Affirmative Action

The Evolution of Affirmative Action

During the first decade of the policy's existence, affirmative action's evolutionary process was marked by the passage of various legislative and regulatory acts, laws, executive orders, and Supreme Court decisions—and supported by legal mandates of the U.S. Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment, and civil rights acts. It was an important aspect of the nation's [Page 4]overall civil rights initiative. As the concept continued to evolve, the principles of fairness and the expectation of equal opportunity for all were applied to businesses, corporations, institutions of higher education, and other societal organizations. Many institutions, although not mandated to do so by the federal government, voluntarily created and implemented affirmative action programs as they attempted to find ways to eliminate discriminatory practices and improve opportunities for African Americans, women, and people of color.

Affirmative action was an outcomes-oriented policy that went beyond the mere principle of nondiscrimination. Practices of nondiscrimination were differentiated from those of affirmative action, which went further by suggesting that specific efforts would be used to recruit, employ, and promote formerly excluded people. Affirmative action's basic premise was that positive action must be taken to overcome the systemic forms of institutionalized racism, discrimination, and oppression that permeate every sector of American society.

During the initial stages of policy implementation, affirmative action received much support from politicians, academics, and public intellectuals, who applauded the government's efforts to diversify the workforce. Affirmative action rules and regulations were vigorously applied to the Philadelphia Plan, which established the goal of hiring those who were discriminated against to work on publicly funded projects in an effort to diversify the building trade unions and expand opportunities for blue-collar workers. However, as the premise of equal opportunity spread and eventually made its way to institutions of higher education, strong opposition to the policy emerged, resulting in the higher education arena serving as the central battleground of affirmative action.

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