#5 Understanding: Affirmative Action

In honor of African-American History Month I wanted to write about a topic that is controversial, while also touching base on the importance of what this month brings. The Affirmative Action is defined as the policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination especially in relation to employment or education. The pro side of the Affirmative Action is that it grants fair acceptance into institutions for those of different ethnicities, which could help raise the diversity in companies or colleges. Some people believe that many who are of different races are discriminated against and don't have the same opportunities that whites receive, regarding jobs or education. Others on the con side of the Affirmative Action argue about how the intention of the act actually creates more racism than it wards off; it allows those of different ethnicities to be favored and specialized over others. Many also argue that students or adults are being accepted into colleges or companies not based on merit, but primarily by the color of their skin. I have posted a very interesting video about students at Berkeley College in California who held a bake sale to get a point across about the Affirmative Action. One group of students baked a numerous range of baked goods and sold them at different prices. White students who wanted to purchase a pastry had to pay two dollars, Latino students who wanted to purchase a baked good only had to pay one dollar. As you can see these set of students were on the con side of the Affirmative Action with the reasoning that while it has the intention of creating an equal balance, it actually creates the opposite. Another group of students that held a bake sale sold their baked goods for free, demonstrating their beliefs on the pro side of the Affirmative Action, and how it generates equality. Through this video, one can receive a visual of unique illustrations of how two sides perceive this political topic.

Understanding this debated topic sociologically, we can see how it affects people. Many people are on the pro side of this act because they feel as though some races have been extremely discriminated against in U.S. history by whites. Therefore, they believe that we now have the responsibility to "make up" to those who were discriminated against and give them a more equal shot at freedom. When talking about discrimination in the past not only are we talking about slavery, but we can also refer to the Jim Crow laws that pretty much took any level of freedom away from the African Americans after the Civil War. Whites did not let them drink out of the same water fountain, they forced them to sit on the back of the bus, and they couldn't even shake a white woman's hand. Many feel as though the horrific events that took place in America's past must be evened out through this act. The guilt may be prevalent because some of those who were discriminated against are now in the lower income classes of society. Lots of people feel as though whites are one of the main causes of poverty of African Americans. However, now let's take a look at the con side of this policy. Many on this side of the argument believe that it should not be enacted because it only creates more discrimination. The key word is favoring. Favoring a race that does not include whites for beneficial reasons can be considered the exact same thing as discrimination. You are now just favoring Latinos over caucasians, by still creating an unequal playing field. Another reasoning on this side of the policy is that people will now be accepted into jobs and colleges based on their skin color and not by merit. Those who work hard, may not be accepted because someone of a different skin color, but lower GPA, got in. Many also feel as though this policy can lead to laziness. Those who qualify for exceptions may then aim for lower grades and not put as much effort into school or work because they know they have an express train to success. Those who are honored in Black History Month are partly regarded because of their break in society due to their skin color, but also because they had the power to prove that they were more than that.