Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is a controversial social policy and political initiative that was developed to change access to valued resources in society. Executive Orders introduced by President Kennedy and President Johnson recognized the exclusion of minority persons from federal contracting, and, by extension, admissions in higher education institutions. In this entry, Bakke is presented as the focal legal challenge to the use of special admissions programs for minority persons applying to college. Bakke argued that special admissions programs were quota systems for minority persons and, as a result, served as instruments of reverse discrimination for white persons. The political conservatism and neoliberal philosophy introduced by President Reagan in the 1980s increased the opposition to affirmative action programs. The arguments that affirmative action is unnecessary in public life are discussed along with their continued role in US society

Affirmative action · Conservatism · Opposition (politics · Political science · Politics · Reverse discrimination · Law · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research · Public Administration · Race, History, and American Society · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies