Given Below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Given Below - Essay Example n American groups, ostracized by institutional racism and cyclical poverty, employed this force in an effort to restructure government and attain more than just â€Å"equal rights†, but also equal opportunity. The endeavor culminated with the establishment of affirmative action, an effort to supersede the lack of equitable opportunity. White ethnicity resurged, in part defensively, as a response. White ethnics applied their cultural identification and political will toward the protection of their jobs and neighborhoods, which they felt were endangered by black demands. They perceived demands of blacks as a threat to their own opportunities and stridently opposed the anti-individual, group recognition of affirmative action. The authors’ argument is reasonable and persuasively delivered. The authors’ propose that black and ethnic cultural resurgence allowed a galvanization of political strength which served the strategic function of supporting and defending issues key to each group. Though inherently similar, these groups sought different political and socioeconomic goals, ultimately resulting in conflict (i.e. the riots of the late 1960s). The political efforts of these two groups, affirmative action and resistance toward de-individualization, strongly supports the authors’ argument that cultural identification was utilized as a stratagem for political and social strength and provides a cogent explanation for the resurgence of ethnic