How is that the individual States are allowed to override what you might have thought were rights enshrined in the National Constitution?
because affirmative action is not a right, it is a policy. Affirmative Action, technically speaking, violates true rights, its opponents argues.
with regard to "Civil Rights", for example the main crux of anti-discrimination laws state that : no american can be discriminated against based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, race, etc;
that is everyone's right as an american....it is considered a "Civil Right" guaranteed to every american by the constitution (along with the right of free speech, freedom of association, right to bear arms etc.)
No american may be deprived of any of those rights, or you have illegally violated that person's "civil rights"
afirmative action, however, is a policy conceived to address "fairness" for some minorites, by sadly, and ironically, offereing them preference in certain situations at the expense of someone who is not a minority.
so ironically, "affirmative Action" meant to curb discrimination against others, does in factr discriminate against those who do not receive preferential treatment.
Affirmative Action as policy, is a massive controversy, that is most evident between minorites and whites in terms of job applications and acceptance to universities etc...
the policy efectively states that a minority with a lower score or less impressive resume, must in some cases receive preference over the non-minority candidate even if that candidate has a better resume, record, or score...
it manifests itself in racial quotas in hiring, schools etc....
it is an extremely contentious issue in this country.
I have given only a very small snapshot of it, and obviously, i am sure others will have more to say on it.
I do not support affirmative action, though i did for a short time, but i believe it should come to an end with regards to educational testing and entrance to colleges, though i believe ant-discriminatory laws must be on the books to help minorities with regards to workplace hiring etc.