Martin Luther King Jr. is revered as one of the most influential people in the movement for equality. His philosophy for peaceful protests and his bountiful wisdom were key contributing factors to his success as a leader. Perhaps the most essential part of his identity was his constant strives for equal treatment and for his dream.

Since his untimely death, the United States, as well as the world, has come closer and closer towards achieving that equality he sought after. He spoke of a dream and now the world has come near to achieving it.

Dreams can often be misinterpreted, however. The progression of equal rights has led to many changes in all aspects of common life. The popular policy of affirmative action is a major contributor to this outcome.

Affirmative action gives several opportunities to minority groups as well as those exhibiting the need for financial help. The policy has become widespread over the years and has helped many people in need. Opportunity is the main aspect of affirmative action.

In the recent years, however, affirmative action has become more and more controversial. A lot of minorities are now being overrepresented and progressing towards becoming a majority. This brings up the question of whether or not affirmative action should be abolished entirely or at least downplayed to a point where certain ethnic groups don’t have an overwhelming advantage.

A major aspect of the growing controversy of affirmative action is college admissions. If one is part of a certain ethnic group, like Hispanic or Native American, they will have more consideration towards their admission as opposed to someone who is Caucasian. This is due to their underrepresented nature.

On the contrary if one is of Asian heritage then they are more likely to be only considered once or twice. Asians are some of the most over-represented ethnic groups in the higher education systems.

There have been recent changes in the policy, however. Some colleges have taken a stand against affirmative action and its “positive discrimination.” In the state of California, affirmative action, in the aspect of college admissions, is no longer as prevalent.

The University of California system has issued a sort of blind-to-ethnicity-admissions process. They no longer make it necessary to state one’s ethnic group.

There have been several occurrences in which a person has struck a case against an affirmative action policy. Take for example the Supreme Court case that was brought up in 2008, “Fisher v. University of Texas.”

The case was brought into court by Abigail Fisher, who was rejected from the University of Texas. Fisher challenged the admissions policy that the university had and claimed that affirmative action was the reason for her unfair rejection.

The Supreme Court did not make a solid judgment and voted to have the case reviewed. As a result, the case was ambiguous to those who were for and against affirmative action.

Those for affirmative action claimed that the case was never solved and thus did not deter affirmative action’s presence or need. However, those against affirmative action, like Fisher, viewed the case itself as a landmark achievement towards true equality and fair representation.

“I’m grateful to the justices for moving the nation closer to a day when students’ race isn’t used at all in college admissions,” Fisher stated when questioned in Washington. The popularity and attention that the case brought could certainly be considered favorable to the abolishment of affirmative action.

“I have a dream that one day that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” Martin Luther King Jr. declared in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Discrimination is still an issue in present society and affirmative action, whose sole purpose is for equality, may just be contributing to that issue.