How Did Affirmative Action Begin?
The United States was a highly segregated society until the 1950s. In the South, blacks and whites attended separate schools, ate in separate restaurants, and even drank from separate drinking fountains. Across the nation, blacks and whites lived in separate neighborhoods. Minorities held few elected offices or management positions in private industry. They seldom worked at the best-paying skilled and blue-collar jobs. Many of these good jobs were controlled by unions, which often excluded minorities. The drive for equality took hold in the 1950s. Civil rights activists marched and held sit-ins throughout the South. The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregated schools. Congress passed the first civil rights act since Reconstruction. A massive civil rights movement developed. By the 1960s, the civil rights movement was pressing Congress to do something about racial discrimination in employment. At this time, the black unemployment rate was double that of white workers. Moreover, African-A
