affirmative action, USA

Policy of positive discrimination pursued in the USA for the advancement of disadvantaged US citizens. First promoted by US president Lyndon Johnson's Executive Order 11246 (1965), it was furthered by a 1970 Department of Labor order to federal contractors to develop ‘an acceptable affirmative action program’, and the Equal Opportunities Act (1972). Aimed in particular at black American and Hispanic American ethnic groups, it also covered gender discrimination. Stemming from the civil-rights movement of the 1960s, it was argued that education and employment should be biased towards non-white ethnic groups to overcome the effects of centuries of prejudice. Affirmative action was enforced in organizations receiving public funds, and many private employers adopted similar programmes. The policy began to falter in the 1980s, when the Civil Rights Commission called it ‘unjustified discrimination’. In the 1990s a series of court cases declared it illegal, as it promoted ‘reverse discrimination’, preferential treatment of one ethnic group over another. Nevertheless, affirmative action had challenged white-American domination in education, employment, and government.

Adoption of affirmative action After the success of the civil-rights movement in the 1960s, which had campaigned for basic rights such as access to democracy, education, and transport, a more liberal and tolerant atmosphere existed in government circles. Legislators were open to persuasion on issues of racial equality, particularly as the inequalities were stark and indefensible. It was extremely difficult to argue that the existing system worked. Powerful lobby groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) funded legal challenges and provided strong arguments in support of affirmative action policies such as education quotas and biased government contracting. Under the Equal Opportunities Act (1972) a commission was set up to enforce affirmative action where government employment and funding were concerned.

Many states across the USA, notably California, adopted affirmative action policies, and the numbers of non-white government employees and contracts awarded to companies run by non-white Americans rose dramatically. In 1978 the US Supreme Court ruled that race was allowed to be considered when choosing candidates for entry to medical school (University of California Regents v Bakke). Applied to other universities, the ruling resulted in hundreds of thousands more students from ethnic minorities gaining access to higher education in the USA than would otherwise have been the case.

Affirmative-action ideology filtered out into the private sector as well, and many companies took the system on board. The 30 years after 1970 saw a great rise in the numbers of middle-class black Americans, to the point where a clearly defined group with political and economic power emerged. The state and federal government increased the number of minority-owned firms with specific policies for procuring supplies and awarding government contracts, particularly in the field of construction. Rulings by the US Supreme Court in the 1970s allowed race to be a deciding factor when hiring or firing government employees. When two persons of the same qualifications and ability were considered for a job, it was acceptable to hire the non-white applicant to increase the percentage of ethnic minorities in a given sector.

Opposition to affirmative action By the 1990s opposition to affirmative action was growing, particularly among white male Americans who had been denied jobs or education. Many took out law-suits against those who pursued affirmative-action schemes. Right-wing Americans and the Republican Party claimed that the policies were illegal under the US constitution as they discriminated against one section of society on the grounds of race. This view was also held by many liberal Americans and members of the Democratic Party. However, a strong campaign to support the continuation of affirmative action was fought by such organizations as the NAACP.

Amid the growing opposition of the mid-1990s, US president Bill Clinton confirmed his support for affirmative action, saying ‘mend it, but don't end it’. However, he was forced to amend many of the federal government affirmative-action programmes until the evidence for discrimination could be reviewed.

Withdrawal of affirmative action Positive discrimination by local government in favour of ethnic-minority construction companies was outlawed in January 1989, and this was extended in 1995 when the US Supreme Court outlawed the ‘set aside’ scheme for US government construction contracts (under which quotas of government contracts had been set aside for particular groups). The 1995 judgement effectively banned affirmative action in its pre-existing form, although it remained constitutional if tailored to meet a specific government necessity.

In 1996 a Texas student successfully challenged the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Texas, that was weighted in favour of minorities. Clinton tried to overturn the ruling, made in a Texas lower court, but the US Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal because the programme at issue was no longer in use, and the university was forced to review its entry procedures. Following the ban on affirmative action the number of black American or Hispanic-American law students fell by two-thirds.

Clinton also opposed California's Proposition 209 referendum of November 1996, in which California's voters approved the ending of all race- or gender-based preferences in appointments to state and local government posts and contracts, and in education. However, in 1997 the US federal appeals court upheld the ruling that California could enforce the outlawing of affirmative action, the first of the nation's states to do so. By 1998 the percentage of black American and Hispanic-American students entering the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) had fallen by 38% and at Berkley by 61%.

In November 1997 two white students sued the University of Michigan, USA, because they had been rejected under affirmative action. Their evidence included the University's affirmative-action chart that allowed selection of African-Americans with lower SAT and ATC scores than those required for whites. The University said that if it lost the case, minority admissions would be restricted so drastically that, effectively, segregation would return.

Washington state followed California's lead in November 1998 and prohibited racial and gender-based affirmative action in areas such as employment, education, and public procurement. Another backlash against affirmative action occurred in March 2000 when a federal court ruled that Denver, Colorado, one of the nation's fastest growing urban centres, had illegally discriminated against white males in awarding public construction contracts.

The future of affirmative action The climate for affirmative action in the USA was increasingly hostile in the late 1990s, and many of its pillars were removed. However, the debate over affirmative action continues and reflects the tensions within US society, not only between different ethnic groups, but also between members of the same ethnic group. Opponents of affirmative action claim that policies that were needed 30 years ago are no longer required, and that a level playing field now exists. Many black opponents of affirmative action complain that the policy creates the impression that they have only got their jobs or contracts because of their race, not because of their qualities.

Against this, supporters of the affirmative action programmes argue that the USA remains a racially divided and prejudiced country where there is no equality of opportunity between the ethnic groups. NAACP president Kweisi Mfume argued in 1998 that race was still a major issue in the USA and promised NAACP resources to support the continuance of affirmative action programmes across the USA. Mfume referred to black opponents of affirmative action as ‘house negroes’, inferring that they were under the control of white Americans like the slaves of the 19th century. The NAACP and other supporters of affirmative action have managed to defeat attempts to end affirmative action in 14 of the USA's 50 states since Proposition 209 was passed in California in 1996. However, although President Clinton frequently reaffirmed Democrat commitment to affirmative action, the Republicans have pledged to end any federal programmes.