I believe that affirmative action is necessary when a qualified person loses an opportunity to advance socially, politically or economically due to race, gender, or socioeconomic status. For the purpose of the position paper I would like to state my definition of affirmative action so that it is clear what I am defending. Affirmative action is a policy that corrects the effects of discrimination. This program is designed to open doors to qualified minorities that might otherwise be turned down. It is not suppose to be based on quotas, or preferences to the unqualified. It is suppose to give equal opportunity to all those qualified. Some institutions have set goals but that is their choice.

My first argument supporting affirmative action has a strong historical background. This type of civil rights movement has been around since the beginning of the United States. The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these

The Clinton administration did a five month evaluation of affirmative action programs and found that for the most part they are succeeding. The review found that the programs have been successful in meeting the government’s goal of increasing the percentage of minorities and women receiving federal contracts., (Washington Post 7/95, A1).

The fact of the matter is that groups that have traditionally experienced discrimination, and continue to experience discrimination need to be given preferential treatment. This is the how we progress toward racial, sexual, and economic equality. The justice is evident through example. There are increases in minorities with higher education, better jobs and more financial stability. Since the evidence is there that proves that affirmative action is working. As long as there are positive results the policy should be maintained. It has been argued that it is not fair to tell a slave that he is free and then consider that fair enough. That slave would have no education, home, or way to make a living. I think that comparing that to the present is stretching the example to the fullest but it does have a point. During a ceremony at Howard University in June 1965, President Lyndon Johnson stressed that freedom is not enough. “You cannot take a person who for years has been hobbled by chains and liberate him to the starting line and say ‘You are free to compete with others’ and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.”’ (Steinburg 1996, 18). There are civil rights, and discrimination cases every year. This tells me that it is after over two-hundred years still an issue. Besides if we promote diversity then their is a chance that over time racial tension will dissolve.

An argument that I found during my research was an opinion article written in the Washington Post. In the late 1990’s there was a case that questioned the issue of reverse discrimination. The name of the case was Piscataway Board of Education v. Taxman. In this case a black woman was renewed her teaching contract while a white teacher was not. The editorial believe that the black teacher Debra Willi

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