Affirmative Action Programs Pros And Cons

Although affirmative action programs were undoubtedly created with valiant intentions, they may, in fact, prove to be harmful in certain circumstances. As psychologist Faye Crosby puts it, “Literally thousands of articles on affirmative action have appeared in the popular press in recent years arguing both for and against the policy” (Crosby). Her statement shows that not everyone is in support of the policy. Affirmative action refers to programs designed specifically for the purpose of integrating minorities into areas dominated by whites. Instead of focusing on helping particular income levels these programs aim to give an advantage to minorities regardless of their socioeconomic standings. Even though affirmative action was created to help …show more content…
Some organizations receive special benefits for having or accepting a certain number of minorities. Because affirmative action programs give these companies benefits to hire minorities, some companies will hire an incompetent employee just to receive these benefits. While most people who take advantage of affirmative action programs meet the requirements for the position they are taking, some are only accepted because an organization wants to receive more benefits. A person may be accepted to a specific college because of their minority status, but may actually be unprepared for the challenges that they will be faced with while in attendance. If this person is, in fact, unprepared they could potentially fail out of the college, making their future much more challenging. Because of this an organization might accept someone who is under qualified and not prepared for the task they are assigned to accomplish thereby setting them up for …show more content…
If special scholarships and job opportunities are offered only to specific races, people belonging to a minority race could interpret this to mean that they are not as capable as other races and need to be helped. Opportunities such as those offered by affirmative action programs can be viewed as unnecessary and insulting to those that it is meant to benefit. Not only could it be insulting to these people, but giving them special benefits because of their race also “sends the message that they do not need to work hard or apply themselves to achieve, and it ingrains the mentality that anything they are not given is because someone else is holding them back,” says Christian minister Mychal Massie. Offering special programs only to people of certain races could send a wrong message that is insulting to some of those who it was meant to

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