Affirmative Action Can't Be Mended

For the last several decades, affirmative action has been the basic component of the civil rights agenda. However, affirmative action, in the form of racial preferences, has worn out its political welcome. In Gallup Polls, between 1987 and 1990, people were asked if they agreed with the statement: "We should make every effort to improve the position of blacks and other minorities even if it means giving them preferential treatment." More than 70% of the respondents opposed preferential treatment while only 24% supported it. Among blacks, 66% opposed preferential treatment and 32% supported it. The rejection of racial preferences by the broad public and increasingly by the Supreme Court has been partially recognized by even supporters of affirmative action. While they have not forsaken their goals, they have begun to distance themselves from some of the language of affirmative action. Thus, many business, government, and university affirmative action offices have been renamed "equity office." Racial preferences are increasingly referred to as "diversity multiculturalism."