The Supreme Court ruling on # Michigan's affirmative action ban . The Supreme Court dealt another blow to affirmative-action programs Tuesday, upholding the right of states to ban racial preferences in university admissions. It goes deeper if you dig into it , so far we have not heard any 'word' *** from Pres. Obama who actually benefited from Affirmative action . In 1990, as his fellow students rallied to protest the dearth of black professors at Harvard , Barack Obama wrote a vigorous defense of affirmative action. The campus was in an uproar over questions of race, and Mr. Obama, then the first black president of The Harvard Law Review, decided to take a stand. Mr. Obama said he had “undoubtedly benefited from affirmative action” in his own academic career, and he praised the intellectual heft and wide-ranging views of his diverse staff. Today we have a different Obama? Nothing seems right , but the " race preference days are long gone." There is a point that "equality" means crossing the lines of gender , skin color , and religion . Can we rise above these ? Affirmative action originally is the policy of providing special opportunities for, and favoring members of, a disadvantaged group who suffer from discrimination. The nature of positive discrimination policies varies from region to region. Some countries, such as India, use a quota system, whereby a certain percentage of jobs or school vacancies must be set aside for members of a certain group. In some other regions, specific quotas do not exist; instead, members of minorities are given preference in selection processes. It's not just meant for African - Americans alone . It included women , but the idea of affirmative action was taken hostage by some group of people who used it for their own gains , while leaving others behind . Al Sharpton led his Politics Nation show on Tuesday portraying the day's on affirmative action as a "devastating blow" and a "dangerous precedent," both of his liberal guests made a point of disagreeing with his over the top language. Affirmative action served a legitimate purpose when it was first implemented during the civil rights era, but the demographics and statuses of minorities has changed drastically since. We now live in a society that is becoming more and more of a mixing pot with more multicultural people being born every day. Additionally, the income of young, intact black families is approaching that of demographically similar whites. Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson summarizes that "at least 35% of Afro-American adult, male workers are solidly middle class." All this is not to say that minorities have achieved complete equality in today's society, but their situation is significantly better than it was four decades ago. Of all the individuals who benefited from affirmative action all these years , the most were white women are the biggest beneficiaries of Affirmative Action, However you will never find a white women that would admit it. While people of color, individually and as groups, have been helped by affirmative action in the subsequent years, data and studies suggest women — white women in particular — have benefited disproportionately. According toone study, in 1995, 6 million women, the majority of whom were white, had jobs they wouldn’t have otherwise held but for affirmative action.
NOTES AND COMMENTS:
*** During the October 27 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage said: "[Sen. Barack] Obama and I are on the opposite sides of the political spectrum, as you can well imagine. While he benefited from affirmative action, stepping over more qualified white men, I actually lost as a result of affirmative action, many times in my life. Although I'd get near 100s on certain exams, they put me at the back of the bus because they said -- the ACLU said -- certain people will have to put their futures on hold in order to let others advance, and take a look at where we are today -- we have America's first affirmative action candidate about to become president." # One notable example is a case argued a few years back in the concerning admissions to the . The school had a policy of rating potential applicants on a point system. Being a minority student earned you more than twice as many points as achieving a . Three white students sued citing this as raced-based discrimination. School officials said that diversity is desirable and affirmative action is the only way to achieve true diversity. Another notable case in 2009 involved firefighters whose captain's exams were thrown out after it was determined not enough minorities passed. Several other cases involving affirmative action have followed similar arguments. The (CRS) published a report on Dec. 15, 2004 titled "Affirmative Action Revisited: A Legal History and Prospectus":"The origins of law may be traced to the early 1960's... Judicial rulings from this period recognized an 'affirmative duty,' cast upon local school boards by the Equal Protection Clause, to desegregate formerly 'dual school' systems and to eliminate 'root and branch' the last 'vestiges' of sta te-enforced segregation... Congress and the soon followed by adopting a panoply of laws and regulations authorizing, either directly or by judicial or administrative interpretation, 'race-conscious' strategies to promote minority opportunity in jobs, education, and governmental contracting. The basic statutory framework for affirmative action in employment and education derives from the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Public and private employers with 15 or more employees are subject to a comprehensive code of regulations under Title VII of the 1964 Act...Official approval of 'affirmative action' remedies was further codified by construing the 1964 Act’s Title VI, which prohibits racial or ethnic discrimination in all federally assisted 'programs' and activities, including public or private . The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education interpreted Title VI to require schools and colleges to take affirmative action to overcome the effects of past discrimination and to encourage 'voluntary affirmative action to attain a diverse student body.'"