Affirmative Action

Historical Background

Although now applied to education and to employment, affirmative action was first used to address workplace and labor issues. In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act required employers to take affirmative action to eliminate unfair labor practices. Among these actions was the reinstatement of employees who had been fired because of discrimination. President John F. Kennedy then used the term in 1961 to further delineate anti-discriminatory methods in government hiring and contracting. Kennedy's Executive Order No. 10925 asserted that affirmative action must be taken to ensure that applicants are hired without regard to color, creed, race, or national origin and that contractors and subcontractors not discriminate on the basis of color, creed, race, or national origin. The executive order enforcing affirmative action absorbed previous orders by Roosevelt (Executive Order No. 8802 prohibiting government contractors from engaging in employment discrimination based on race, color, or national origin) and by Truman (Executive Order No. 9981 desegregating of the Armed Forces).

In addition, President Kennedy created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity to police institutions and address complaints. Through Executive Order No. 10925, any federal institutions, contractors, and subcontractors were required to provide opportunities to minority groups who experienced adversity because of discrimination. This meant that any contractor or subcontractor hoping to win bids of government jobs had to openly advertise, recruit, and employ minorities who were equally qualified for positions.

With Executive Order No. 11246 (1965), President Lyndon B. Johnson expanded Kennedy's Executive Order No. 10925 by requiring departments to establish and maintain programs that demonstrated affirmative action efforts. Furthermore, Johnson's executive order now included upgrading, demotion, transfer, recruitment, pay or other forms of compensation, training, and apprenticeship. In 1967, Johnson amended Executive Order No. 11246 to include antibiased practices on the basis of gender and religion. The Office of Civil Rights, part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, became another policing agency to ensure institutions had plans to provide equal opportunities for underrepresented groups.

Finally, education was made explicit in the 1972 version of Executive Order No. 11246 outlining responsibilities of employers and educational institutions to provide equal opportunities for admissions in higher education and in employment. Following Johnson's Executive Order No. 11246, African American enrollment in college rose from 4.9% in 1965 to 9.1% by 1980. During the period from 1960 to 1970, African American faculty grew from 0 to 2% and finally to 4.3% in 1979.

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