What rights did the Constitution guarantee African Americans in 1865? A. Recognition as citizens
B. Equal voting rights for men
C. Freedom from enslavement
D. Equal protection under the law

affirmative action refers to the policies that take gender, race, or ethnicity into account in order to promote equal opportunity.

employers subject to title vii are prohibited from taking race or sex into account in any employment decisions. aa is a penalty for having any job group substantially statistically "underutilized" in any race or either sex. the employer must take steps to eliminate the underutilization, then stop, ending its aa efforts