I
was born and raised in Texas. When we think of Texas, we often think of cattle,
oil fields, amazing sunsets, the best barbeque, people with big hats and big
boots, and a very conservative political leaning except for a few urban areas
such as Austin and Dallas. Those conservative views were never pushed on me by
my parents. I was always encouraged to form my own political opinions but I was
still heavily influenced by my environment. Due to the law of primacy, I have
often found myself conflicted when I come face to face with some of the
realities of my political opinions. One such opinion is my stance on
affirmative action – “the practice of giving special consideration to
minorities and women in hiring and school placement” (LaFollette, 2007, p. 87).
Affirmative action was first introduced by President John F. Kennedy in
Executive Order 10925 in which he called for aggressive hiring of minorities in
government positions to combat many of the racial struggles highlighted by the
Civil Rights Movement (Chrismas, 2013).
(Before
I proceed, I want to make it very clear that my intent is not to make a
political argument but rather to focus on the ethics of affirmative action. It
is very difficult to separate the two, though – politics and ethics.)
In a
previous discussion in this class on ethics, I had a revelation that has
honestly changed the way that I view just about everything. Morals are not
relative but ethics are (LaFollette, 2007). As an example, we would all agree
that murder is immoral. This truth spans all cultures through all time.
However, what we view as murder can be relative. That is why we have debates
over issues such as abortion. The pro-life camp views abortion as murder
whereas the pro-choice camp does not. This same concept applies to just about
every political and ethical debate we have. The big revelation that I mentioned
is that our ethics are not based on opinions but rather on the facts of our own
lives. For a rancher in Texas, affirmative action may be unethical because of
the facts of his life. However, for a young black woman from the projects,
affirmative action may be very ethical because of the facts of her life. One is
not inherently right or wrong. Because of the facts of the situations – not their opinions – they can both be
right at the same time.
Let’s
start by focusing on some facts that support the use of affirmative action.
First and foremost, “Racial preference exists in the United States-but it
continues to benefit white Americans, as it has for the past 375 years”
(Chrisman, 2013, p. 71). I understand that this is a contentious statement but
let’s consider that minorities were repressed by policy for hundreds of years.
One could not possibly expect that to just correct itself overnight. It takes
several generations. Racism today may not appear as it did before the Civil
Rights Movement. “Current racism is less flagrant. It does not wear a sheet or
burn crosses. Now it lurks in the boardroom, the court6oom and the classroom,
embodied in our habits and enforced by our institutions” (LaFollette, 2007, p. 96).
Another
ethical case for affirmative action comes in the form of ensuring diversity
within organizations (Crosby & Sincharoen, 2016). Without diversity,
organizational leadership can potentially become so focused on one way of
conducting business and can force policies without checks and balances.
Diversity ensures that all views are considered.
Affirmative
action legislation of the past is now laying the groundwork to support another
marginalized community – the LGBT community. The Employment Non-Discrimination
Act (EDNA) was first introduced in 1994 by Senator Ted Kennedy to end
discrimination in the workforce based on sexual orientation (“LGBT Rights in
the Workplace”, 2013). EDNA has faced much resistance over the years but is
gaining traction based on the positive results of affirmative action. Without EDNA,
those belonging to the LGBT community would have little recourse for
discrimination.
Of
course, there are also ethical downsides to affirmative action. One of the most
common arguments that I heard growing up in Texas is that someone that has
worked hard and is more qualified for a position may lose an opportunity solely
because a company is required to hire a certain percentage of minorities. That
means that those that are best qualified for a position may not be the one
selected for the position which harms both the candidate and the organization
(LaFollette, 2007).
Another
powerful ethical argument against affirmative action is that it in and of
itself racism. We pretty much all agree that discriminating against minorities
based solely on the color of their skin was wrong and is now expressly
forbidden. “Affirmative action, they claim, is wrong for the same reason: these
programs discriminate against whites simply because of their race. Two wrongs do not make a right” (LaFollette, 2007, p.
87-88).
We
can see arguments for and against affirmative action. As I previously stated,
the ethical arguments both for and against are true for those individuals. It
is ethical because it provides opportunities to those that would otherwise be
overlooked and ensures diversity. However, it is at the same time unethical
because it hurts candidates and organizations by removing the ability to fill
positions with the best qualified applicants and it is in itself racism. So
what is the solution?
There
is a term that I absolutely hate and that is “white privilege”. As the son of a
Baptist minister, my family was poor. I spend the majority of my childhood in
Section 8 housing. Many of my friends grew up in trailer parks. This is really
no different from the housing projects. I worked hard to get to where I am
today. My friend, Martin, on the other hand, is black. He grew up in a very
wealthy home and had every opportunity provided to him. When he was in high
school, he was learning how to sail and was a member of his school’s yacht
team. He attended Yale and is now a hedge fund manager here in NYC. Clearly he
had opportunities that I didn’t have. This supports something that I often say –
privilege exists but it knows no color. There is no white privilege but these
opportunities are more prevalent amongst the white population. I have a few
ideas that can equalize the playing field, though. Now remember what I said
before – I don’t want to make this about politics. However, what I am going to
say may seem a bit political. Right now, our education funding is based
primarily on property taxes. For example, my sister lives in a very affluent neighborhood
north of Dallas. The schools that her sons attend are very well funded. They
have small class sizes, amazing arts programs, the best equipment, and a full
staff. Compare that to the schools we attended growing up which had overcrowded
classrooms, secondhand equipment, and were just falling apart. Out of the two
kinds of schools described, who is going to have the better opportunities? My
opinion is that we have to even the playing field. It is a very socialist view
of it, I know, but I believe that the solution lies with equal funding across
the board for schools based on the population of the school. There is no reason
that a public school in the Bronx should have less funding than a public school
in TriBeCa but that is exactly what we have! The cycle perpetuates itself. By
leveling the playing field, we can eliminate the need for affirmative action
altogether. I want to make it clear, though, that equality only means equal
opportunities and not equal results. In my opinion, that is the best approach.
However, until there truly are equal opportunities, I believe that affirmative
action is needed to ensure that we break the cycle.
Chrisman,
R. (2013). Affirmative Action. The Black
Scholar, 43(3), 71-71
Crosby,
F. J., Iyer, A., & Sincharoen, S. (2006). Understanding Affirmative Action.
Annual
Review of
Psychology, 57(1),
585-611. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190029
LaFollette,
H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics.
Walden, MA: Blackwell Publishing
LGBT
Rights in the Workplace: The ENDA Debate Continues. (2013). Congressional Digest,
92(10), 1
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