Reverse Discrimination Essay

404 Words2 Pages
Reverse Discrimination is a Reality Affirmative action is a set of policies that are designed to promote inclusion of all individuals, thereby addressing concerns about discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination against any person based on race, color, national origin, religion or gender. It established a right to equal opportunity in employment. Several issues are designed to be addressed with affirmative action. The first is a history of discrimination, with affirmative action laws recognizing the fact that many people have been excluded historically from jobs, schools, and social endeavors, and that in many cases, this historic pattern of exclusion has created disadvantages. Some of these disadvantages are the availability of the same education for all. Affirmative action was designed to give special preferences in education, admissions and employment decision to groups that have been discriminated against in the past in order for them to be able to receive the same opportunities as anyone else. There are a number of arguments against affirmative action, with critics calling it "reverse discrimination" and arguing that it enforces barriers between people, rather than breaking them down. For instance in education a certain number of places are held to fulfill their quotas for African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and women. In reviewing these cases, the Supreme Court takes into account whether race is considered criteria for admission. If it is the only criterion, the Supreme Court has ruled that this is a violation of the 14th amendment. Several cases in the 1980’s and 1990’s decided that affirmative action programs that uses racial or ethnic classifications as the basis for making decision is subject to strict scrutiny by the courts. An Affirmative Action program may not use quotas or preferences for
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