” ACLU, 31 Mar. 2020, aclu.procon.org/questions/does-the-us-need-affirmative-action/.