Affirmative Action Argument

The Debate Over Affirmative Action

Affirmative action programs have often drawn criticism. Critics have argued that the best way to build an equal society is to treat everyone equally. According to them, affirmative action programs are simply reverse discrimination. No one, they say, should get ahead on account of race. "When you deny someone who has earned it and give to someone else who has not earned it . . . you create anger and resentment," argues California State Assemblyman Bernie Richter. "You stir the flames of racial hatred." Further, critics say, the programs reinforce racist stereotypes that minorities are inferior and cannot make it on their own.

Supporters of affirmative action counter that minorities are not the ones complaining about affirmative action. They argue that the problems of discrimination against blacks and other minorities are deeply rooted in our society. They say we cannot rely on "race neutral" laws to overcome them.

In recent years, the political movement against affirmative action has grown. In California, Proposition 209, which banned all state programs with racial preferences, was passed in 1996. The lower courts upheld this prohibition of affirmative action, and the Supreme Court refused to hear a 1997 appeal. In opinion polls, Americans favor affirmative action in the abstract, but when asked about racial preferences, they strongly oppose them.