In part bеcausе of rеcеnt Suprеmе Court casеs likе Fishеr v. Tеxas, thе currеnt national convеrsation about affirmativе action has cеntеrеd on its usе in thе collеgе admission procеss, but my focus hеrе will bе on affirmativе action in thе workplacе which has ovеrall bееn a failurе. Prior to thе Philadеlphia Plan, undеr Kеnnеdy and Johnson, affirmativе action had always mеant to takе affirmativе action to еnsurе discrimination was not taking placе. Nixon issuеd еxеcutivе Ordеr 11478, which dеmandеd affirmativе action in govеrnmеnt еmploymеnt, bringing largе numbеrs of blacks onto thе fеdеral payroll. Duе to thе fеar of urban riots, fortunе 500 companiеs wеrе forcеd to hirе lеss qualifiеd black workеrs. Just wееks aftеr calling …show more content…
еvеn if thе govеrnmеnt wеrе kееping bеttеr tabs on affirmativе action, thе biggеr problеm is that its jurisdiction doеsn't rеach thе parts of thе еconomy whеrе affirmativе action is most dеspеratеly nееdеd: thе placеs whеrе rеal monеy is madе and rеal powеr is allocatеd. Of coursе, at first blush, thе casе against workplacе affirmativе action would sееm to makе thе casе for collеgiatе affirmativе action: Admit black studеnts to majority whitе collеgеs, and maybе a black studеnt еnds up in Mark Zuckеrbеrg's dorm room whеn hе starts Facеbook. Doеs collеgiatе affirmativе action, likе its workplacе cousin, just comе too latе in thе gamе? In his mеmoir Rеflеctions of an Affirmativе Action Baby,Yalе Law profеssor Stеphеn Cartеr-who dеscribеs himsеlf as both a bеnеficiary and a victim of racial prеfеrеncеs-makеs a sound argumеnt. By contrast, for thе thirtysomеthing black profеssional forcеd to walk in thе door with whispеrs of "Divеrsity hirе" trailing hеr down thе hallway,affirmativе action can bе a rеal problеm. Whеn prеsеntеd with thеsе figurеs, supportеrs of affirmativе action typically usе thеm as еvidеncе that consеrvativеs kеpt affirmativе action from working. In Thе Nеw Jim Crow, Michеllе Alеxandеr writеs candidly about thе symbiotic rеlationship bеtwееn affirmativе action and mass incarcеration, saying"Pеrhaps thе two arе morе linkеd than wе rеalizе," and
Since my written source was concerning the Jim Crow laws, I chose a letter which was written by the father of the abolitionist movement, Fredrick Douglass. He expresses his concerns about the unjust treatment which the African- Americans are forced to endure. He concludes that it is the old mentality of slavery and racism by the White race that has led the Jim Crow laws to be enacted. Furthermore, Fredrick Douglass documents some his observations and beliefs in this letter. He has noticed several incidences of segregation and inequality. I chose this primary source because it had a direct correlation to the Jim Crow Laws. It explores several instances of inequalities in the southern states, proving the brutal treatment of African- Americans.
If they need medical assistance, they cannot go to the same hospital as whites. When they die, they are buried in different cemeteries. Families of color are forced to bring up their children in a humiliating and insulting atmosphere. The state and authorities, as one of social factors, support the racism. The clear examples were dishonest courts and cruel, inhuman actions of the police. Promises to restore justice and equalize the rights of white and colored residents do not mean anything. Church leadership prefers to stay aside the civil problems. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” clearly shows that the church acts in a cowardly manner concerning the issue of racism, supporting the state law, but not the moral one, which claims that all men are brothers. Such a mechanism of society does not function properly because all of its elements are deformed. The deformation is caused by the pressure of state authorities and lack of justice, which was caused by the social conflict. Birmingham can be called a hot spot, where the conflict between the white and colored population was on the brink between the peaceful actions and open battles. The long-lasting conflict influenced the symbolic interactionism. This theory shows that social interaction is based not on the way human beings sense their environment, but on the way they define the environment and each other. In this situation, the colored
Before her conclusion, Alexander points out the multiple similarities between current mass incarceration and Jim Crow (182). One major comparison is how mass incarceration segregates the community physically through
Michelle Alexander’s the new Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness examine the Jim Crow practices post slavery and the mass incarceration of African-American. The creation of Jim Crows laws were used as a tool to promote segregation among the minority and white American. Michelle Alexander’s the new Jim Crow Mass takes a look at Jim Crow laws and policies were put into place to block the social progression African-American from the post-slavery to the civil rights movement. Fast-forward to 2008 the election of Barack Obama certified that African-Americans were no longer viewed as second-class citizens instead African-Americans are equal to their white counterparts. However, Michelle Alexander
This paper explains a very important moment in the history of our government that took place in Illinois in 1917. As World War I was beginning for the United States things were heating up in East St. Louis, Illinois. Anti-black riots killed or injured over one hundred black civilians. Then a Silent Parade of over ten thousand black citizens from New York broke out. Civil rights have always been an issue in our government, and according to www.kidzworld.com, after these anti black riots, things eventually led to the development of the The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and from that, Rosa Parks did not give up her seat on the bus. The creation of the NAACP also influenced the Little Rock, Arkansas incident, Martin L. King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech, and many other things which eventually led to equal rights for everyone with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This paper will explain the riots and how it shaped our government into providing equal jobs for all races.
To offer evidence to the reader of the racial motivations behind mass incarceration, Alexander follows the history of the racial caste system. The history begins with slavery, which was the original form of African American oppression. With slavery, according to Alexander, barriers were created between lower class whites and blacks, which led to decades of racism later (Alexander, 2010). After the death of slavery, the racism lived on and Jim Crow laws were created after Reconstruction to
Affirmative action was a temporary remedy that would last until there was a level playing field for all Americans. However, this was not the case; in the 1970s, there was a lot of backlash and arguments about affirmative action and how it was a form of reverse racism. The Bakke Case made the argument of reverse racism famous. “In 1978, a white male, had been rejected two years in a row by a medical school that had accepted less qualified minority applications- the school had a separate admissions policy for minorities and reserved 16 out of 100 places for minority students” (Brunner & Rowen, 2014). From this, the Supreme Court made it illegal to have quota systems in affirmative action programs.
A critical moment in the advancement of black political activism came in 1941 when social equality advocates, drove by A. Philip Randolph, threatened to walk on Washington, DC, to challenge victimization blacks in the war business. President Roosevelt assented to act just grudgingly, when his endeavors to discourage black pioneers from energetically challenging his inaction had been totally depleted. On June 25, 1941, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which announced full investment in the national barrier program by all natives of the United States, paying little heed to race, ideology, color, or national origin, taking into account the firm conviction that the majority rule lifestyle inside of the Nation can be shielded effectively just with the help and backing of all gatherings inside of its outskirts. The request obligated that the government, unions, and guard commercial ventures accommodate the full and fair cooperation of all workers. The President proposed to modify black dissent notwithstanding plausible U.S. mediation in World War II, yet in issuing his official request, he propelled black activists, who saw it, and generally depicted it, as a point of reference triumph in bowing the federal government to their
Racial hierarchy, an essential ingredient to capitalist hegemony in the United States became threatened with collapse of Jim Crow laws. It became apparent that mass incarceration is a central institution, strategically set up following the dismantling of Jim
“Black New Deal administrator, housing expert, and economist Robert C. Weaver was placed in charge of Negro employment and training in the Office of Production Management (OPM) and on June 12 the president made a public memorandum sent by William Knudsen and Sidney Hillman, the heads of OPM, to defense contractors requiring to use black workers fully.” In the civil rights movement this was a huge step for African Americans. They were slowly beginning to be treated as equals. After a threat of one hundred thousand African Americans marching on the capital protesting full involvement in the military and defensive industries without discrimination the president had basically no choice but to pass Executive Order 8802. “The executive order declared that U.S. government policy mandated full participation in the defensive industries without discrimination on grounds of ‘race, creed, color, or national origin.’ It also prohibited discrimination in employment in the federal government and defense industires and established a Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to receive and investigate complaints and redress grievances.” The issue of full involvement in the military as equals
Discrimination in the work, purposely or accidentally, not just harms the workers’ work knowledge, but it exposes the company to a lawsuit for violating the laws that defend races and groups. Discrimination against the smaller groups, based on color, race, ethnicity or other groupings,
Affirmative action is an action taken by an organization to select on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity by giving due preferences to minorities like women and races being not adequately represented under the existing employment. To make the presentation of all these compositions almost equal in proportion to do away the injustice done in the past. The Supreme Company need to design an affirmative action program in the light of recent Supreme Court judgment passed in favor of affirmative actions to be adopted by various companies.
Washington organized an effective approach of gradualism among blacks but was disrupted by militant leaders like W.E.B. Dubois. After reconstruction, the hopes for full citizenship rights were broken when the government renewed white supremacist control to the South. The government adopted a laissez faire policy, and the Jim Crow laws brought social, occupation, and educational discrimination to the American Negro. In 1896, the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson strengthened the segregation of public facilities in the South. Some leaders supported violence, some urged a return to Africa, and most encouraged peaceful means to change the conditions. Some supported a fight for civil rights, especially the right to vote and others wanted blacks to become skilled workers. These two approaches are called the economic strategy and the political strategy.
The popularity of sit-ins can be reflected in the involvement of the N.A.A.C.P. (The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People). An article published by the New York Times talks about planned demonstrations that will occur in New York City which will be headed by the N.A.A.C.P (Robinson 54). This example shows how large the movement had become by summer 1961 because a nationally recognized organization was already actively involved in demonstrating. Another article, printed in late 1961, reports that the national director of the Congress of Racial Equality would begin planned sit-ins nation wide, with a focus in the South and the Midwest (“Negroes to Broaden” 18). This again proves how effective sit-ins were because a nationally recognized organization was taking the movement and organizing a nation wide effort to end discrimination.
Amid these good intentions however, downsides in the system became obvious as early as the 1970?s, brought into the open by the famous case of Allan Bakke (Brunner, par 3). Bakke, a white college student had been turned down by a medical school twice, while reserved positions went to under-qualified minorities. Similar cases of protest against affirmative action have been heard over the years (Brunner, par. 3-10) shining light on the unfairness of a system designed to bring society together.