Taken from the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development (Black & Stone, 2005)
Privilege is defined as having five main compounds:
1)that it's a special advantage; neither common nor universal 2) it's granted, not earned 3) it's a right or entitlement that is related to a preferred status or rank 4) it's exercised for the benefit of the recipient and to exclude others 5) privileged status is often [not always] outside of the awareness of the person possessing it
As our group is interested in how concepts of privilege within specific groups create and reinforce notions of "us" and them and as a minority female; some could argue that Affirmative Action may have awarded me privileges over other groups of people AND that in these situations where I could be selected for a program to fill a spot for a member of a minority-I am accepting and reinforcing that there is an "us" or a "them".
Defining Affirmative Action:
Race-neutral, gender-neutral assurance against actual discrimination. (American Association for Affirmative Action)
"Affirmative Action is comprised of programs and policies that grant favorable treatment on the basis of race and gender to government defined "disadvantaged" individuals" (American Association for Affirmative Action)
Brief History of Affirmative Action Taken from UCIrvine's website:
Executive Order 10925
On March 6, 1961 President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925, which included a provision that government contractors "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." The intent of this executive order was to affirm the government's commitment to equal opportunity for all qualified persons, and to take positive action to strengthen efforts to realize true equal opportunity for all. This executive order was superseded by Executive Order 11246 in 1965.
Executive Order 11246
On September 24, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246, prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin by those organizations receiving federal contracts and subcontracts. In 1967, President Johnson amended the order to include sex on the list of attributes. Executive Order 11246 also requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to promote the full realization of equal opportunity for women and minorities. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), under the Department of Labor, monitors this requirement for all federal contractors, including all UC campuses, and has developed regulations to which these contractors must adhere. For federal contractors employing more than 50 people and having federal contracts totaling more than $50,000, compliance with these regulations includes disseminating and enforcing a nondiscrimination policy, establishing a written affirmative action plan and placement goals for women and minorities, and implementing action-oriented programs for accomplishing these goals. In addition, an official of the organization must be assigned responsibility for implementation of equal employment opportunity and the affirmative action program.
An excerpt from the executive order follows (Part II, Subpart B, Sec. 202(1)): The contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The contractor will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Such action shall include, but not be limited to the following: employment, upgrading, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including apprenticeship.
The main opposition of Affirmative Action belong to mostly white (students) who argue that they were not selected from a pool of applicants because they didn't belong to a minority group even though they had better credentials
Others will argue that minorities are not provided the same privileges as white students earlier on so never had the chance to, say, score as high on tests
Question:
Do you believe Affirmative Action awards necessary privileges to minorities? Or is it a form of "reverse discrimination?"
Does Affirmative Action seperate groups into "us" vs. "them"?
Do you think the concept of "us" and "them" are negative?
http://www.maine.edu/pdf/aaplan.pdf (USM's Stance on Affirmative Action)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saIVafSC38k (Obama Speaks About Affirmative Action)
FMI Visit:
http://www.affirmativeaction.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1x6Tx5j21Y
This is really neat to read because we just started covering civil rights and civil liberties in American Government I am interested in learning more in depth about it and what it actually means in reference to everyone not just the minority
ReplyDeleteWow great post and very hard questions! It is informative to me because although I got the general idea of Affirmative Action, I never fully understood it. Your blog helps me to come closer.
ReplyDeleteI believe I relayed a personal story in a db where a friend of the family, (actually he is part of our family) is Vietnamese and went to a prestigious college. He certainly is smart and certainly works hard, but the school did tell him that the competition was tough, but that they needed more Vietnamese students and that he was getting in because of his race. (He was, of course, highly qualified or they would not have considered him). So, I may be bias because I am very happy for him.
That being said, (1) at first I did think it was reverse discrimination. I thought everyone should be color blind and that all applications should go to colleges without the information containing race and/or ethnicity. The further we progress in this class though, I tend to think otherwise. I wonder if minorities would have the same chance if we did not have Affirmative Action?
(2) I think it does create an us versus them atmosphere mostly because I hear about it a lot. I hear many students complaining about and expressing that they are not happy with it. I have even heard prejudice in that I have heard people say "he/she would not have been accepted here if they were not (nsert race here).
(3) Because of what I mentioned above I think in this case us versus them is negative because I have heard negative comments and comments that seem to divide people. I'm still learning so much about this subject. I look forward to reading other comments so that perhaps I can clarify some of my own.
I'm so glad you brought up the topic of Affirmative Action because I feel that it is such a sticky subject. I think that it is really important to have Affirmative Action to project against discrimination but I can also see the other side of the argument... As a Vietnamese American I typically "check" the Pacific Islander/South East Asian box when filling out demographic information. As I believe I've mentioned before however, I was raised in a white family with the blindness of white privilege and I identify ethnically as Caucasian. I'll be honest with you all, I graduated high school with a 3.9 but I often wonder if I was accepted to Northeastern University because I was not a white student... maybe this is wrong to admit but I'm trusting everyone with this information to show how truly complex Affirmative Action is and can be..
ReplyDeleteI do think that Affirmative Action drives a wedge between "majority" and "minority" populations, if we allow it to and when it is abused or not used properly by institutions. But again I really feel that the benefits out weight the cost... there are always going to be people abusing and misusing the law but I don't think that is a good enough reason to not have laws...
As far as affirmative action I get upset and frustrated because all too often this term is being thrown around and used as a rebuttal or defense mechanism by people who have inherent and unearned privilges that are being challenged.
ReplyDeleteI don't see any issues of the concept of "us" and "them". When I think of us, I think of a community of people, this could consist of a family, or the whole country or world. When I think us or them, I think of human beings. I could see if a person singled out someone and said for example "don't sit with them, they are gay", that would be bad, but in a nutshell, I don't think those words are bad.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great question! Does affirmative action keep us more seperated than it does to create equality. Thank you for your posts it was very insightful. I never thought about affirmative action in light of it seperating us more. this was a great learning tool for me to try to look at affirmative action through this lense. there are a lot off emotions around this issue and your post helped to get some of the facts of affirmative action that I just didn't know.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great conversation. I still think that "us" and "them" are words that can be used to pit people against each other. As we are learning in this class, language is so powerful. I don't know if people use the "us" vs "them" when it comes to affirmative action. Do they?
ReplyDeleteIt seems that opposition to Affirmative Action comes from those who have been privileged to have the opportunities and resources to be successful. As you stated earlier in your blog, privilege is often not acknowledged by those who possess it. Therfore, I don't believe Affirmative Action is reverse descrimination but rather providing opportunities to those who have not been privileged to such advancements in the past. However, I do believe that Affirmative Action causes othering among the working class. I believe that there may be a way to empower minority groups without inforcing othering which causes conflict between competeing applicants.
ReplyDeleteI think its incredibly interesting that affirmative action discluded women for 6 years before president johnson added that to the order. I think that speaks volumes. Who were the beneficiaries of affirmative action when it was originally proposed and instituted in 1961? This reminds me of the womens suffrage movement and how all men became equal in their right to vote long before women were afforded the same opportunity to voice their political opinions.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think the mentality of "us" verses them is harmful and has negative connotations attached to it. However, affirmative action does not seperate groups of people into "us" versus "them....this mentality already existed due to racism/discrimination/oppression. The elitist attidue that white,middle class, men have expressed as consistently been used to force others into a place where they are disadvantaged. Affirmative action was created to address this disadvantage and ensure/establish diversity in the work/school atmosphere. Whether people choose to accept privilege or not...as we have learned in class it is still very much present and a part of our everyday lives. People who believe affirmative action is a form of "reverse discrimination" in my opinion have not accepted the privileges that being born white, a male, or Middle to upper class has bestowed upon them.
I too as Jarica wonder if my being American Indian will factor into my acceptance into Grad school? (if i get accepted)
ReplyDeleteI think "us" and "them" are words that seperate a group of people from the rest of the world. I feel it is a group of people that is against the rest of everyone. I find these words to be negative because I think they are being used in a way of meaning seperation.
ReplyDeleteI like this topic a lot. I have so many feelings around it, as well, and it is hard to have these feelings when such close people around me benefit from affirmative action. I guess my unsupportive feelings come from selfishness and the fact that I am working overtime every single day to get through school and pay my own way through life when there are people around me receiving the benefits of affirmative action and still have family and supports helping them. I think “why are they more deserving and important than me?” It’s a fine line between trying to be happy for people that they are able to reap these benefits and feeling jealous and spiteful.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, thank you for sharing your story because I think your story is the culmination of why affirmative action is so controversial. I don't blame you for feeling that way and I wonder too why you can't get some extra help with all the work you are doing. I also think that affirmative action may level the playing field for some minorities that would not otherwise have a chance. So, I'm not sure how to fall on this subject. I do appreciate everyone's comments - I am hoping the more educated I become on the subject, the less torn about it I will be.
ReplyDeleteme too!
ReplyDelete