Explain the concept of reverse discrimination.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary.Reverse discrimination is discrimination against people who have no minority status. The Supreme Court first addressed the issue of affirmative action in 1978 in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Allan Bakke, a white male, had been denied admission to the University of California's medical school at Davis. The school had set aside sixteen of the one hundred seats in each year's entering class for applicants who wished to be considered as members of designated minority groups. Many of the students admitted through this special program had lower test scores than Bakke. Bakke sued the university, claiming that he was a victim of reverse discrimination-discrimination against whites. Bakke argued that the use of a quota system, in which a specific number of seats were reserved for minority applicants only, violated the equal protection clause. A majority on the Supreme Court concluded that although both the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allow race to be used as a factor in making admissions decisions, race cannot be the sole factor. Because the university's quota system was based solely on race, it was unconstitutional.