Affirmative action is a tool that is used to ensure that minority groups are granted equal opportunity. Whether it be college admissions, or in the workplace, affirmative action makes it possible for all people to enjoy the same opportunities despite skin color, gender, or nationality. Affirmative action was started by President John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy started affirmative action to make sure that during the hiring process, and also during employment, that all employees were treated the same, despite their race or nationality. Thereafter, President Lyndon B. Johnson followed up by making it a requirement for government to hire without counting race, religion, nationality, or gender against applicants. This is how affirmative action started. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) position paper, called “Affirmative Action- ACLU Position Paper”, a 1998 release by the U.S. Department of statistics showed that “blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be unemployed.” This is a shocking statistic and proves that discrimination in the workplace …show more content…
In 1995, the number of black college students was less than 5%. By 1990 over 11% of college students were black. This jump in percentage is thanks to the role of affirmative action. According to Casey Quinlan, in her article, “Why We Still Need Affirmative Action Policies in College Admissions”, there are two kinds of affirmative action approaches used in college and university admissions. The soft approach is when colleges and universities use outreach programs to attract a diverse population of students. A hard approach is when colleges or universities actually take race and gender into consideration during the application process. The statistics from the ACLU paper are proof that affirmative action, along with these approaches, have been successful and are making a difference in creating a diverse atmosphere for colleges and