Racial discrimination is defined as unfavorable treatment, or having fine judgement or taste against a distinct race or minority. It is an epidemic that has been occurring for hundreds of years. Throughout different time periods people have been discerning others because of physical characteristics uncommon to each other. In 1607, English colonists in Jamestown, Virginia, became the first Americans to bring African slaves to the New World thus beginning hundreds of years of discrimination.

There have been many improvements in the area of racial discrimination through laws and personal views, but racism still exists, and probably will for many years to come. In the workplace racial discrimination is so prevalent that there is one whole title in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically dedicated to quelling this issue. The problem today is deciding where to draw the fine line between racial discrimination and making a choice for the better of your business, and when that line is crossed.

But racial discrimination effects people other than those being directly discriminated. By definition, racia

One can see this is a case of blatant discrimination against a perfectly qualified white female.

Karst, Kenneth L., Levy, Leonard W., Mahoney, Dennis J. Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. New York: MacMillian Publishing Company, 1986.

Schwartz, Bernard. ed. The Fourteenth Amendment. New York: New York University Press, 1970.

Bell, Derrick A. Jr. Race, Racism, and American Law. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1973.

The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified on July 9, 1868, and is one of the most important legal weaponS in Black America's struggle for equality (Davis, 11). Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment declares that " No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" (Bagley A-6). The basic meaning of the amendment is that people are equally entitled to fundamental rights (Schwartz, 100). Its intention was for the individual to possess basic civil rights and to describe how he is affected by basic agencies of the states. In theory the "people" of the United States were now whites and minorities, and everyone should enjoy freedom equally (101).

Zigarelli, Michael. Can They Do That? A Guide to Your Rights on the Job. New York: Lexington Books, 1994.

firm. Two of the top eighteen paid employees are minorities and twenty five percent of the entire workforce is comprised of minorities while thirty six percent of their hires in 1998 were minorities according to Fortune Magazine.

Reverse discrimination in the workplace is defined as preferential treatment for minority group members in that workplace (Goldman 4). It can be either giving special treatment in considering an applicant for employment or in considering an employee for promotion or termination.

Nothing contained in this title shall be interpreted to require any employer ... to grant preferential treatment to any individual or any group (Fullinwider 125).

It became increasingly evident to us that the reason for discrimination in the first place is because humans have this preconceived notion that for some reason, all people are not equal. No matter what the Constitution states or what laws are passed this idea seems to be engrained so deeply that it is quite difficult to overcome. When we finally realize that this conception is in fact irrational and holding us back ... then we will be in the right mind set to abolish all forms of

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was indeed firm legislation that did in fact protect the civil rights of Americans, but with the legislative laws of the act also came a host of Common Laws. When a judge makes a decision in court, that decision is said to create a precedent. If a similar case comes to court the precedent will be what is followed when making that decision, and the precedent, although not a legislated law, becomes in affect, a law - or Common Law (Zigarelli 11). Now the citizens of the United States had a strong backing to achieve racial equality. But what happens when the system that is in place to provide these rights actually does the opposite and allows for discrimination of another group other than the minority.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Rights Act, Law Zigarelli, Affirmative Action, Bagley A-6, Reverse Discrimination, Jon McCalla, Supreme Court, Business Administration, Supervisor Pepsi, Discrimination Controversy, civil rights, reverse discrimination, equal opportunity, preferential hiring, preferential treatment, affirmative action, rights act 1964, fourteenth amendment, act 1964, rights act, racial discrimination, civil rights act, discrimination reverse discrimination, basic civil rights, adversitynet victims preferential,
Approximate Word count = 3739
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)