Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action is defined by Webster's New World College Dictionary as " a policy or program for correcting the effects of discrimination in the employment or education of members of certain groups." The phrase "affirmative action" was coined by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 when he issued Executive Order 10925, initiating the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246. This order required federal contractors to take "affirmative action" to increase …

…action was first introduced by President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson. In the time since Kennedy and Johnson, affirmative action has been severely distorted. Both presidents intended for this policy to stop discrimination, not simply reverse it. However, as shown in the foregoing discussion, the problems of affirmative action include hiring of unskilled employees, the establishment of problems for minorities it was originally suppose to help, and the basis for reverse discrimination.