American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

CONTINUING AND FUTURE CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES| 415

made serious overtures to minorities, especially Latinos, in his eff ort to expand
the Republican Party base. In terms of Barack Obama’s presidency, the histori-
cal signifi cance of his successful campaign as a minority candidate is clear. And
like his predecessors, Obama nominated a diverse cabinet—with 14 men, seven
women, and seven racial minorities. Eric Holder is the fi rst African American to
serve as attorney general and Sonia Sotomayor is the fi rst Latina on the Supreme
Court. Obama also nominated Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, putting three
women on the Court for the fi rst time.
Race also played a role in the 2012 presidential election. In the Republican pri-
ma r y, New t Gingrich caused a stir when he ca lled Oba ma “the greatest food sta mp
president.” When asked whether this label was demeaning to African Americans
and to the president, he defended the remark, saying that record numbers of Amer-
icans are on food stamps. A brief stir was also caused when Mitt Romney referred
to the “birthers” claim that President Obama was not born in the United States by
joking that “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certifi cate. They know that this is
the place that we were born and raised.” However, race did not play a very promi-
nent role in the general election as both candidates focused on the economy.^59

Continuing and Future Civil Rights Issues

There is vigorous debate over the likely direction of the civil rights movement in
the twenty-fi rst century. These debates play out over a broad range of issues, three
of which are outlined in this section.

Affi rmative Action

Even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ensured that all Americans would enjoy
equality of opportunity, blacks continued to lag behind whites in socioeconomic
status. In 1965, President Johnson required all federal agencies and government
contractors to submit written proposals to provide an equal opportunity for
employment of blacks, women, Asian Americans, and Native Americans within
various job categories and to outline programs to achieve those goals. The policy
was expanded under President Nixon, and throughout the 1970s and 1980s affi r-
mative action programs grew in the private sector, higher education, and govern-
ment contracting. Through such programs, employers and universities gave special
opportunities to minorities and women.
Affi rmative action takes many forms. The most passive type involves recruit-
ing women and minorities for employment or college admission by placing ads in
newspapers and magazines, visiting inner-city schools, or sending out targeted
mailings. A more active form involves including race or gender as a “plus factor”
in the admissions or hiring decision. That is, from a pool of qualifi ed candidates,
a minority applicant may receive an advantage over white applicants. (Women
generally do not receive special consideration in admissions decisions, but gen-
der may be a “plus factor” in some employment decisions.) The strongest form of
affi rmative action is the use of quotas—strict numerical targets to hire or admit a
specifi c number of applicants from underrepresented groups.

EXAMINE AFFIRMATIVE

ACTION AND OTHER

ONGOING CIVIL RIGHTS

ISSUES