Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity

Affirmative action has been one of the most controversial and divisive issues of the past 50 years. The policy divides Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, many African Americans and whites, and some women. A policy designed to redress centuries of discrimination and injustice, affirmative action has been targeted for engaging in alleged reverse discrimination. Moreover, affirmative action has been, in part, responsible for the elevation of millions of African Americans, white women, and other minorities into higher education, business, politics, and industry. The idea of equal opportunity—a key ideal of Americans—has rarely extended to minorities. Liberal politicians, trying to address the lack of opportunity found in African American life, instituted the policy under pressure from civil rights activists, the civil rights movement, and the growing demands for equality of postwar America. Along with the Cold War, American politicians needed to eliminate the oppression of African Americans and prove that the United States was the land of the free.