Affirmative action is an attempt at providing special accommodations to people of races that have faced economic and social roadblocks. These accommodations include accepting a minority to a college as opposed to a person of a majority population, if their grades and achievements are similar. The constitutionality of this has been challenged in the 1978 case of Bakke v. Regents of University of California, in which court case affirmative action was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. In an upcoming case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, this issue will once again be challenged in court.
Even though affirmative action is one of the most important steps the government has taken towards equality for minorities, the constitutionality of the concept is being challenged in the upcoming court case Fisher v University of Texas at Austin. It is disappointing to see how people think that racial inequality has become obsolete.
The truth is, now is the time to reward the sacrifices, such as years of no voting rights and very little education, made by minorities since the Civil Rights Era, with enhanced opportunities in order to gain equal amounts of success as whites.
Affirmative action programs have been put into place to level the playing field for disadvantaged minorities who have suffered inhumane tragedies in the previous centuries. The Social Security Administration revealed that only 10.7 percent of African Americans have a college education, while they make up 12.6 percent of the nation’s total citizenry. According to the U.S. Census Bureau of March 2000, whites with a high school diploma earn $1.3 million, while Hispanics and blacks earn less than $1 million. Similarly, whites with a bachelors degree earn $2.2 million, while Hispanics earn $1.6 and blacks $1.5 million.
The data reveals a bitter truth: there is still social injustice against minorities, and the difference in the races must be bridged. Some people try to forget about the racial division that still exists in this country. The first step to affirming equality in all fields is throughout higher education.
Given the opportunity to advance in their higher education, the current younger generation and upcoming generations will be able to achieve greater success in the future. In effect, they will be able to afford better education for their children, and the children’s opportunities will be even greater than their parents’. This will work as a ripple effect, ultimately leading up to a world where race will no longer be an issue in determining percentages of college education, employment or pay.
