What is Race-Based Affirmative Action? Race-based affirmative action refers to a policy that imposes remedies against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin. The implementation of this policy in college admissions processes is a highly controversial topic. Many people oppose race-based affirmative action because of the way institutions cater to minorities rather than the majority. These opponents tend to consider this policy as a form of “reverse discrimination”. In contrast, race-based affirmative action has many supporters who perceive the policy as promoting the social inclusion of minorities, rather than being implemented for discriminatory reasons. In support of this policy, in education, the implementation of race-based affirmative action in college admissions is very effective due to its approach along three main principles: eliminating past discrimination, remedy the products of past discrimination and prevent future discrimination. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, I will begin by discussing the history of affirmative action, complete with lawsuits involving the policy. Where did affirmative action begin? The concept of affirmative action made its first appearance during President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order 10925 in 1961. Initially, the purpose of affirmative action was to require institutions to comply with the nondiscrimination mandate of Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was created to combat racial discrimination that exists in the field of employment. In subsequent years, other factors, such as gender and disability, were protected by this policy. After its introduction, the trajectory of the policy shifted to the education system. It was not until the 1954 case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education that the emergence of race-based affirmative action within educational institutions became serious. Brown v. Board of Education not only allowed minorities and majorities to attend the same school regardless of race; this further created a chain reaction in which black students would be entitled to access to the same public academic institutions as their white counterparts. These schools then had to implement affirmative action by reserving places for minority students to be admitted, otherwise they would go against the court ruling. The racial integration of colleges and universities had been decided by the Supreme Court before Brown v. Board; however, equal access to quality education and public discourse on race became more central with the Brown decision. This case set a precedent for many future affirmative action cases involving education. For example, a race-based affirmative action case that surfaced after Brown v. Board was Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Since Brown, the ban on minorities receiving a quality education has been dismantled; However, Bakke was a court case that attempted to challenge affirmative action in postsecondary institutions. Many cases challenging affirmative action have failed because the majority of colleges and universities are committed to affirmative action. In this case, the white applicant, Allan Bakke, submitted an application to the University of California medical schoolto Davis twice, both times being rejected. Since the university followed affirmative action, 16 out of 100 places were reserved for minority applicants. Bakke filed a lawsuit against the institution because he believed their admissions process violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Next, I will explain how race-based affirmative action is very effective, as part of the college admissions process, in eliminating long-standing discrimination against minorities. For countless years, white people have been historically known for their racial discrimination against minority groups, particularly against African Americans. This historical discrimination is a legitimate reason why minorities underperform in education compared to their white counterparts and need compensation through affirmative action. Proponents of race-based affirmative action encourage its implementation as a means of compensation for all past discriminatory practices imposed on them, such as slavery, the Black Codes, and Jim Crow laws. These setbacks have caused minorities to fall behind the majority in key areas such as income, health care and housing. All of these key areas have been strategically rigged to disadvantage minority groups. For example, white people from the highest percentage of highest-income families were more likely to be admitted to an elite school than a minority group participant from the lowest-income family. . These major setbacks for minorities were major problems that called for a government response. By intervening, the government would overcome past discrimination by granting minority students the opportunity to attend institutions where their ancestors did not have the chance to attend institutions. However, many misinterpret this compensatory policy as, in itself, a discriminatory practice against the majority, which this policy does not address. In the 1965 commencement address at Howard University, President Lyndon B. Johnson explained the general reasoning behind affirmative action: "You don't take a person who for years has been shackled by chains and don't release her, don't bring her to the starting line. of a race, then say "you are free to compete with everyone else" and continue to believe that you are completely right. Basically, race-based affirmative action gives minorities the opportunity to acclimate to the real world so that they have a fair chance to compete with the majority who have had an advantage for many years. Second, implement race-based affirmative action. , in college admissions, is very effective because of its approach to remedying the products of past discrimination. The mistreatment of minority individuals by whites is at the root of historical inequalities that persist today. The fact that racial discrimination was legally permitted allowed the majority to maintain an advantage over minorities. If such preferential treatment of minority groups did not exist, then all areas of politics, profession and education would remain dominated by whites. Additionally, past discrimination against minority groups currently manifests itself in many different areas. One example is the socio-economic deprivation of minorities. Another example is the social exclusion of minority groups. 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