?Affirmative action is a topic that never fails to get people talking. Events happened that brought about the beginning of race-based preferences. Did you know the origins of affirmative action date back to the 1860s? The 14th Amendment paved the way for affirmative action. Approved by Congress in 1866, the amendment forbade states from creating laws that infringed upon the rights of U.S. citizens, denied citizens the equal protection of the laws as well as life, liberty or property without due process. Following in the steps of the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery, the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause would prove very important in shaping affirmative action policy. The programs are tailored to fit specific instances where race and gender must be taken into account in order to provide fair and equal access to minorities and women. These programs try to correct the barriers that continue to block many individual Americans. Affirmative action helps ensure equal access to opportunities and brings our nation closer to the ideal of giving everyone a fair chance. “We support affirmative action policies as a vital tool to provide all Americans with equal opportunity, to promote diversity in educational and professional settings, and to give every one of us a fair chance to compete” (aclu.org 2008). Affirmative action was put in place with good intentions but the purpose has become distorted over time. Affirmative action was founded on the principle of fairness yet somewhere along the line proponents of affirmative action made the decision to emphasize diversity over fairness (Leonhardt, 2012). This decision has brought about a serious problem with keeping affirmative action in its original spirit of fairness. It seems that diversity has become more important than fairness to American colleges which is causing a lot of qualified candidates to be overlooked. The problem is believed to stem from deference which is for the protection of white moral authority rather than the uplift of underrepresented groups (Steele, 2001). As citizens of the United States of America, we need to accept the fact that we live in an interconnected global society. Our survival as a super power depends on us being an integral part of the global society, citizens who are well educated, well intentioned and well equipped. In order to meet the demanding needs of our ever changing, global world we need to embrace, support and promote diversity. Affirmative action gives us the tools to do so. As stated on the US Department of Labor website, “Affirmative actions include training programs, outreach efforts, and other positive steps.” (DOL) The problem with affirmative action is that many see it only as a tool for companies and universities to meet quotas. Utilizing affirmative action as a means to reach out to minorities and women and train them to be competitive members of our global society is the true power of affirmative action in our modern world and is something we all benefit from. The Supreme Court ruled in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson that a separate but equal America was constitutional, this ruling severely impacted civil rights advocates. In 1954, these advocates had an entirely different experience when the high court overturned Plessy via Brown v. Board of Education. In that decision, the court ruled that discrimination is a key aspect of racial segregation, and it therefore violates the 14th Amendment. The decision marked the beginning of the country’s initiatives to promote diversity in schools, the workplace and other sectors (Nittle, N.K. 2014). One solution to change the image of affirmative action is to promote and enhance outreach programs. In education we can see many examples of affirmative action as a tool to promote women, minorities and the economically disadvantaged to study in fields such as science and technology. The STEM movement (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as well as the Next Generation Science Standards seek to encourage mi