Blacks have been discriminated against in America since before the Revolutionary War. They have fought in every war that this country has been involved in. They helped to build the nation to what is it today. Some would consider the 1960’s to be the time of most progress for blacks. It was the 1960’s that saw policies such as the civil right act of 1964 and also this is the same decade that John F. Kennedy first referred to affirmative action. Affirmative action was supposed to limit discrimination in school and work. This public policy was designed to help combat the “good olé boy” system and to ensure blacks a more secure place in a country they helped build. If not for affirmative action many blacks would have missed out on opportunities for jobs and education. Today, just one generation removed from a system that was in place for centuries, there is still debate over this corrective action. Some feel it is “reverse racism”. Others believe it is a necessary action to help uplift a people that this country has intentionally subjugated. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, we can all agree that blacks in America deserve “a fair share”.