Changing the past
Affirmative action programs must be re-evaluated, not eliminated

The latest Gingrich-led Republican initiative on Capitol Hill is the re-evalution of a decades-old program that was created to fix a problem that is centuries old.

Affirmative action programs were started in an attempt to balance minority opportunity with those of mainstream white America. Unfortunately, the United States has not advanced enough in the race-relations realm to warrant the ending of those programs. Affirmative action is ripe for re-evaluation in order to examine its progress and its most successful methods, but must not be eliminated.

Programs to eliminate racism in the arena of American employment have done some good by providing jobs for more and more minorities and women. But has America matured enough to break down institutionalized racism?

Atlhough many minorities and women hear opportunity knocking by way of affirmative action, the intensely debated programs may be backfiring on some minorities, giving them jobs that are more symbolic than practical. Minorities and women can get jobs, but how far up the corporate ladder can they go?

This issue does not call for a blanket law to fix problems. Rather, conflicts with affirmative action must be dealt with in a discretionary manner based on the dynamics of each individual situation. Several prominent liberal Democrats have come out supporting re-evaluation of programs, when they once were unconditionally in favor of them. Even the White House has announced that it has started reviewing affirmative action programs.

The issue is sure to be a central theme of the upcoming presidential election, but the politicians involved must proceed carefully. Congress and the White House must ensure the situation is evaluated in a realistic light, instead of a political one.

Despite the efforts of affirmative action programs, a deep stratification based on race and ethnic groups remains prevalent in America. The majority of major corporations are still controlled by white males, and a glass ceiling still limits possibilities for minorities. That ceiling may have risen considerably, but it still restricts how much success minorities can achieve.

By removing affirmative action programs, opportunities have little chance of increasing for minority workers, and a stratified America will have little chance of balancing out.

The powers that be must ensure that a re-evaluation does not become an elimination -- because we still have a long way to go before the United States is truly a nation free of discrimination.