Jessica Scott ES 452 2/25/03 Affirmative Action is Essential According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, affirmative means "favoring or supporting a proposition or motion." By the same standards, action is "the bringing about of an alteration by force or through a natural agency." If you put them together it would be supporting a position to bring about a change by force or a natural way. This closely matches the dictionary definition of affirmative action, which is an active effort …showed first 75 words of 480 total…

…showed last 75 words of 480 total…decisions about affirmative action, we must first look at the stigma surrounding it. Affirmative action is not a bad thing. It is simply adding a sense of fairness and responsibility to employers. It doesn't mean basing a decision solely on race, but being aware, and working toward a goal of equal employment. For hundreds of years there have been unfair hiring practices, and it is time to change them. Affirmative action is essential for equality.