Affirmative action biography of martin

Executive Order 10925

Affirmative action in its current form began in 1961, but the concept has existed in the United States since at least the early 20th century. In 1941, for example, President Franklin D.

Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which forced defense contractors "to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination"—an early effort to combat segregation.

The idea was later shaped by the social movements of the 1950s and 1960s—the civil rights movement, the women's liberation movement and the gay rights movement—in which Americans of all stripes agitated for equal representation.

On March 6, 1961, shortly after taking office, President John F.

Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925, which required all federal contractors to take “affirmative action”—the first use of the phrase in this context—to ensure all job applicants and employees were treated equally, regardless of race, cr