Affirmative Action In Education Essay, Research Paper

The policy of affirmative action in education will no longer be needed in the near future. In the past, however, legislators determined that in order to prevent racial discrimination affirmative action would be needed. Recent demographic studies indicate that the Caucasian race will steadily decrease as the present populations of minorities increase. Factors such as fewer white births, an influx of immigrants, and an increase in interracial marriage will play a major role in contributing to this change.

Affirmative action programs are operated by the federal, state, and local governments specifically intended to increase the number of opportunities for various groups, including women, racial, and ethnic minorities. (Http://www.vote96.ss.ca.gov) For example, affirmative action promotes the hiring of less skilled workers, giving the employer no choice other than to choose the best of the minority workers they can find, regardless of job skill requirements. (Http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/feed1.html.)

According to Ernest Pasour, “the phrase affirmative action was first used in a racial discrimination context,” which was issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. (Http://www.self-gov.org/freeman/8901paso.htm) He said, “It indicated that federal contractors should take affirmative action to ensure that applicants and employees are treated without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin”. (Http://www.self-gov.org/freeman/8901paso.htm)

The growing United States population of minorities in the 21st century will

eventually surpass the population of the Caucasian race for the first time in

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history, a change that will become evident in politics, education, industry, values, and culture, according to William A. Henry III (Beyond the Melting Pot 28). One authority says as of now one in every four Americans defines himself/herself as either non-white or Hispanic (Beyond the Melting Pot 28). According to Michael Lind, California, Texas, New York, and eventually the whole country will soon acquire or have already acquired non-white majorities (The End of the Rainbow 39). A typical U.S. citizen as defined by the United States Census Bureau is someone who traces his or her descent in a direct line to Europe (Beyond the Melting Pot 28). Henry says, “if the current trends in immigration and birth rates persist, the Hispanic population will have further increased an estimated twenty-one percent, the Asian presence about twenty-two percent, African-Americans twelve percent, and Caucasians a little more than two percent, when the 20th century ends (Beyond the Melting Pot 28).

Immigration, intermarriage, decrease in white births, and interracial births are all factors causing the Caucasian race to become a minority. Authorities have reported that from the mid-1985 to 1990, eleven million new jobs opened up while the total working population grew by only five million (The Case For Immigrants F6). As we progress into the next millennium their will most probably be an increase in demand for skilled and professional workers, and it will become harder and harder for employers to fill positions. The United States in turn may have to look abroad for these qualified professionals whom may have Asian, African, or

Latin American backgrounds. As these professionals are hired they will

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immigrate to the United States along with their families, in turn contributing to the increasing population of minorities in the United States (The Case For Immigrants F6).

As the minority races increase and white race decreases, intermarriage will most likely become more common and evident in the United States. According to the Sacramento Bee, “data from California, shows that somewhere between a quarter and a third of all Hispanics marry Anglos (The Case For Immigrants F6). Anglos are non-Latin Caucasian inhabitants of the United States, as defined by the “Webster’s New Ideal Dictionary”.

While intermarriage rises in the United States their will be lesser and lesser pure Caucasian births, resulting in an increase in multiracial children. All of these factors will eventually cause the Caucasian race to become a minority race in the United States.

The Proposition 209 of California began in 1996, it set out to eliminate all equal opportunity efforts such as affirmative action, outreach, recruitment, mentoring, and tutoring programs in public employment, education, and contracting. (Http://www.ajdj.com/noccri/defeat.html) It abolished all public counseling and recruitment programs designed to help minority youth apply for college, and eliminated public programs directed at females, including “The Girls Science Network,” program which is designed to encourage females to pursue math and science courses and careers. (Http://www.ajdj.com/noccri/defeat.html)

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In addition to these it also eliminated women’s center’s on college campuses, outreach and mentoring programs for minority students, magnet schools designed to desegregate school districts, and efforts to recruit women in non-traditional jobs like policing and skilled trade. (Http://www.ajdj.com/noccri/defeat.html)

Since Proposition 209 of California has been put into affect, there have been arguments in favor and against it. Some people who are favoring Proposition 209 of California feel that the affirmative action programs are dividing the people and tearing us apart as a country. Some even feel that the passing of Proposition 209 of California will stop the government from discrimin-

ating against the qualified individuals who don’t get the job because of an affirmative action case. (Http://vote.96.ss.ca.gov/Vote96/html/BP/209yesarg.htm) Though there are quite a few people who favor Proposition 209 of California, their is also another side, those who oppose it. Many feel that the Proposition 209 of California is unfair. They feel that it’s harming the equal opportunity for women and minorities. (Http://vote96.ss.ca.gov/Vote96/html/BP/209noarg.htm) They believe that affirmative action is fair. They feel it is a way of making sure that those who were previously excluded are brought into the workplace. Without affirmative action programs, employers with a history of discriminatory practices would continue with usual business, but with affirmative action the employers would have to make efforts to recruit and hire qualified women and minorities for available from which they were previously excluded.

(Http://www.aclu.org/library/pbp17.html) Another argument raised against

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affirmative action is that individual Caucasian people, often Caucasian males,

have to pay for past discrimination and may not get the jobs or admissions they

deserve. (Black, White, and Shades of Gray {and Brown and Yellow} 15)

William Henry predicts that by the year 2020 the number of United States residents who are Hispanic or non-white will have more than doubled, to nearly 115 million, while the Caucasian population will no longer be increasing. By the year 2056, the “average” United States resident, as defined by census statistics, will trace his or her descent to Africa, Asia, a Hispanic area, the Pacific Islands, Arabia, almost anywhere but white Europe. (Beyond the Melting Pot 28)

According to William Henry III, “The former majority will learn, as a normal part of everyday life, the meaning of the Latin slogan on the United States coins——E Pluribus Unum, one formed from many”. For these reasons the policy of affirmative action in education will no longer be needed in the near future for the minorities of today, but will it be needed for the new Caucasian minorities-to-be?