Do we still Need Affirmative Action Today? The Stats

Some people feel that affirmative action is no longer needed. Some people feel its vital to our society as we know it today. My opinion is that we still need it. Here is why I feel this way taken fromWhy Affirmative Action is Still Needed http://www.civilrights.org/issues/affirmative/remote-page.jsp?itemID=28326930:

• In 1999, median annual earnings for full-time white male employees were $39,331. The wage gap showed African-American men earned 77 percent of what white males earned, or $30,297; for African-American women, it was even less - 64 percent, at $25,142. ("Money Income in the United States," U.S. Census Bureau, September 2000, Table 7)
• College educated African-American women annually earn only a little over $800 more than white male high school graduates and $17,727 less than college educated white men. ("Money Income in the United States," U.S. Census Bureau, September 2000, Table 10)
• Research conducted by The Fair Employment Council of Greater Washington, Inc. confirms that racial discrimination in employment continues to exist to a high degree. When African-American "testers" were sent out to apply for jobs with identical resumes and interviewing techniques as white "tester" applicants, African-Americans fared significantly worse than whites in 24 percent of the tests. Whites who were interviewed received job offers at four times the rate of African-Americans who were interviewed. When both testers received the same position, whites received higher wage offers than African-Americans 17 percent of the time. (Fair Employment Council of Greater Washington, Inc., "Measuring Employment: Discrimination Through Controlled Experiments," Review of Black Political Economy, Summer 1994)
• Affirmative action programs have worked to increase diversity and correct patterns of discrimination. As a result of such programs, doctoral awards to African-Americans rose 34 percent between 1988 -1993; however African-Americans still account for only 4 percent of all doctoral degrees earned. (Diversity & Affirmative Action in Higher Education, American Association of University Professors)
• Since the 1980's, minority and women students have earned increasing numbers of degrees. African-Americans experienced small to moderate increases in all degree categories in 1997, ranging from a 3.2 percent increase at the bachelor's degree level to a 10.2 percent increase at the master's degree level. (Seventeenth Annual Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education 1999-2000, American Council on Education, 2000