Affirmative Action: Why Is It So Polarizing?

With the Supreme Court nomination hearings over, Justice Ketanji Jackson has become the first Black woman to be a Supreme Court justice. Throughout the weeks leading up to the final votes, people from all political backgrounds were using the phrase “affirmative action,” but in very different ways.

Like many terms we discuss at Crossing Party Lines, when it comes up in a conversation it is used to communicate its technical definition as well as an understanding of how it plays out in the real world. Therefore it is not surprising that in the past weeks people have described affirmative action as everything from “picking somebody not as well qualified for past wrongs” to “a way to give qualified people from underrepresented communities a way to compete and show what they can do.”

Since communication is the key at CPL, let’s take some time to unpack the various uses and understandings of this polarizing term.

Join us as we try to explore this, starting by discussing what affirmative action means to you.

• What can we make of the different ways people use the term “affirmative action”?
• How do you use the term? What’s your definition?
• How do your personal experiences with affirmative action shape your definition?
• Why do you think this term is so polarizing?
• If you aren’t a fan of affirmative action as you understand it, what are your concerns?

Note that there are related topics that may come up during the meeting, such as anti-discrimination laws or diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. For this meeting, we’d like to focus specifically on affirmative action and why it is so polarizing. If there is enough interest in other related topics, we can continue the discussion with another meeting.

Join the Crossing Party Lines discussion and have a voice in our Nation’s Conversation! People of all views are welcomed, appreciated, and heard.

Please do your best to arrive at the beginning of the meeting – once we are in breakout rooms and the conversations have started, the meeting doors close to new arrivals. The breakout rooms open (and the doors close) approximately 15 minutes after the hour.

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