Affirmative Action

Affirmative action refers to policies that take demographics including race, color, religion, gender, orientation, national origin or disability into consideration in order to benefit a traditionally underrepresented group, usually as a means to mend the effects of discrimination. Affirmative action is often contested on constitutional grounds. Some states specifically prohibit affirmative action, such as California (Proposition 209), Washington (Initiative 200), Michigan (Michigan Civil Rights Initiative) and Nebraska (Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative).

• What Dr. King Really Meant: The Obligation That Benefits Everyone
  

  Why is the business case for diversity a reality and not just a theory? It is directly due to Dr. King and the civil-rights era, explains DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti.Read More

• Why We Still Need Affirmative Action
  

  A panel of civil-rights experts and lawyers, led by DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti, told an audience of CEOs and senior executives that anti-affirmative-action activist Ward Connerly fails to recognize the damaging extent of past racism or that contemporary institutionalized racism is pervasive and powerful. They spoke after Connerly addressed the audience.Read More

• Debunking the ‘Affirmative-Action Myth’
  

  Who has benefited most from affirmative action? The answer will surprise you and will explain why the practice is still beneficial.Read More

• Ask the White Guy on ‘Is It Racism or Bigotry?’
  

  The White Guy's response to a question about whether Kanye West was racist when he said former President George W. Bush "doesn't care about Black people" triggered some confused e-mails. Here, Luke Visconti explains the difference between a racist and a bigot, and why Black people can't be racist toward white people.Read More

• Anti-Affirmative-Action Advocate Ward Connerly: What’s He Up to Now?
  

  What has outspoken anti-affirmative-action leader Ward Connerly been up to? What states are likely to be next in his campaign? Find out what he had to share with DiversityInc. Read More

• Is Affirmative Action on Life Support?
  

  Is the equal-opportunity progress made during the civil-rights era Losing traction? Why has affirmative action become such a political target? Discrimination-law attorney Weldon Latham provides answers here. Read More

• Affirmative Action: Why Is Ward Connerly Wrong?
  

  DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti explains why Connerly, who argues against a California program that balances admissions to demographics, fails to serve people equally. How can public schools overcome bias?Read More

• Bigotry and Affirmative Action
  

  Question: By your refusal to accept other points of view on the subject of affirmative action, you fit the dictionary definition of a bigot yourself! Is discrimination of any kind wrong? I say it is. Affirmative action IS a form of discrimination, and therefore, in my opinion, it is wrong. How does discrimination become right in your defense of affirmative action?Read More

• In 2028, Will We Still ‘Need’ Affirmative Action?
  

  Question: Do you think women and minorities will be appreciably different by 2028, so that they won't "need" free stuff for their sex and/or skin color?Read More

• How Much Is Race Determined by Genetics?
  

  Question: I am a college biology professor who specializes in University Affirmative Action Programs. It is clear that human races are genetically different and have genetically adapted to where they evolved; these are scientific facts and are not debatable. Read More