Read complete books and articles on: Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action - in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. The policy was implemented by federal agencies enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and two executive orders, which provided that government contractors and educational institutions receiving federal funds develop such programs. The Equal Employment Opportunities Act (1972) set up a commission to enforce such plans. The establishment of racial quotas in the name of affirmative action brought charges of so-called reverse discrimination in the late 1970s. Although the U.S. Supreme Court accepted such an argument in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), it let existing programs stand and approved the use of quotas in 1979 in a case involving voluntary affirmative-action programs in unions and private businesses. In the 1980s, the federal government's role in affirmative action was considerably diluted. In three cases in 1989, the Supreme Court undercut court-approved affirmative action plans by giving greater standing to claims of reverse discrimination, voiding the use of minority set-asides where past discrimination against minority contractors was unproven, and restricting the use of statistics to prove discrimination, since statistics did not prove intent. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 reaffirmed a federal government's commitment to affirmative action, but a 1995 Supreme Court decision placed limits on the use of race in awarding government contracts; the affected government programs were revamped in the late 1990s to encompass any person who was "socially disadvantaged." In the late 1990s, in a public backlash against perceived reverse discrimination, California and other states banned the use of race- and sex-based preferences in state and local programs. A 2003 Supreme Court decision concerning affirmative action in universities allowed educational institutions to consider race as a factor in admitting students as long as it was not used in a mechanical, formulaic manner. In Europe, the European Court of Justice has upheld (1997) the use in the public sector of affirmative-action programs for women, establishing a legal precedent for the nations of the European Union.

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Affirmative Action

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Action » Read Now
by Terry H. Anderson. 328 pgs.

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Affirmative action strikes at the heart of deeply held beliefs about employment and education, about fairness, and about the troubled history of race relations in America. Published on the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, this is the only book available that gives readers a balanced...
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Affirmative action strikes at the heart of deeply held beliefs about employment and education, about fairness, and about the troubled history of race relations in America. Published on the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, this is the only book available that gives readers a balanced, non-polemical, and lucid account of this highly contentious issue. Beginning with the roots of affirmative action, Anderson describes African-American demands for employment in the defense industry--spearheaded by A. Philip Randolph's threatened March on Washington in July 1941--and the desegregation of the armed forces after World War II. He investigates President Kennedy's historic 1961 executive order that introduced the term "affirmative action" during the early years of the civil rights movement and he examines President Johnson's attempts to gain equal opportunities for African Americans. He describes President Nixon's expansion of affirmative action with the Philadelphia Plan--which the Supreme Court upheld--along with President Carter's introduction of "set asides" for minority businesses and the Bakke ruling which allowed the use of race as one factor in college admissions. By the early 1980s many citizens were becoming alarmed by affirmative action, and that feeling was exemplified by the Reagan administration's backlash, which resulted in the demise and revision of affirmative action during the Clinton years. He concludes with a look at the University of Michigan cases of 2003, the current status of the policy, and its impact. Throughout, the author weighs each side of every issue--often finding merit in both arguments--resulting in an eminently fair account of one of America's most heated debates. A colorful history that brings to life the politicians, legal minds, and ordinary people who have fought for or against affirmative action, The Pursuit of Fairness helps clear the air and calm the emotions, as it illuminates a difficult and critically important issue.
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2.

The Affirmative Action Debate » Read Now
by George E. Curry. 368 pgs.

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The Affirmative Action Debate collects the leading voices on all sides of this crucial dialogue. A provocative range of politicians, researchers, legal experts, and businesspeople dispute the best way to fight discrimination. Their essays explore such questions as, How did affirmative-action...
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The Affirmative Action Debate collects the leading voices on all sides of this crucial dialogue. A provocative range of politicians, researchers, legal experts, and businesspeople dispute the best way to fight discrimination. Their essays explore such questions as, How did affirmative-action policies come to be? Who benefits most from them, and who suffers? How do these programs work in hiring, contracting, college admissions, and other fields? What will recent Supreme Court rulings and legislative initiatives mean? And, most fundamentally, does any race-conscious remedy simply perpetuate discrimination? Recognizing affirmative action as more than a black-and-white issue, this book includes the voices of women, Latinos, and Asian-Americans who are also affected but often ignored. A sourcebook of solid facts and surprising arguments.
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3.

The Evolution of an Issue: The Rise and Decline of Affirmative Action, in Policy Studies Review » Read Now
by Euel Elliott, Andrew I. E. Ewoh. 26 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library
4.

In Defense of Affirmative Action » Read Now
by Barbara R. Bergmann. 214 pgs.

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5.

The Constitutional Logic of Affirmative Action » Read Now
by Ronald J. Fiscus, Stephen L. Wasby. 152 pgs.

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6.

Ending Affirmative Action: The Case for Colorblind Justice » Read Now
by Terry Eastland. 246 pgs.

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In the 1960s, we resolved as a nation never to judge people by the color of their skin. But today, race-based public policy has once again become the norm, this time under the banner of affirmative action. How, asks Terry Eastland, did such a turnabout take place, and how can we restore colorblind...
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In the 1960s, we resolved as a nation never to judge people by the color of their skin. But today, race-based public policy has once again become the norm, this time under the banner of affirmative action. How, asks Terry Eastland, did such a turnabout take place, and how can we restore colorblind law in America today? In this compelling and powerful book, Eastland lays bare the absurdities and injustices of affirmative action, and presents the strongest case to date for doing away with race-based and gender-based preferences-- a ringing call for all Americans to reclaim our nation's shared values of equal protection under the law, without reference to race, color, creed, gender, or national origin.
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7.

Affirmative Action and Racial Preference: A Debate » Read Now
by Carl Cohen, James P. Sterba. 394 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

Racial preferences are among the most contentious issues in our society, touching on fundamental questions of fairness and the proper role of racial categories in government action. Now two contemporary philosophers, in a lively debate, lay out the arguments on each side. Carl Cohen, a key figure in...
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Racial preferences are among the most contentious issues in our society, touching on fundamental questions of fairness and the proper role of racial categories in government action. Now two contemporary philosophers, in a lively debate, lay out the arguments on each side. Carl Cohen, a key figure in the University of Michigan Supreme Court cases, argues that racial preferences are morally wrong--forbidden by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and explicitly banned by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also contends that such preferences harm society in general, damage the universities that use them, and undermine the minorities they were intended to serve. James P. Sterba counters that, far from being banned by the Constitution and the civil rights acts, affirmative action is actually mandated by law in the pursuit of a society that is racially and sexually just. The same Congress that adopted the 14th Amendment, he notes, passed race-specific laws that extended aid to blacks. Indeed, there are various kinds of affirmative action--compensation for past discrimination, remedial measures aimed at current discrimination, the guarantee of diversity--and Sterba reviews the Supreme Court cases that build a constitutional foundation for each. Affirmative action, he argues, favors qualified minority candidates, not unqualified ones. Both authors offer concluding comment on the University of Michigan cases decided in 2003. Half a century after Brown v. Board of Education, issues pertaining to racial discrimination continue to grip American society. This penetrating debate explores the philosophical and legal arguments on all sides of affirmative action, but also reveals the passions that drive the issue to the forefront of public life.
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8.

The Ups and Downs of Affirmative Action Preferences » Read Now
by M. Ali Raza, A. Janell Anderson, Harry Glenn Custred Jr. 207 pgs.

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In the context of the evolution of affirmative action at the national and state levels, this study offers an empirical account of the citizens' movement in California that successfully resulted in the passage of a constitutional amendment to abolish such preferences in public education, public...
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In the context of the evolution of affirmative action at the national and state levels, this study offers an empirical account of the citizens' movement in California that successfully resulted in the passage of a constitutional amendment to abolish such preferences in public education, public employment, and public contracting. It describes how the concept of affirmative action was transmuted into quotas and set-asides even in those situations where there was no credible evidence of past discrimination. This process was aided by Presidential Executive Orders as well as by some Supreme Court decisions which, until the late 1980s, failed to provide clear parameters of compensatory versus preferential actions. The California movement arose to reassert the original vision of equality as contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Raza, Anderson, and Custred, who have studied the historical development of the phenomenon and have witnessed its actual operation, lift the curtain of secrecy that surrounds such preferences.
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9.

The Remedy: Class, Race, and Affirmative Action » Read Now
by Richard D. Kahlenberg. 384 pgs.

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10.

Affirmative Action, in Yale Law Journal » Read Now
by Jed Rubenfeld. 46 pgs.

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11.

Civil Wrongs: What Went Wrong with Affirmative Action » Read Now
by Steven Yates. 250 pgs.

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12.

Reversing Discrimination: The Case for Affirmative Action » Read Now
by Gerald Horne. 124 pgs.

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A thorough overview and hard-hitting polemic for more affirmative action as the best path to more democracy now, on a path to socialism.
13.

Invisible Victims: White Males and the Crisis of Affirmative Action » Read Now
by Frederick R. Lynch. 237 pgs.

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The use of race-and-gender preferences to restructure American society has produced a good deal of conflict, resentment, and other problems. These problems, in turn, have generated a growing sense of crisis and doubt about affirmative action.
14.

Diversity and Affirmative Action in Public Service » Read Now
by Walter D. Broadnax. 478 pgs.

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15.

Affirmative Action and the University: A Philosophical Inquiry » Read Now
by Steven M. Cahn. 310 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Education, Entire Library
16.

Race as Mission Critical: The Occupational Need Rationale in Military Affirmative Action and Beyond, in Yale Law Journal » Read Now
by Bryan W. Leach. 49 pgs.

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