The Debate on Affirmative Action: Is it Beneficial or Detrimental to Society?

Throughout our great nation’s history we have been burdened with an age old problem that we still are dealing with today; racism and discrimination are being harbored in our society and even within our very own government. But much has changed since the Civil Rights Movement, and great leaps of progress have been made; one such attempt at achieving a better and more equal society was the creation of affirmative action. Affirmative action first began as “a corrective measure for governmental and social injustices against demographic groups that have been subjected to prejudice” (Wikipedia par. 2). Affirmative action in the United States of America is the employer or university favoring certain groups of people that are considered to be at a disadvantage to the white male majority. However, regardless of its intentions, is affirmative action a benefit, or is it in fact a harmful epidemic spreading racism throughout our society?