37 Affirmative Action Quotes for You to Enjoy

I'm not one that believes that affirmative action should be based on one's skin color or one's gender, I think it should be done based on one's need, because I think if you are from a poor white community, I think that poor white kid needs a scholarship just as badly as a poor black kid. J. C. Watts

Needs You Black Gender White Skin Community Action Think Kid Color Scholarship Badly Because Affirmative Affirmative Action Done Just Poor Should Skin Color Based Believes Need

Affirmative action is a little like the professional football draft. The NFL awards its No. 1 draft choices to the lowest-ranked team in the league. It doesn't do this out of compassion or guilt. It's done for mutual survival. They understand that a league can only be as strong as its weakest team. J. C. Watts

Survival Strong Compassion Guilt Action Out Weakest Mutual Only Football League Like Understand Affirmative Affirmative Action Done Little Choices Team Professional Professional Football Awards Draft

To be clear, affirmative action is not, by itself, an adequate response to decades of systemic looting, but it has been an indispensible tool in inching us towards some semblance of a more equitable society. Clint Smith

When population shifts - brought about by fair housing laws, affirmative action and landmark school desegregation rulings - political power is challenged as well. Gwen Ifill

School Political Political Power Power Action Brought About Laws Fair Well Housing Shifts Affirmative Affirmative Action Landmark Population Challenged

I am a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the south Bronx. My test scores were not comparable to my colleagues at Princeton and Yale. Not so far off so that I wasn't able to succeed at those institutions. Sonia Sotomayor

Princeton Action Baby Those Colleagues Bronx Able Born Perfect Institutions Yale Am Test Test Scores Were South Off Scores South Bronx Affirmative Affirmative Action Rican Succeed Far Product Comparable Puerto Puerto Rican Raised

A Reagan appointee, Justice Kennedy is no liberal, as he has shown on issues from affirmative action to corporate campaign spending. But he has repeatedly sided with gay litigants before the court. Adam Cohen

Gay Justice Before Action Liberal Corporate Spending He Court Reagan Issues Repeatedly Campaign Affirmative Affirmative Action Shown Kennedy

In Obama's case, we've enabled affirmative action to find a home in the nation's highest office. There you have it. I said it and I stand by it. America fell for the gimmick candidate, disregarding every fact and warning sign in the rush to have 'the first African-American president.' Allen West

Home You First Nation Action Every President Sign Obama Find Gimmick Rush Case Fact Highest Fell Said Affirmative Affirmative Action Office America Candidate African-American Warning Stand

Jews have been harmed by the threats to freedom of opinion and debate, the punishments for candor, and the decline in rigorous standards in the academy that have accompanied progressive hegemony, which insists upon the sacrosanct status of affirmative action and other policies favored by the left. Amy Wax

Freedom Debate Action Other Jews Progressive Favored Punishments Rigorous Status Threats Insists Academy Policies Opinion Accompanied Been Left Affirmative Affirmative Action Candor Which Decline Hegemony Standards Harmed

Some kind of affirmative action is important in a democracy and for economic competitiveness and national security. The Army was the first to realize that you had to have desegregation of a military to have it working properly. Andrew Young

I believe that Harvard can have, and must have, a strong affirmative action program that reflects our commitment to equal opportunity while fully respecting the academic standards of the University. Derek Bok

I filed a brief as a friend of the court in the U. of Michigan to keep affirmative action at the U. of Michigan, which I attended the law school. And I was one of the original sponsors of making the Martin Luther King birthday a federal holiday. Dick Gephardt

Birthday Law School King Action Law School Martin Martin Luther Martin Luther King Federal Attended Sponsors Court Making Friend Affirmative Affirmative Action Michigan Which Holiday Original Brief Keep Luther

Affirmative action is the most important antidiscrimination technique ever instituted in the United States. It is the one tool that has had a demonstrable effect on discrimination... Affirmative action, by all statistical measures, has been the central ingredient to the creation of the black middle class. Eleanor Holmes Norton

Class Black Important Creation Action Tool States Statistical Has-Been Had Instituted Most Been Effect Affirmative Affirmative Action Discrimination Middle The Most Important Middle Class Central Ingredient Measures United Ever United States Technique

Affirmative action has been generally cast in terms of race. I think women themselves are not as cognizant of the role affirmative action has played in opening the doors for women. Faye Wattleton

Women Doors Action Think Has-Been Cast Generally Opening Terms Been Affirmative Affirmative Action Role The Doors Race Themselves Played Cognizant

When I was a young filmmaker starting out, I was really snobby about all the affirmative action for women filmmakers because I felt it should be about your talent, and I made a film that won awards, and people wanted me. Gillian Armstrong

Me Women People Made Young Action Out About Talent Because Felt Won Affirmative Affirmative Action Snobby Wanted Really Should Your Awards Film Starting Filmmaker Filmmakers

Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Gloria Steinem

People Long Action Meet About More More People He Inviting Perhaps Know Opposed Affirmative Affirmative Action McCain Them Lowering Standards

The third fallacy is that affirmative action doesn't work. Harold Washington

Work Action Fallacy Affirmative Affirmative Action Third

What is so remarkable about the success of affirmative action is that it has been accomplished despite the Justice Department and the policies of the federal government. Harold Washington

Success Government Justice Action Despite Has-Been About Federal Remarkable Federal Government Policies Been Accomplished Affirmative Affirmative Action Department Justice Department

And nothing embittered me, which is important, because I think ethnic people and women in this society can end up being embittered because of the lack of affirmative action, you know. James Earl Jones

I think that affirmative action programs can be very important. Janet Reno

Important Action Think Programs Affirmative Very Affirmative Action

Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from white cultural groups that had also suffered in socio-economic terms from the Civil War and its aftermath. Jim Webb

War Journey White Action Difficult Those Recognize Civil Civil War Had Terms Also Policy Understandable Came Cultural Affirmative Affirmative Action Aftermath Who Even Groups Uniquely Suffered Designed Socio-Economic

Affirmative action was always racial justice on the cheap. Joe Klein

Justice Action Cheap Always Affirmative Affirmative Action Racial

Republicans can be a funny bunch. They're against affirmative action, but they always seem to be able to find people of color to fill a slot just when they're most needed. John Ridley

Funny People Action Slot Find Able Seem Color Most Always Affirmative Affirmative Action Bunch Just Against Republicans Fill Needed

Affirmative Action Quotes

No more affirmative action quotes