new blog: Social Justice Event: Affirmative Action

Shirley Wicher

First I would like to comment on the overwhelming amount of background and experience that Shirley Wilcher was presented to possess. Her educational credentials include graduate of Harvard Law School, and her work background, to name a few, includes Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, Associate Counsel for Civil Rights (in the U.S. House of Representatives), and Executive Director of The America Association for Access, Equity and Diversity. Her background and experiences intrigued me, and made me realize if there was anyone who I should listen to on the topic of Affirmative Action, she was the one!

The purpose of Affirmative Action:

To prevent discrimination based on race, gender, disability or sexual orientation
To right past wrongs
It is about opportunity

Affirmative Action's past:

Roosevelt and Truman were the first to pass orders regarding issues of Affirmative Action

Brown v. Board of Education
Desegregation of armed forces

Kennedy passed EEO-1 Private Sector Report establishing Affirmative Action
1991 Civil Rights Act was passed
In 1997 California banned all forms of Affirmative Action
2000 Florida bans using race as a factor in college admissions
2007 Michigan bans preferential treatments of minorities

Why We Still Need Affirmative Action Today:

White children still do better than black children on tests

This is an indication of White Privilege, as described by Peggy McIntosh

Women face a glass ceiling in most professions

S.C.H.W.A.M.P.

As described in the video the 3 R's, in secondary educational institutions, the upper level Ivy-league schools and universities are mostly comprised of white students, while the lower level state schools and colleges are mostly comprised of students of color or minorities

Affirmative Action would allow for students of minority greater access to the upper level schools

Employers need legislature to promote them to hire people that aren't just like them
Shirley told of a story of trying to hail a cab in Washington State recently, and when the (white) cab driver pulled up and saw that his perspective customer was a (black woman), he drove off just as her hand touched the door handle

This is a prime example of white privilege, S.C.H.W.A.M.P. and Privilege Power and Difference (Johnson)

Even in the 21st century, when most people would like to believe that discrimination based on gender, religion, race, color or sexual orientation is no longer an issue, based on the readings in FNED, personal stories that Shirley mentioned and statistics that she gave, it is clear that discrimination is still a major issue, and affirmative action is a great institution to inhibit discrimination and promote opportunity