§ 2000d. Prohibition against exclusion from participation in, denial of benefits of, and discrimination under federally assisted programs on ground of race, color, or national origin
No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
The issue of affirmative action and preferential treatment of minorities has been brought to the attention of the nation by the recent ruling of the Supreme Court as well as by several state and federal bills. This is a hotly debated issue with strong feelings on both sides. Both sides of the issue also have reasonable arguments.
This is an issue which affects everyone, not just minorities. As a white male who was born in the U.S., I was told by employees of a company that I shouldn't bother applying for a summer job there since they really only recruit minorities and women with their summer job program. As an employee at a government sponsored institution, I was forced to get bids from woman and minority owned businesses on parts that I could have bought at a local parts store. I spent hours doing something that should have taken minutes. I was also made aware of the race and gender of business owners when I would not have known if I hadn't been forced to use lists of HUBs to get bids. These lists, by the way, were not very accurate and included a lot of companies that just ordered parts from other companies but were minoroity or woman owned. All of this is my own personal experience and is not intended to prove anything, just to demonstrate some of the ways that preferential treatment of minorities has affected me.