we have made today. The American Association for Affirmative Action states that they are "dedicated to the advancement of affirmative action, equal opportunity and the elimination of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnic background or any other criterion that deprives people of opportunities to live and work (AAAA Sept. 1998)." However, affirmative action has always been a compromise, and with the progress made, a price has also been paid. Affirmative action must now be rethought and restructured. Laws created the preference programs: "were based in the conscience of the American people and in their commitment to equal treatment. The racial quotas that we experience today are blatant perversions that are illegal under the statutory language of the Civil Rights Act" (Roberts & Stratton 67). If the goal is true equal opportunity employment, removal of all advantages and allowing people to be hired for their skills and abilities only should occur. By continuing to allow for unfair hiring practices, affirmative action programs promote discrimination. Using reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination will always receive criticism for its hypocrisy. By requiring corporations to fulfill quotas, the affirmative action laws promote the hiring of less qualified workers. For example, in 1965, the Newport News Shipbuilding Co. buckled under the heavy hand of the EEOC, who had solicited complaints by knocking on the doors in black neighborhoods. The company reluctantly agreed to promote 2,890 of its five thousand black workers, designating 100 blacks as supervisors, and agreed to a quota system. One shipyard worker stated that the EEOC had done its best to "set black against white, labor against management, and disconcert everybody." (Roberts & Stratton 93). This creates animosities between workers that lead to further segregation, defeating the intentions of the programs entirely. Another example of this "reverse dis...
