Affirmative Action in the 1990s: Staying the Course

The phrase “affirmative action,” while capable of fairly narrow definition, also serves as the line that divides people who have starkly different views on the nation's most enduring problem—how American society should treat people of color. A critical question is whether affirmative action policies have been effective, that is, whether they have worked in conjunction with other policies to provide opportunities for education and economic advancement that had previously been unavailable. Data demonstrate the effectiveness of these policies in enhancing the economic status of minorities. The legal standards governing affirmative action demonstrate an effort to balance competing interests in order to meet a test of practical fairness to all parties. With the changes on the Supreme Court, however, it seems likely that the legal standards for assessing the validity of affirmative action will be guided increasingly by ideology rather than pragmatism. Affirmative action is under siege in the 1990s. Nonetheless, a recommitment to the national promise of racial justice may yield tangible opportunity for all.