Why Affirmative Action Is Important & Donald J. Trump’s Goal of Destroying It!

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By Danielle Sobelman

When people think of Affirmative Action, some people feel that Affirmative Action gives minorities a hand up over Americans who are of European decent. However, when Affirmative Action was implemented, it was an Executive Order that was signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to “ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin”.

Many European Americans feel that Affirmative Action is reverse discrimination, however it puts minorities like myself on an even playing field with our peers. Affirmative Action for many is a way out of poverty and a better way of life. I am the result of Affirmative Action. I have been given opportunities of having an education that was not given to my grandparents. It would be nice that we don’t have Affirmative Action, however when many people see me they don’t see that Danielle is smart or Danielle is capable, they see black. That scares people. I am an American like they are however still they continue to openly discriminate against people of color like me.

Working as a nurse, I have to work twice as hard to prove to my colleagues that I am a capable and a competent nurse. I work in a Pediatric facility in which a majority of my colleagues are white. I have been a Pediatric Ventilator Tracheostomy nurse for over 8 years and I have more experience than many of them and yet recently they just realized I am very capable of providing safe and adequate care to the children we take care of. This frustrates me completely.

Imagine if there was no Affirmative Action. There would not be any Oprah Winfrey, no Clarence Thomas, or even a George Lopez. There would not even be a Doc Mc Stuffin for my children to look up to. Affirmative Action has a positive effect on minorities. It was nice when President Obama became President because it showed young black children that one can be the President if you aspire to be.

With the Trump Administration and the Department of Education under Secretary Betsy De Vos, these protections of minorities are being stripped away. With the additional protections that the Obama Administration had implemented that are being rolled back as well, the door for opportunities for a fair education and fair employment will be slammed shut completely.

This makes me sad because if the Trump Administration is successful in these roll backs, opportunities for my children won’t be available. That is why is important to stand up to the Trump Administration’s planned systematic racism. It is hard to believe that this is happening in 2018. The leaders of the Civil Rights Movement worked hard to ensure that future generations have a bright future no matter who you are. I am apart of that legacy and to see their work being undone is a Great American Tragedy.

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