Affirmative Action laws in America were enacted in response to prevalent and institutionalized racism in the United States.  Minorities were denied access to schools, jobs and many other opportunities solely on the basis of their race.

With the passage of time, and the dismantling of the Jim Crow laws common throughout the south and many other parts of the nation, some would argue that there is no longer a need for affirmative action.  Implementation of these laws in college admissions and hiring has been challenged by some whites as reverse discrimination, and some blacks and other minorities resent the implication that they need them in order to advance.

Regrettably, while institutionalized and overt racism and discrimination has been outlawed, there still exists in America discrimination against people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or physical disability, that requires action on the part of the government to overcome.  Women still find it difficult to break the glass ceiling and move up the corporate ladder; gays and lesbians are sometimes openly discriminated against; and people with disabilities find job hunting or access to facilities difficult.

Because race has and remains such a sensitive issue in American life, affirmative action is often thought of as a means to help blacks advance.  In fact, it should be a means of overcoming obstacles to any disadvantaged group.  Unfortunately, the whole issue of affirmative action had been caught up in the debate over quotas, and the way most bureaucracies have handled this is to establish numerical quotas, and once those quotas are met, they wash their hands and declare themselves in compliance.  This approach serves no one.  It is in fact, not reverse discrimination, but another subtle form of discrimination against the minorities it is supposed to help.  Whether it is intended or not, this type of action says, you represent X percent of the population and you have not been admitted to this school or hired for this job.  We will, therefore, hire or admit you to X percent of these slots, because you cannot make it on your own merits.  Once we’ve done that, our responsibility is fulfilled.

The struggle to allow everyone to participate in the American dream continues.  It is often, however, a rhetorical struggle based not on facts, but on feelings and emotions.  The opposition, for instance, to race-based college admissions, totally ignores legacy admissions which are also not based on merit, but on identity with a particular group (in this case, children of alumni).  In those schools where race-based admissions have been stopped, while there has been a decline in numbers of black and Hispanic students enrolled, there has also been a drop in white enrollments, while Asian admissions have risen.

The purpose of affirmative action was and is to level the playing field.  Not to guarantee success, but to give every person an opportunity to compete.  As long, though, as we debate affirmative action on rhetoric and emotion rather than facts, we will struggle to make the American dream a reality.