What Is Affirmative Action?
What is the affirmative action? Well, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary, affirmative action is an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women. It is to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons.
From this definition, affirmative action seems like a great thing for every society! But then why is there a huge debate and controversy over such a helpful system? To understand further, here are two total opposite nicknames for affirmative action: positive discrimination and reverse discrimination. What do they mean?
Positive Discrimination: to choose someone on the grounds of race, sex or colour rather than merit.
Reverse Discrimination: discrimination against a dominant or majority group.
So what does affirmative action fall under? Positive or reverse?
Well, I think it is a little of both.
In support of positive discrimination, affirmative action programs are providing many opportunities to minorities, opportunities that most minorities might not even have thought possible to be given to them. Following are some statistics to that show the difference of opportunities provided to minorities compared to majorities:
- According to 1998 U.S. Department of Labor statistics, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. Affirmative action programs can help increase the number of black employmentThe unemployment rate is higher for Latinos than for whites. Blacks and Latinos generally earn far less than whites. In 2000, the average weekly earning for blacks was $459 and for Latinos, it was $395. During this time, average income for whites was $590. Stats like these show that whites generally are provided with more opportunities than minorities.
- In 2000, black women earned a median weekly income of $458 compared to $523 for white women and $717 for white men. Latina women’s median weekly income was even lower, at $373.
- In 1998, women earned only 73% of the wages earned by men, according to the Census Bureau. This pay gap exists even within the same occupation.
- In 1993, black and Latino men were half as likely as whites to be employed as managers or professionals and much more likely to be employed as machine operators and laborers.
- The National Urban Institute conducted a study in which they sent equally qualified pairs of job applicants on a series of interviews for entry-level jobs. The young men were coached to display similar levels of enthusiasm and articulateness. The young white men received 45% more job offers than their African American co-testers; whites were offered the job 52% more often than Latino “applicants.”
Regarding reverse discrimination, why should qualified white people be rejected when applying for a job or to a university just because the quota of minorities needs to be completed? Lets say you are a white student who has just graduated high school with a high GPA, a high ACT/SAT score, and a couple of extracurriculars and community service hours up your sleeve. You apply to an university along with thousands of other students who are also white, and along with thousands of other students who are Latino, Black, Asian, Native American, etc. You get rejected even though many would consider you a valuable and potential candidate, and a Latino student with a significantly lower GPA, a non-impressive ACT/SAT score, and no extracurriculars what so ever gets accepted. The Latino student gets accepted just because he is a minority, and he should be given an equal opportunity but you shouldn't. How is that fair?
One real life example of such an incident is when a couple years back, the University of Michigan was sued by a white student who did not get accepted into their law school, but minorities with lower admission scores did. The University of Michigan had a point system for admissions. Just for being Black, Hispanic, or Native American gave you 20 points, which basically gave you the upper hand as a candidate.
It's definitely a lot to take in and consider, and people have their own opinions and arguments for both sides. But personally, I think in the end, no matter what people say, do, or think, everyone will not always be given equal opportunities and that the final decision should be one that benefits more than harms, and one that does not create more problems for society.
A Quick Look at Oklahoma State Question 759
This past summer, state Sen. Rob Johnson, R-Kingfisher, and Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Tuttle were busy trying to ban affirmative action programs throughout the state. Because of their hard work and the majority vote seen in the previous post, Oklahomans will vote on the 2012 ballot on whether or not to prohibit special treatment based on race or sex in public employment, education or contracts. Here is how it is expected to look like in the 2012 ballot:
“This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It adds a new section 36 to Article II. It will not allow special treatment or discrimination based on race or sex in public employment, education or contracts. It gives exceptions for some situations. It sets out remedies for violations.”
The attempt to ban equal opportunity is not new to Oklahoma. In 2008, Oklahoma faced this same problem backed up by the same groups. Ward Connerly, a conservative, rich, African-American, has made it his mission to ban such important programs throughout the state. He has been successful in California and Washington State. Both California and Washington State witnessed devastating changes in women and minority representation after a similar ban was enacted there.
Specifically, California saw a dramatic decline in the enrollment rates of minority students in the University of California. At UC-Davis, before the enactment, women comprised 52% of new faculty hiring. The year after the law was enacted, that percentage dropped to 13%. Washington State saw a decrease of over 25% in the share of Seattle public words contracts awarded to women or minority-owned firms.
Now that you know what a difference this ban could do to the minority representation in the state of Oklahoma. So look for State Question 759 in the 2012 ballot and vote against the ban of affirmative action!
Oklahoma State Question 759 Scorecards: State Representatives and Senators
Oklahoma House of Representatives
YEAS: 59
Armes Grau McNiel Sanders
Billy Hardin Moore Schwartz
Blackwell Hickman Mulready Sears
Brumbaugh Holland Murphey Shannon
Casey Jackson Nelson Shoemake Cockroft Johnson Newell Sullivan
Condit Jordan Nollan Terrill
Coody Joyner Ortega Thomsen
Cooksey Kern Peterson Tibbs
Dank Kirby Proctor Trebil
Derby Lockhart Quinn Vaughan
DeWitt Martin,Sc. Richardson Mr.Speak Dorman Martin,Sc. Roberts,D. Faught
Farley McCullough Roberts,S.
NAYS: 14
Cannaday Hoskin Pruett Virgin
Denney McDaniel,J. Rousselot Williams
Fourkiller Morrissette Scott
Hamilton Pittman Sherrer
EXCUSED: 28
Banz Hall McPeak Ritze
Bennett Hilliard Morgan Roan
Brown Inman Osborn Shelton
Christian Key Ownbey Shumate
Cox Kouplen Peters Stiles
Enns Liebmann Renegar Walker
Glenn McAffrey Reynolds Watson
Oklahoma Senate
YEAS: 31
Aldridge Brown Johnson, R. Reynolds
Allen Coates Jolley Russell
Anderson Crain Justice Schulz
Barrington David Marlatt Shortey
Bingman Fields Mazzei Stanislawski
Branan Ford Myers Sykes
Brecheen Halligan Newberry Treat
Brinkley Holt Nichols
NAYS: 15
Ballenger Ellis Laster Sparks
Bass Garrison Lerblance Wilson
Burrage Ivester Paddack Wyrick
Eason Mc Johnson, C. Rice
EXCUSED: 2
Adelson Simpson
So overall, in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the ban on affirmative action programs across the states was passed by 59-14. In the Oklahoma Senate, it was also passed by 31-15.
This now leads to State Question 759 being present on the 2012 ballot.
Affirmative Action in Oklahoma: Benefits and Harms
Benefits:
Why Oklahomans Need Affirmative Action Programs
Affirmative action programs are enacted in so many different parts of our lives. Without them, the minority representation in those parts could very likely begin to decrease, like we've seen in California and Washington State. These programs make a difference in employment in many fields.
For example, in Oklahoma, there are affirmative action programs in all the following:
Oklahoma. Dept. of Public Safety, Office of Personal Management, Oklahoma. Office of the State Auditor and Inspector, Oklahoma District Attorneys Council, Oklahoma Real Estate Commission, Oklahoma. Dept. of Transportation, Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, Oklahoma. Dept. of Human Services, Oklahoma. Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
So imagine what would happen to the number of minorities in these fields if affirmative action programs were banned?
To answer this question, lets look at statistics on the number of minorities in Oklahoma.
- Minority children are now the majority among children in 11 Oklahoma counties, including Oklahoma County, the state’s largest county. That’s a big change from a decade ago, when just four Oklahoma counties had “majority-minority” child populations.
- Hispanic children and children of two or more races accounted for most of the state’s under-18 population growth in the last decade, according to an analysis of census data by The Oklahoman.
- Overall, 44 percent of Oklahoma’s children were minorities in 2010. That compared to 27 percent of adults who identified themselves as minorities. Since 2000, the number of Hispanic children (of any race) grew by more than 62,000, or 89 percent.
- At the same time, the number of children of two or more races grew by almost 27,000, or 49 percent, and the number of Asian children increased by 4,400, or 41 percent.
- The number of American Indian children grew by more than 6,300, or 7 percent.
- To contrast that, the state’s population of white children fell by nearly 57,000, or 10 percent, during the last decade.
- The number of black children fell by more than 6,700, or 8 percent. From this we can see that the percentage of minorities in steadily increases by the year.
That is why affirmative action programs are more important than ever now because of the growth in minority population across the state. Without such programs, will the minorities be equally represented? Probably not.
Harms:
Why Affirmative Action in Oklahoma is Unnecessary
Unemployment rates are higher than ever nationwide. In Oklahoma, rates have increased to 5.9%. This percentage is made up of all kinds of Oklahomans, whites, blacks, Hispanics, etc. Whites alone make up a good part of this 5.9. Not the most, but still a decent chunk of whites are unemployed.
Affirmative Action programs could possibly make it harder for this rate to decrease any time soon. Just because minorities are more commonly seen suffering by racial discrimination, does not mean majorities aren't feeling the toll. The government should be concerned for the well-being of every citizen, black, white, or brown, not just those who are suffering more than others.
Whites do not need any more obstacles in their way when looking and applying for jobs. Affirmative action programs in Oklahoma could actually create more obstacles for unemployed whites and other majorities.
Also, from the statistics above discussing the current changes in Oklahoma's demographics, you can see that Hispanics and blacks, who are considered minorities, are now increasing greatly in the whole state. Who knows, soon blacks and Hispanics could become part of the majority at the rate their numbers are increasing. So would affirmative action programs really be helping them? Or would they just be a temporary solution that will soon cause permanent problems for Oklahomans?
The Impact of Affirmative Action
- Only a small fraction of the public (16%) reports having been directly affected by affirmative action programs.
- Overall, 11% say they’ve been hurt, 4% have been helped.
- Among blacks, 14% say they have been helped by such programs, while 5% say they’ve been hurt.
- Among other non-whites, about equal numbers have been helped (11%) and hurt (13%).
- Most Hispanics say they’ve been unaffected , but 4% say affirmative action has helped them and 8% say it’s hurt them.
- By a margin of 13% to 2%, whites say they’ve been hurt rather than helped and more white men (17%) than women (9%) say this.
- Overall, 27% of Americans including 26% of whites and 37% of blacks say that most people connect minorities’ successes in business and education to racial preferences, rather than their own skills, and hard work.
What I understand from this data, from the Pew Research Center, that affirmative action has benefited blacks more than harmed, and it has harmed Hispanics and whites more that benefited. So is is okay to have affirmative action just to benefit the blacks and let whites be harmed? Now I understand why some people call affirmative action reverse discrimination. Instead of being racist towards minorities, could affirmative action be considered racist towards whites? This data makes me begin to doubt my initial stance on affirmative action. Does this data make you want to change your opinion too?
Affirmative Action: Debate Time!!!
National Debate over Affirmative Action:
Argument Against
|
Argument For
|
|
|
Local Debate, Right Here in Oklahoma:
Supporting Affirmative Action:
- attracts a diverse pool of qualified candidates
- entails widening its recruiting activities
- creates a diverse work force
- will help meet demand of increasing minorities in the state
- state hires unqualified candidates in order to meet ethnic and gender quotas
- create reverse discrimination
- decrease work quality and ethics
- lowers standards
- On a national level, women represent 51.2% of the adult population, African Americans represent 12.4%, and Latinos represent 9.5%.
- 69% of all doctors are white men, 22% are white women, 4% are Black, and only 5% are Latino.
- 70% of all lawyers are white men, 24% are white women, 3% are Black, and 3% are Latino
- 80% of all architects are white men, 16% are white women, 1% are black, and 1% are Latino
- 85% of all engineers are white men, 8% are White women, 4% are Black, and 3% are Latino.
- In Texas alone, 81% of all CEOs, executives, and business managers are white, 11% are Latino, 6% are Black, while Asians and other minorities make up only 2%.
- The employment-population ratios (that is, the proportion of the population that is employed) for Whites (59.4 percent), Blacks (52.3 percent), Asians (59.9 percent), and Hispanics (59.0 percent) continued to trend down from 2009 to 2010.
- In 2010, Black men were less likely than men in other race and ethnicity groups to be in the labor force. Among men in the prime working-age group (age 25 to 54), the proportion of Blacks in the labor force (82.2 percent) was much lower than that of Whites (90.5 percent), Asians (89.3 percent), and Hispanics (91.5 percent). Among women age 25 to 54, the percentage of Hispanics in the labor force (67.9 percent) was lower than that for Whites (75.5 percent), Blacks (76.2 percent), and Asians (71.3 percent).
- Among adult men (age 20 and older), Hispanics continued to have the highest employment-population ratio at 72.9 percent in 2010, followed by Asians (70.9 percent) and Whites (67.9 percent). The employment- population ratio for Black men, at 57.5 percent, remained lower than the ratios for men in other groups in 2010, continuing a long-term pattern. Among adult women, Whites had the highest employment- population ratio, at 55.6 percent, followed by Blacks (55.1 percent) and Asians (55.0 percent). The ratio for Hispanic women (52.7 percent) continued to be lower.
- Black and Hispanic workers are less likely to be in management, professional, and related occupations— the highest paying major job category—than Asian and White workers.
- Among employed men, nearly half (48 percent) of Asians worked in management, professional, and related occupations in 2010, compared with 35 percent of Whites, 24 percent of Blacks, and 15 percent of Hispanics. About 4 in 10 employed Black and Hispanic men were in service jobs and sales and office jobs in 2010, whereas about 3 in 10 employed Asian and White men were in the same occupations. Employed Black and Hispanic men also were more likely than other men to work in production, transportation, and material moving occupations. Nearly one-half of employed Hispanic men were in two job groups—natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations; and production, transportation, and material moving occupations.
- Among the major race and ethnicity groups, Blacks had the highest unemployment rate in 2010 at 16.0 percent, compared with 12.5 percent for Hispanics, 8.7 percent for Whites, and 7.5 percent for Asians.
- Unemployment rates continued to be higher for Blacks and Hispanics across all major age and sex groups. In 2010, the rates for Black adult men and women (age 20 and older) were 17.3 and 12.8 percent, respectively. The jobless rate for Hispanic adult men was 11.7 percent, and the rate for Hispanic adult women was 11.4 percent. In comparison, the unemployment rate for White adult men was 8.9 percent, and the rate for White adult women was 7.2 percent. The unemployment rates for Asian adult men and women were 7.5 and 6.7 percent, respectively.
- Hispanics and Blacks have considerably lower earnings than Asians and Whites. In 2010, the median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers were $535 for Hispanics and $611 for Blacks, compared with $765 for Whites and $855 for Asians. The earnings of Black men ($633) and Hispanic men ($560) were 68 and 60 percent, respectively, of the earnings of Asian men ($936). Among women, the median earnings of Black women ($592) and Hispanic women ($508) were 77 and 66 percent, respectively, of the earnings of Asian women ($773). The median earnings for White men ($850) and White women ($684) were 91 and 88 percent of their Asian counterparts in 2010.
Statistics from: http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrace2010.pdf
From these statistics, you can see how minorities, specifically blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are less in everything from education to type of job to wages. The only thing they are higher in is unemployment wages. Such statistics prove that affirmative action programs are much needed to guarantee equality for minorities.
Affirmative Action: Democrats vs. Republicans
Republicans:
- There should be no preferences or set-asides in regards to employment, education, etc.
- They believe that everyone should work for their success and that affirmative action goes against meritocracy, progress based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth.
Democrats:
- They support affirmative action in order to redress discrimination.
- They are in favor of reaching racial diversity and promoting equal opportunities for women and minorities.
Interest Groups Say on Affirmative Action
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
Affirmative action is one of the most effective tools for redressing the injustices caused by our nation’s historic discrimination against people of color and women, and for leveling what has long been an uneven playing field. We need affirmative action now more than ever.
LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens)
LULAC strongly supports equal opportunity for employment, promotion and contracting, as well as equal access to quality educational opportunities. Affirmative action is necessary to help level the playing field. Those who oppose affirmative action, directly or indirectly, are inviting wholesale racial and gender discrimination into the work place. LULAC favors strengthening affirmative action programs so that they will better address the needs of the Hispanic community.
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
NAACP urges states that have abandoned affirmative action policies for higher education. The NAACP works tirelessly to end racial discrimination to ensuring the political, social, and economic equality of all people.
NOW (National Organization for Women)
Affirmative Action is fair! Affirmative Action is necessary so that women and people of color of every economic class have the opportunity to enter all fields. Affirmative Action helps qualified candidates overcome racism and sexism. Affirmative Action = Equal Opportunities. Until women and people of color get equal pay and education, we need affirmative action.
AAAA (American Association on Affirmative Action)
They promote understanding and advocacy of affirmative action to enhance access and equality in employment, economic and educational opportunities.
CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations)
“We believe this attempt to ban affirmative action is actually against the interest of the state and those that want equality not only for minorities but also for women,” said Muneer Awad, CAIR-Oklahoma executive director. “We think this is about equal opportunity and getting rid of affirmative action is a step in the wrong direction.” -Muneer Awad, CAIR-Oklahoma executive director
Affirmative Action: Media Coverage
Fox News Debate on Affirmative Action
This is a panel discussion to debate affirmative action for men but their real goal was clearly to eliminate affirmative action for women and people of color.
Barack Obama's Views on Affirmative Action
On an ABC interview, Barack Obama discusses his views on affirmative action, racial inequality, and ethics.
John McCain on Affirmative Action
On an ABC interview, John McCain discusses his support for an anti-affirmative action referendum in Arizona.
Affirmative Action on CNN
This is a clip from CNN that describes how far America has come with affirmative action, and if it is time to say no to it.
Affirmative Action on the O'Reilly Factor
Dr. Alexander Hamilton debates Bill O'Reilly on affirmative action. O'Reilly and Hamilton discuss income based affirmative action and reparations as well.
Media's Affect on Affirmative Action
Mainstream news media greatly affects the public's views and opinion in this case, on affirmative action regarding women. Consideration of affirmative action's impact and meaning for women of all colors is largely missing from news stories, and women are severely underrepresented on opinion pages. Moreover, affirmative action is mostly thought of for blacks, Hispanics, and other races, but not women.
Worse, with a few exceptions, major media are reporting the debate on affirmative action without reference to the continued existence of racist and sexist practices. Severed from the context of the discrimination to which it is a response, affirmative action is presented as a confusing, "hot-button" issue, about which few facts can be known. The persistent use of the problematic terms "preferences" or "racial preferences" as synonyms for affirmative action programs underscores mainstream media's distorted presentation of the issue.
Worse, with a few exceptions, major media are reporting the debate on affirmative action without reference to the continued existence of racist and sexist practices. Severed from the context of the discrimination to which it is a response, affirmative action is presented as a confusing, "hot-button" issue, about which few facts can be known. The persistent use of the problematic terms "preferences" or "racial preferences" as synonyms for affirmative action programs underscores mainstream media's distorted presentation of the issue.
These are the main findings of a survey of news media coverage of affirmative action in the first six months of 1998.
Also, media is known to distort true facts and change them into what officials want you to think. Regarding affirmative action, the media has distorted the facts so much that at times the common knowledge people know about affirmative action is all myths. Such myths include:
- The only way to create a color-blind society is to adopt color-blind policies.
- Affirmative action has not succeeded in increasing female and minority representation.
- Affirmative action may have been necessary 30 years ago, but the playing field is fairly level today
- The public doesn't support affirmative action anymore.
- A large percentage of White workers will lose out if affirmative action is continued.
- You can't cure discrimination with discrimination.
- If Jewish people and Asian Americans can rapidly advance economically, African Americans should be able to do the same.
- Affirmative action tends to undermine the self-esteem of women and racial minorities.
- Affirmative action is nothing more than an attempt at social engineering by liberal Democrats.
- Support for affirmative action means support for preferential selection procedures that favor unqualified candidates over qualified candidates.
Discussing Affirmative Action
These are some FaceBook pages that discuss affirmative action.
Stop affirmative action
End Affirmative Action! Sign NPI's Petition Today
http://www.facebook.com/pages/End-Affirmative-Action-Sign-NPIs-Petition-Today/55066837710
AAA (Anti Affirmative Action)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AAA-Anti-Affirmative-Action/303542636547
Here is a blog that talks about affirmative action from different angles.
Alas, a blog
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/category/affirmative-action/
Here are my amazing classmates' blogs that all discuss affirmative action and their personal views about it after analyzing data and statistics.
My Opinion on Affirmative Action
Specifically in Oklahoma, I believe affirmative action is necessary because of the increasing rates of minorities in Oklahoma, such as black, Hispanics, and even Asians. Affirmative action will be needed to ensure minority representation in Oklahoma. Because I am a minority citizen living in Oklahoma, I want to be guaranteed equal representation for me, my family, and my community.
Impact of Affirmative Action on My Future College Applications
Well, when the time comes for me to apply to colleges, I know that my only choices will probably be UCO, OU, or OSU.
UCO: There is no discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, handicap, disability, or status as a veteran on any area of the university.
OU: All persons are able to enter, study and advance in academic programs on the basis of merit, ability, and potential without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability or status as a veteran.
OSU: OSU provides equal employment and educational opportunity on the basis of merit and in a manner which does not discriminate because of an individual's race, gender, national or ethnic origin, color, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation or veteran status.
Also, other colleges that I have looked at all have equal opportunity policies that ensure that applicants are chosen based on merit and qualifications rather than sex, race, religion, etc. In general, I think that affirmative action will not affect my admission to whatever college because as a Pakistani / Asian, I will not be considered as a minority compared to blacks, Hispanics, etc. I think that Pakistani's in America are not considered as under-represented minorities as compared to blacks and Hispanics, so no matter where I apply, I do not think affirmative action will play any part in my admission.
Letter to the Editor on Oklahoma State Question 759
Dear Editor:
Why are Oklahomans even considering State Question 759, the proposal to prohibit affirmative action? I believe that affirmative action is a great set of policies that gives minorities chances to take on wonderful opportunities that would not be commonly given to them. Without affirmative action, it is shown that there is a high likelihood of the number of women and minorities working and gaining an education decreasing dramatically. Just look at the shocking facts and statistics in other states that enacted a very similar legislation like State Question 759. When a similar stature was enacted in Washington State, they saw a decrease of over 25% in the share of Seattle public works contracts awarded to women or minority owned firms. Not only that, but at UC Davis, a university in California, the percentage of new faculty hires dropped from 52% women to 13% women in the year after a similar measure passed. Overall, SQ 759 is a misguided attempt to completely erase the progress Oklahoma has made regarding women and minority representation. Oklahomans should definitely vote against SQ 759 to prevent the ban of affirmative action in Oklahoma.
Sidra Mesiya
No comments:
Post a Comment