Affirmative Action

6 Pages 1491 Words

Once upon a time, there were two people who went to an interview for
only one job position at the same company. The first person attended a
prestigious and highly academic university, had years of work experience in the
field and, in the mind of the employer, had the potential to make a positive
impact on the company's performance. The second person was just starting out in
the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. “
Who was chosen for the job?” you ask. Well, if the story took place before 1964,
the answer would be obvious. However, with the somewhat recent adoption of the
social policy known as affirmative action, the answer becomes unclear.
After the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, it
became apparent that certain business traditions, such as seniority status and
aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. Then President, Lyndon
B. Johnson, decided something needed to be done to remedy these flaws. On
September 24, 1965, he issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that
required federal contractors “to take affirmative action to ensure that
applicants are employed . . . without regard to their race, creed, color, or
national origin (Civil Rights).” When Lyndon Banes Johnson signed that order,
he enacted one of the most discriminating pieces of legislature since the Jim
Crow Laws were passed.
Affirmative action was created in an effort to help minorities leap the
discriminative barriers that were ever so present when the bill was first
enacted, in 1965. At this time, the country was in the wake of nationwide civil-
rights demonstrations, and racial tension was at its peak. Most of the
corporate executive and managerial positions were occupied by white males, who
controlled the hiring and firing of employees. The U.S. government, in 1965,
believed that these employers were discriminating against minorities an...