Research and Citation Exercise

Major Claim: Affirmative Action perpetuates racism.

The phrase “Affirmative Action” typically refers to policies aimed at ensuring that members of historically disadvantaged groups are among those selected for competitively awarded benefits, such as college or university admission, employment, and government contracts. Arguments in support of “affirmative action perpetuate racism” are usually divided into two categories: those that are backward looking, in that they justify affirmative action by reference to the past; and those that are forward looking, in that they emphasize the desirable goals or ends that affirmative action policies achieve (Katznelson, pp.43).

The main backward-looking argument sees affirmative ...