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... th a tremendous drawback. The negative aspect can be attributed to the words of Supreme Court Judge John Marshall Harlan. Asserting that 'our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens, ' he expressed the justified fear that the majority of the court was consigning black citizens of the United States to a permanent 'condition of legal inferiority. ' Justice Harlan's declaration, that blacks would not become equals unless measures were taken, proved to be accurate.
Black and white supporters of Affirmative action type programs took this pronouncement to heart, and vowed to keep fighting for their beliefs. The prayers, of those whom sought such programs, were answered in the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education Topeka. On May 17, 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which says that no state may deny equal protection of the laws to any person within its jurisdiction.
The 1954 decision declared that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal. Based on a series of Supreme Court cases argued between 1938 and 1950, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka completed the reversal of the earlier Supreme Court ruling (Please v. Ferguson, 1896) that permitted 'separate but equal' public facilities. This decision gave hope to those who pleaded for government intervention. The government felt precedence to intervene because time was not proving to be a worthy solution in regards to racial inequality.
From that day forward education became the driving force of the civil-rights movement. American schools would never be the same, and the Brown decision paved the way for future Affirmative-Action decisions. The contemporary debate in regards to educational Affirmative-Action, which is whether educational institutions can set quotas for accepting minorities, came to fruition nearly a decade after the Brown decision. President Lyndon Johnson's administration began the use of modern Affirmative-Action programs in order to improve opportunities for blacks, while civil-rights legislation was dismantling the legal basis for discrimination against them. Johnson's feelings towards Affirmative-Action programs became clear in a speech he made to the graduating class at Howard University: "You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, 'you are free to compete with all the others", and still justly believe you have been completely fair." The federal government began to institute Affirmative- Action policies under the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and executive order 11246 in 1965. Businesses and educational facilities receiving federal funds were prohibited from using criteria that tended to discriminate against blacks.
Affirmative-Action programs were to be monitored by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Martin Luther King Jr. , was one of the largest supporters of Affirmative-Action type programs during the mid to late 1960 's. In his book Why We Can't Wait, published in 1963 as the movement to dismantle segregation reached its peak, King observed that even white supporters of civil rights 'recoil in horror' from suggestions that blacks deserved not merely colorblind equality but 'compensatory consideration. ' He pointed out; 'special measures for the deprived' were a well-established principle of American politics. The GI Bill of Rights offered all sorts of privileges to veterans. Blacks, given their long 'siege of denial, ' were even more deserving than soldiers of 'special, compensatory measures. ' By the 1970 s many educational facilities took Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. and his supporters words to heart. Most educational facilities agreed that the use of racial quotas would help diminish racial inequality. The objective was to create a school system rich in cultural backgrounds. This infuriated several individuals including President Richard Nixon. Although Nixon agreed that there should be goals and timetables, he disagreed with the specific use of educational quotas. "Strict quotas are unacceptable, but goals and timetables are reasonable tools." Many agreed with Nixon's statements and this led to the most important court decision, in regards to the elimination of racial quotas.
University of California vs. Baake (1975 - 1977) was an extremely important case and reached the United States Supreme Court. Baake, a recent college graduate, sued on the basis that he was rejected from medical school because the University of California used racial quotas. He declared that using quotas is a form of reverse discrimination. Baake also exclaimed that less qualified minority students were accepted to the school, while he was rejected. The U.
S. Supreme Court, which was heavily divided on the issue of Affirmative Action, decided that race could be a factor in choosing a diverse student body in university admissions decisions. The court also held, however, that the use of quotas in such Affirmative-Action programs were not permissible; thus, the University of California, medical school had, by maintaining a 16 % minority quota, discriminated against Bakke, a white applicant. The Supreme Court did not establish a legal precedent on the issue of Affirmative Action. In fact the only matter it accomplished was that Mr. Baake received an acceptance letter from the University of California medical school.
The question of Affirmative Action has lingered for the past 135 years, and we still question whether it is right or wrong. Both sides have clear concise arguments, and neither is going to stop fighting for their beliefs. Today Affirmative-Action programs include all minorities and women. The program is heavily debated, but it is growing throughout most of the nations universities. Is Affirmative Action a form of reverse discrimination, or is it a method that must be used to create racial equality? The answer lies in the hands of current Supreme Court Judges.
Bundy, McGeorge: 'Who Gets Ahead in America'. The Atlantic Monthly, 1977. Curry, George: The Affirmative Action Debate. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Ny, 1996. DuBois, W. E. B: "The Talented Tenth", 1903.
King, Martin Luther: Why We Can't Wait, Dewitt-Clinton. LA. 1964. Lancaster, Steven: Black and White. , Columbia. Ny. 1994.
Whipper, William: Speech in Maryland, 1870. web web Freedman's Bureau/ 1996 web web
Free research essays on topics related to: racial inequality, u s supreme court, affirmative action programs, martin luther king jr, university of california
Research essay sample on Martin Luther King Jr Affirmative Action Programs
