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Affirmative Action Paper

Affirmative Action Paper

Q: What is a Definition of Affirmative Action:
Affirmative action- a plan to offset past discrimination in employing or educating women, blacks etc. (Websters New World Dictionary.)
The phase "affirmative action" was used in a racial discrimination context. Executive Order No. 10,925 issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The order indicated that federal contractors should take affirmative action to ensure job applicants and employees are treated "without regard to their race, creed, or national origin." A person could define this statement as an order to imply equal access and nothing else.

Q: What is the History of Affirmative Action?
Affirmative action was implemented with the idea and hope that America would finally become truly equal. The tension of the 1960's civil rights movement had made it very clear, that the nations minority and female population was not receiving equal and social economic opportunity. The implementation of affirmative action was America's first honest attempt at solving a problem it had previously chose to ignore.
The history of affirmative action has its roots in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and stems from the United States Supreme case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas. In 1969, the department of Labor exposed widespread racial discrimination of the Construction Department so President Nixon decided to incorporate a system of "goals and timetables" that provided guidelines for companies to follow and comply with affirmative action regulations. Which brings us to today

Q:What caused the lawsuit.
After applying to the University of Michigan Law School, Barbara was waitlisted then rejected. Similarly, Jennifer and Patrick were waitlisted then rejected by the University's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. After learning that race played a large role in the University's admissions policies, all three realized that they would have been admitted had they been of a...