Why & with What Success has Affirmative Action been used to Promote Equality in the USA?

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Why & with What Success has Affirmative Action been used to Promote Equality in the USA?

The introduction of affirmative action came with the realisation that the rights and appropriate representation of minorities couldn’t be guaranteed solely through legislation. This conviction had been proven by persistent discrimination against minorities despite civil rights laws and constitutional guarantee. The combination of attempts made on the part of the Supreme Court and Congress to combat inequality included: amendments to the constitution, landmark decisions e.g. declaring segregated schools unconstitutional in the Brown v. Education Board of Topeka Case and a passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s such as the 1964 civil rights act which outlawed racial discrimination in public places, required employers to provide equal employment opportunities and stated that uniform standards should be applied for establishing the right to vote. However, these attempts were counteracted by the existence of de facto segregation and Southern states choosing to ignore the rulings. Segregation remained rife with blacks continually discriminated against in housing, voting, school and employment. The USA was in a state of de jure segregation; the theory of equality was present but it still needed to be put into practise. A way to do this was by introducing racial advantage through affirmative action. The term was first introduced by President Kennedy but was developed and enforced by President Johnson who vowed "We seek…not just equality as a right and a theory but equality as a fact and as a result."

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Affirmative action is otherwise known as positive discrimination. It was designed as a temporary tool to level playing field for all Americans. The key feature of affirmative action is that it takes active measures to promote access to education, employment, school admissions, salary increases and financial aid for previously disadvantaged groups. It gives them the equal opportunities which they might otherwise be deprived of. In its soft form, affirmative action calls for job adverts to be targeted at racial minorities and women. Its hard form- which is the most effective involves use of goals, timetables and quotas which reserve ...

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