Affirmative Action policies are used in the United States to increase opportunities for minorities by favoring them in hiring, promotion, contracting and school admissions. Minorities are defined by race, ethnicity, or gender. Affirmative action has been accepted by governments, businesses, and educational institutions to remedy the effects of past discrimination against a group. It has been widely criticized for creating reverse discrimination in the workplace and at schools.

Until the 1960s, barriers prevented blacks and other minorities from entering many jobs and educational institutions. Born in the midst of the modern civil rights movement, affirmative action was originally a phrase in a government order demanding that employers look beyond traditional labor sources in order to recruit African Americans for jobs that had previously been closed to them.1 The link between affirmative action and civil rights was first made by John Kennedy in 1961, just months after taking office. On March 6 Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925, which established the President's Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity and spelling out the

Thus it is not enough to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the

By 1964, the movement for racial equality had gained more support, both in the government and private sectors alike. Because of this growing support a civil rights law was introduced in Congress. Its titles, or ports, called for a ban on discrimination in public accommodations (hotels, restaurants, trains, etc.) public education, federal programs, and employment. Title VII, which covered employment, stated that employers could not fire, refuse to hire, or deny "employment opportunities" because of an individual's race, color, sex, or national origin.5 After much debate in Congress, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed and was signed into law. It covered only private employers, but in 1972 it was amended to include labor unions, employment agencies, and job training programs. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and places of employment, it did not create affirmative action, but it paved the way for it to be developed.

ability to walk through those gates.

right and a theory but equality as a fact and equality as a result.7

In 1967, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare began requiring colleges and universities receiving federal funds to establish affirmative action goals for hiring females and minorities. By the early 1970s the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had taken the position that all employers within its jurisdiction, not

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Approximate Word count = 1046
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)