Affirmative action in the United States was supposed to be a temporary measure to make up for widespread discrimination against African Americans and other minorities, but since the measure is still in place, many people have started to wonder when it will end. Nowadays affirmative action is more than a simple measure. It is a topic of debate in politics creating opponents and supporters.

Affirmative action detractors believe that affirmative action may be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Likewise, the programs may be illegal under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance. They also claim that affirmative action policies introduce lower standards and make students less accountable. If standards for test scores, grade point average, etc. are lowered for underrepresented groups, it is argued that these students will only strive to meet the lower requirements. Another argument made is that affirmative action policies do not necessarily help economically disadvantaged students. A study by the Hoover Institution found that affirmative action tends to benefit middle- and upper-class minorities.

However, supporters of affirmative action argue that these measures create more equal opportunities for minority groups than would otherwise be available. Systemic racism has affected the everyday lives of many people of color. This makes the playing field unequal and can add challenges to the academic or work lives of non-white citizens. For example, it has been discovered that many teachers will grade the work of non-white students more harshly than white students. Thus, supporters of affirmative action argue for its necessity so that such discrepancies can be accounted for.