Unit
Years: 1961-Present
Economy & Society
Freedom & Equal Rights
While current debates around Affirmative Action center around the role of race as a factor in college admissions, the very first Affirmative Action policies were intended to eliminate discrimination in hiring decisions and to diversify historically-White workplaces. The term “affirmative action” was first used by President John F. Kennedy in a 1961 Executive Order which stated that employers should “take affirmative action” to ensure that job applicants and employees are treated “without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” Kennedy–followed by Presidents Johnson and Nixon–used his executive powers to quicken the pace of change and open more opportunities for Black Americans, women, and people with disabilities to benefit from the legal victories of the civil rights movement. Presidential policies such as Nixon’s Philadelphia plan forced companies who partnered with the federal government to demonstrate a “good faith” effort to diversify their workforces, and soon colleges and universities were also experimenting with new ways to even the playing field for applicants from marginalized communities.
Not everyone agreed that this was the best course of action. Affirmative Action policies were controversial and faced a great deal of backlash from White Americans who argued that Affirmative Action constituted racial discrimination against White people. The Supreme Court considered this argument in University of California v. Bakke (1978) and ruled that rigid racial quotas in college admissions were unconstitutional. Following Bakke, the court suggested that race could be one of many criteria for admission when such policies are narrowly tailored, temporary, or for a “compelling interest.”
Then in 2023, the Supreme Court severely limited, and in some cases eliminated, Affirmative Action plans in Higher Education after ruling on a case against the University of North Carolina and Harvard College. The decision after a 6-3 vote, was that the schools violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause, which bars racial discrimination by government entities. As it was not a unanimous decision, even Supreme Court justices have spoken out against this decision.
With legal confusion and disputes over Affirmative Action policies, Affirmative Action remains a controversial strategy. The efforts and policies to ensure all Americans have equal opportunity to participate in American society and the role of race in hiring and college admissions will likely generate continuing debates in years to come.
Document 5.15.4: Excerpts from the U.S. Department of Labor memorandum regarding The Philadelphia Plan, June 27, 1969
The Philadelphia Plan was a priority of the Nixon Administration. The plan required contractors submitting bids for federal construction jobs to indicate how many minority workers were assigned to every division of a labor crew. After this approach was tried in several different cities, Philadelphia became the focus because several hundred million dollars of federal money was designated for public construction in that city and because black laborers were threatening strikes to protest racist hiring policies that excluded them.
Subject: Revised Philadelphia Plan for Compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity
Requirements of Executive Order 11246 for Federally-Involved Construction.
Iron workers
Plumbers, pipefitters
Steamfitters
Sheet metal workers
Electrical workers
Roofers and water proofers
Elevator construction workers.
Because of the exclusionary practices of the labor organizations, there traditionally has been only a small number of Negroes employed in these seven trades. These exclusionary practices include: (1) failure to admit Negroes into membership and into apprenticeship programs. At the end of 1967, less than one-half of one percent of the membership of the unions representing employees in these seven trades were Negro, although the population in the Philadelphia area during the past several decades included substantial numbers of Negroes. As of April 1965, the Commission on Human Relations in Philadelphia found that unions in five trades (plumbers, steamfitters, electrical workers, sheet metal workers and roofers) were “discriminatory” in their admission practices. In a report by the Philadelphia local AFL-CIO Human Relations Committee made public in 1964, virtually no Negro apprentices were found in any of the building trades classes….
Since the Philadelphia Plan was put into effect, some progress has been made. Several groups of contractors and Local 543 of the International union of operating Engineers have developed an area program of affirmative action which has been approved by OFCC in lieu of other compliance procedures but subject to periodic evaluation. The original Plan was suspended because of an Opinion by the Comptroller General that it violated the principles of competitive bidding.
Equal employment opportunity in these trades in the Philadelphia area is still far from a reality. The unions in these trades still have only about 1.6 percent minority group membership and they continue to change in practices, including the granting of referral priorities to union members and to persons who have work experience under union contracts, which result in few Negroes being referred for employment. We find, therefore, that special measures are required to provide equal employment opportunity in these seven trades.
In view of the foregoing and in order to implement the affirmative action obligations imposed by the equal employment opportunity clause in Executive Order 11246, and in order to assure that the requirements of this Order conform to the principles of competitive bidding, as construed by the Comptroller General of the United States, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance finds that it is necessary that this Order, requiring bidders to commit themselves to special goals of minority manpower utilization, be issued….
Source: Department of Labor memorandum reprinted in Congressional Record 112, Pt.2 (December 18, 1969): 39951
Document 5.15.5: Excerpts from the Senate Debate on the Philadelphia Plan, December 1969
During Senate hearings on the Plan, opponents denounced it as a quota system and an unwarranted extension of federal authority, while supporters of the Plan emphasized the need for bold action against the seemingly perpetual forces of discrimination.
Senator John Pastore (Democrat from Rhode Island)
What we are confronted with is the fact that this Nation suffers with a difficult situation, a very distressing one, which erupted in Philadelphia not too long ago. Because the administration has the responsibility of doing something about it before it erupts all over the country, it initiated a plan it thought would solve the problem for the time being.
The fact remains that the administration, in trying to bring about a solution of this tremendous problem, initiated the so-called Philadelphia plan…the program [is] essential for the stabilization of the situation, which has become a quite irritable one and a serious one in the Nation.
Senator John McClellan (Democrat from Arkansas)
The Philadelphia Plan does not constitute an implementation of the Civil Rights Act [of 1964] or the congressional intent which was enunciated then. The plan’s requirement that certain Government contractors meet prescribed racial employment quotas is simply an example of the overreaching exercise of Executive power.
Senator Edward Brooke (Republican from Massachusetts)
In 1966, Senator Brooke became the first African American elected to the Senate since Reconstruction.
The real problem of discrimination in America is…what I prefer to call “systemic” or “intrinsic” discrimination. Discrimination against minorities, particularly in the employment field, is built into the very structure of American society. Three black children in four in America attend an essentially segregated school from the day they enter kindergarten…
Even those blacks who survive the system, however, find obstacles placed in their way which do not confront most other Americans. If a minority applicant seeks employment…he will find that the employment is often based upon union recommendation. The union passes the word to its members that an employer is looking for men; those members are predominantly white, and the social patterns are such that they will pass the word along to predominantly white friends…
The policy of assigning minority employees to “traditional” jobs or departments is also an informal, systemic barrier to full opportunity in employment…
These are the kinds of situations which the Philadelphia plan…[was] designed to overcome.
Source: Congressional Record 115, Pt.2 (December 18, 1969): 39961, 39964-39965, 39966-39967
Policies or programs designed to address past discrimination and promote equal opportunity for members of disadvantaged groups, often through preferential treatment or quotas in hiring, admissions, or contracting.
A fixed or predetermined limit, quantity, or proportion established for allocation, distribution, or participation in a particular activity, resource, or opportunity, often set by authorities, regulations, or agreements, and intended to ensure fairness, equity, or control over specific outcomes, such as admissions quotas in educational institutions, import quotas on foreign goods, or production quotas in manufacturing industries. Quotas may be based on factors such as population, market demand, or historical precedent, and can impact access, representation, and competitiveness in various sectors.
Landmark legislation passed by the United States Congress that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and ended segregation in public places and employment practices.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is landmark federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting practices and enforces voting rights protections, particularly for minority voters. It played a pivotal role in combating voter suppression and ensuring equitable access to the ballot.
A landmark Supreme Court case in 1954 that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson.
The 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963, known for his leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis, his commitment to civil rights and social justice, and his vision of progress and innovation, as articulated in initiatives such as the New Frontier program.
The 36th President of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969, who succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and known for his leadership during the Civil Rights Movement, his Great Society programs, and his escalation of the Vietnam War.
The 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974, associated with significant domestic and foreign policy initiatives but overshadowed by the Watergate scandal, leading to his resignation from office in 1974.
An executive order issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, which established the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (CEEO) and mandated that government contractors take affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin. This order marked a significant milestone in the advancement of civil rights and equal opportunity in the United States.
A committee established to monitor and enforce policies related to equal employment opportunity, particularly with regard to preventing discrimination and ensuring fairness and equity in hiring, promotion, and employment practices.
A government initiative implemented in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s to promote equal employment opportunities for minority workers, particularly African Americans, through affirmative action measures, including goals and timetables for hiring and promoting minority employees in federally funded construction projects and contractors. The Philadelphia Plan aimed to address racial discrimination and promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce.
University of California v. Bakke was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1978 that addressed affirmative action in college admissions. The Court ruled that race could be considered as one of several factors in admissions decisions but prohibited the use of racial quotas.