The Strange Career of Affirmative Action

For decades affirmative action has been a contentious policy that has divided Americans. Yet few citizens know how, when, and why the policy was developed, and how various presidential administrations and federal courts have changed it over the last four decades since President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order establishing affirmative action. This essay will examine the development of affirmative action—a policy that, strangely, has never been voted on in Congress.