Get Schooled: An Affirmative Action Timeline

September 24, 1965- Issued by President Johnson, Executive Order 11266 requires government contractors to "take affirmative action" toward prospective minority employees in all aspects of hiring and employment. Contractors must take specific measures to ensure equality in hiring and must document these efforts. On Oct. 13, 1967, the order was amended to cover discrimination on the basis of gender.

June 28, 1978- The landmark case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke in 1978 was the first to address the issue of “reverse discrimination” and question where the line should be drawn between lawful and unlawful practices of affirmative action. Allan Bakke, a white applicant to the University of California, Davis, Medical School, was denied acceptance twice despite the fact that minority applicants with significantly lower scores than his were admitted. Bakke sued the Regents of the University of California for violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court maintained that race was a legitimate factor in school admissions. However, the court decided that using inflexible quotas to ensure a certain level of diversity was unconstitutional. Thus Bakke was granted admission to the school, and affirmative action was deemed unfair if it resulted in reverse discrimination, or providing greater opportunity for minorities at the expense of the majority.

Nov. 3, 1997- In 1997, California passed Proposition 209, effectively banning all forms of affirmative action in the state by asserting that “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."

June 23, 2003- Grutter v. Bollinger, the most important affirmative action decision since the 1978 Bakke case, the Supreme Court (5–4) upholds the University of Michigan Law School's policy, ruling that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students because it furthers "a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body."