Race Flashcards
African-American population (2010)
12.3%
Give examples of racial diversity between states
Vermont: 95% white
Hawaii: 24% white
Mississippi: 37% black
Montana: 0.4% black
Between 2000-2010 how much did ethnic populations grow?
Hispanic: 43%
African-American: 12%
Which four states are majority-minority states?
Texas
Hawaii
New Mexico
California
What is affirmative action?
A programme that entails giving members of previously disadvantaged minority group a head start in such areas as higher education & employment.
When did affirmative action begin?
1961 with Kennedy’s creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
He ordered that projects financed with federal funds “take affirmative action” to ensure that hiring & employment be free from racial bias.
Johnson also used this phrase in 1965.
What did Plessy v Ferguson (1896) decide?
Constitutional justification for Jim Crow laws.
Argued that segregation could lead to equal provision of services.
“Separate but equal”
What happened in University of California vs Bakke (1978)
White medical student Allan Bakke denied place despite minority students being accepted with lower grades.
Phrase “reverse discrimination” associated with this.
What were the three civil rights amendments?
13th - abolition of slavery
14th - equal rights
15th - voting rights
Arguments in favour of affirmative action
- Leads to greater diversity & multiculturalism
- Corrects previous wrongs
- Opens up areas of employment/education that minorities may not have considered
- Creates a diverse student body in educational establishments that promotes racial tolerance
- Most effective way of delivering equality of opportunity
- It is successful/works - between 1960-1995, percentage of blacks (25-29) graduating from university rose from 5% to 15%
Arguments against affirmative action
- “Reverse discrimination” - disadvantage of the other group
- Minorities could be admitted to courses/jobs they are not suitable for
- Patronising to minorities -implying they need help to succeed
- Perpetuates a society based on race/colour, thereby encouraging prejudice
- It is a quota system in disguise
- Focuses on groups rather than individuals
Hispanic proportion of US (2010)
16.3%
Has affirmative action been successful in creating equality between disadvantaged groups and society thereby rendering affirmative action redundant?
- some argue it has failed as a prog based on race is unlikely to lead to a society where race is not an issue.
+ others argue that by promoting diversity, racial tolerance has enhanced. Evidence given of Obama presidency
What’s one other factor to consider in the successfulness of affirmative action ?
One must consider the balance of the costs and benefits. If underprepared minorities are placed into academic institutions or jobs where they do not succeed, the cost may be too high and program will be seen as failure.
Explain Gratz vs Bollinger 2003
Court ruled that university of Michigan’s affirmative action programme was unconstitutional as it was too “mechanistic”
Proposed a shelf life of affirmative action for 25 years
