American Public Opinion On Affirmative Action

At the heart of affirmative action programs is the idea of fairness. After centuries of slavery, decades of oppressive Jim Crow laws, and staggering inequality of opportunity, some Americans began to understand that the second-class status and marginalization of African-Americans was incompatible with the American ideals of equality and democracy. In order to make up for these past injustices, these liberals believed that preferential treatment in employment and educational opportunity for the disadvantaged was the fair, and right thing to do. Affirmative action, the policy of favoring disadvantaged groups who have been discriminated against, was thus born from the idea of fairness. Many Americans, however, did not view affirmative action in

Ironically, in the present day, the debate over affirmative action is still contested under the idea of fairness. The following essay will identify and analyze the history of American public opinion in regards to affirmative action and the issue of fairness.

Obtaining accurate polling information on American views on affirmative action is very complex, in part because the policy means different things to different Americans. Further, the wording and the context in which poll questions are framed have a very clear effect on the responses received. In August, a poll by the Pew Research Center, asking whether affirmative action programs intended to increase the number of black and minority students on college campuses were viewed positively, showed that Americans consider affirmative action programs in general to be good, with 71% agreeing that the programs were a “good thing”. The 2017 poll results reflect similar numbers to those conducted since 2003. In 2014, 63 % of Americans said that affirmative action programs were good, compared to 70% in 2007 and 60% in 2003 (PEW). A similar 2014 Gallup poll, asking Americans

In this question there were very real negative implications associated with affirmative action. The very word that is chosen to be the opposing choice to affirmative programs,“merit”, is itself synonymous with deserving. The word choice in this poll implies that those who benefit from affirmative action lack in merit and deserving. It is further stated that it is likely minority students who benefit from these programs may not have gotten in on their own, further driving home the suggestion that minority students are not deserving in the first place. Again, the wording of the poll does affect the response that polls will receive. Despite this, I believe that the second poll question more accurately reflects American opinion because in most contexts, whether fair or not, affirmative action is discussed as if the debate were between merit, those students who are otherwise “deserving”, and affirmative action, those given a leg up by admissions policies due to