Evolution of Affirmative Action in America

Running head : AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Evolution of Affirmative Action in America

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Overview of Affirmative Action

Affirmative action in America refers to policies that take ethnicity race , and gender into consideration in an effort to encourage equal opportunity . It started as a device to deal with the enduring discriminations among African-Americans in the 1960s . Focusing particularly on jobs and education , affirmative action policies mandated that active measures should be taken to make sure that blacks and other minorities benefited from equal opportunities for financial aid

br scholarships , school admissions , career advancement , salary increase and promotions that had been practically the whites ' exclusive province The thrust towards affirmative action is twofold including the rectification as a result of involuntary , institutional , or blatant discrimination , and the maximization of the advantages of diversity in every levels of society

In 1964 , the landmark legislation of Civil Rights Act was signed into law , which prohibited employment discrimination by large employers regardless of their previous contracts with the government . President Johnson developed and enforced for the first time the country 's affirmative action through the Executive 11246 of 1965 and amended it in 1967 through Executive 11246 requiring every government contractors and subcontractors to observe affirmative action so as to expand employment opportunities for ethnic minorities and women

However , the 1978 decision of the United States Supreme Court in the University of California v . Bakke , 438 U .S . 912 ruled illegal the practice of the University Medical School of setting aside 18 seats...