Affirmative Action

In Affirmation of the Affirmative Action

Upholding Diversity and Minority Rights in the Grutter Case

Introduction

Coined in 1961 as a part of President Kennedy 's EO 10925 , affirmative action since its inception , has served as a bridge between minorities particularly blacks and women and the mainstream White population of the United States . With the aim of upholding the liberty and equality principles to which America lives by , affirmative action served as a crowning glory of the civil rights movement and even in contemporary society , it served as the torch of

hope among minorities . However affirmative action has not existed without opponents and critics- for instance , the case of Grutter vs Bollinger in 2003 which further reinforced affirmative action had taken the center stage because of the leaning towards the African American and ethnic minorities in the admission of University of Michigan 's Law School

Drawing from the success and failures of affirmative action and previous law cases , this seeks to evaluate the relevance of affirmative action particularly in school admissions and its impact on the African American community and ethnic minorities as well as White Americans Consequently , an examination of the proponents and opponents of affirmative action will be analyzed in to provide a holistic discussion

This argues that while civil unrest , segregation and racism can be considered to be at a minimum in contemporary America , affirmative action is still needed in to provide the diversity in University classrooms as well as the provision to change the historic under representation of African Americans and ethnic minorities in the leading professions in American society . However , similar to the limitations proposed by the earlier proponents , there should be a time limit on which this privilege should be practiced . For one , the span of 25 years as proposed by the Supreme Court would be time enough for the elimination of racial discrimination

Affirmative Action and the Grutter Case

The Grutter (Grutter v Bolinger , 2003 ) case started with the turning down of Barbara Grutter 's application in the University of Michigan 's Law School despite her higher score rankings thank Black candidates because of the provision of the University that minority candidates have the plus factor . The Grutter v Bollinger case is considered a landmark in Supreme Court decisions in affirmative action because of the assumption of the highest court that social benefits can be derived from affirmative action because of the employment that awaits black graduates (Mellott , 1093

Scholars and academicians have expressed diverging views on the case of Grutter as well as its impact on the affirmative action law : on one hand , the Supreme Court ruling revising its previous decision on Bakke and extending the scope of affirmative action to include private employers have been seen as a landmark in diversity integration and is considered to be a forward looking solution to racial hierarchy and segregation (Bulman-Pozen , 1408

Historically , affirmative action was first coined in the 1960s in EO 10925 of President Kennedy in to provide...