Discuss the birth and evolution of the affirmative action movement in the United States. What inspired the birth of affirmative action efforts? Why has it often proven to be so controversial? What role has the Supreme Court played in the debate? What is the status of the movement today?

What will be an ideal response?

In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson issued an executive order requiring firms that did business with the U.S. government to prohibit discrimination and offer compensation for past discrimination. Firms now had to actively recruit and hire minorities. Johnson’s order ultimately bled over into the country’s universities as they began to make space on their admissions lists for minorities. Affirmative action proved controversial from the beginning due to its attempt to bring about substantive equality. To many people it is inherently unfair based on the American value system. The Court’s ruling reflected public sentiment with its Regents of the University of California v. Bakke decision in 1978, which struck down quota systems as unconstitutional yet did not reject the idea of affirmative action. Judicial tolerance continued during the Reagan years. Affirmative action remains controversial with opinion polls showing support for its ideals but not if it leads to preferential treatment for minorities. Some states, such as California, Washington, and Nebraska, have declared it illegal.