Affirmative Action

First of all, Affirmative action is not racist- quite the opposite, It is aimed to create a diversity of races in both school and work environments, To not undermine any race but to create a fairer playing field for all. Realistically, Racism still exists in America today- the centuries of discrimination, Poverty, And slavery cannot be ignored. We do not live in a color-blind society. Racial wage gaps still exist to quite a significant amount. Affirmative action is flawed, But it is the best system we have to foster an American meritocracy. Continuing, Affirmative action definitely does more good than harm. For example, There has been controversy surrounding Ivy League college admissions, In particular, Harvard, In relation to racial discrimination. Asian Americans and white applicants are required to score higher than black applicants and Latinos. At first sight this would seem blatantly unfair, But in truth the system is designed this way for a reason. First, Harvard requires standardized tests as part of its admission process. This helps legitimize standardized tests as an objective means of evaluating applicants. But in reality, These tests favor students from greater wealth and educational attachment. As a whole, Asian Americans and white students and come from families with greater wealth than black students and Latinos. Research shows that standardized tests such as SAT and ACT are coachable, And scores can be lifted a lot higher due to good tutoring and practice. In an country where African American and Latino applicants cannot afford the same tutoring, Or have no time because they have a job after school, It is easy to recognize that there is larger, Structural discrimination at work. With an example such as this, We can clearly see that the results show that Affirmative Action is beneficial to our society and in no way discriminates any race, But instead gives equal opportunities adjusted to fit the student or employee's background and financial situation. No matter what criticisms may be pointed, It is no doubt that Affirmative Action creates equal opportunities for every race and it has a vital role in creating a fair playing field for all minorities. Again, When addressing the third point, We can revert to the last example given. Affirmative Action does have flaws, But causing the minorities to question their abilities is not one of them. If we lay the system of college admissions out logically, Then we can see this: what would have been a very unbalanced division of races is made better with Affirmative Action. (Keep in mind that there are still more white and Asian American students at Harvard than black and Latinos, The system is in no way cutting down their number to a ridiculously small amount). We see that African Americans and Latinos are given a fair standardized test score to meet according to their home situations. This permits a fair number of students of these races to then be admitted to Harvard, Causing more hope for their next generation, And causing these students to have more faith in themselves. Contrary to your belief, If we were to take out Affirmative Action, Thus having the same test score standards for every race, Then a significantly small amount of black and Latino students would be admitted, And most of the said race would be rejected due to home situations, Not their ability, But most would then start to question their ability. Discrimination is tricky, But colourblind admissions would not work. Similar examples can be made for job employments. Definition of Affirmative Action: It is known as Reservation in India, Positive Action in the UK, And employment equity in Canada and South Africa. It is the policy of promoting the education and employment of members of groups known to have previously suffered discrimination. To summarize, Affirmative Action is necessary, In order for the American society to be equal and fair to the wonderful diversity of races.