The arguments in favor of preferential treatment for some groups are faulty. An examination of these arguments is included. Although victims of discrimination should be helped, programs should promote race-, gender- or ethnically conscious hiring. Affirmative action has led to a increase in bureaucratically-caused discrimination. (PS)

Race-conscious employment programs are considered in two contexts: governmental measures designed to remedy governmentally identified past discrimination or underrepresentation of minority employees; and voluntary implementation of remedial, race-conscious measures by private employers. (Author/MC)

To investigate whether recruitment practices of companies with affirmative action programs discriminated against Blacks or resulted in reverse discrimination, qualifications and race of fictitious job applicants were manipulated on resumes sent to a sample of employers. Responses strongly indicate discrimination, with Black applicants favored…

In politics, economics, education, and religion, Blacks still largely depend upon White institutions. White resistance to affirmative action means that the subordinate position of Blacks in American society is likely to continue. The only feasible alternative is Black mobilization and organization on a scale parallel to that of the 1960s.…

Discusses perceptions of affirmative action by governmental officials, academic opponents, civil rights groups and womens' groups, examines some frequently cited instances of affirmative action, and explains why affirmative action has been so poorly enforced. (Author/JM)

Federal constitutional, statutory, and case law dealing with minority-targeted scholarships and admissions are reviewed. Applicable laws and standards, standing, admission and scholarship procedures, affirmative action, and holistic assessments are discussed. It is concluded that many existing affirmative action programs may violate the Fourteenth…

In briefs filed with the Supreme Court, the Clinton administration, higher-education and civil-rights groups, colleges, and law schools are urging the court to uphold the legality of race-exclusive scholarships in a University of Maryland case. The briefs emphasize the scholarships' value in promoting diverse student bodies. (MSE)

Reviews an unresolved case involving the termination of Sharon Taxman, a white business education teacher at Piscatawny (New Jersey) High School, as a reduction-in-force measure. An African American teacher with equal seniority was retained, based on the board's commitment to affirmative action. Taxman's 1993 suit was upheld, but a circuit court…

The United States Supreme Court has had a significant role in the exploration and definition of affirmative action in this country. No more so than in the recent decisions related to the University of Michigan admissions cases. This article will explore the historical role of the U.S. Supreme Court and the decisions that this entity has made in…

Several points of view on the topics of affirmative action plans, reverse discrimination, and quotas in college admission, employment, and promotion are presented. (RC)

In these remarks, the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, discusses the Department's policy to enforce Federal equal employment opportunity guarantees without supporting quotas and other numerical formulae that provide preferential treatment. The discussion counters the charge that this policy is…

This paper provides an analysis by three black leaders of how the law, the nation, and the church agencies have responded to liberation issues in recent years. Victor M. Goode analyzes the role and status of blacks under the law from the Scott v. Sandford decision in 1857 through the dismantling of the formal structures of slavery and the modern…

This article describes the controversy over the legal, political, and moral issues of reverse discrimination, racial justice, and the future of affirmative action programs. Educators must understand the arguments on both sides in order to seek creative solutions to the potential problems raised for higher education. (Author)

The decision in the Bakke case will not only affect affirmative action programs in education but in employment, housing, and other fields. Charges of "reverse racism" are being used to reverse the limited gains made in two decades. Affirmative action is necessary because institutional racism exists in our society. (SW)

It is noted that the Supreme Court's Bakke decision does not require affirmative action in admissions--it merely allows it. The Court's support for the use of race as a permissible criterion in university admissions is no guarantee to minority persons that they will receive special consideration in competition with whites. (Author/LBH)