According to the Merriam-Webster New World Dictionary, Affirmative Action is defined as an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups or women. To put that definition in English, it means a program designed to help either minorities or women achieve equal rights, as with the rest of the population. In this case, the minorities are being discussed, or to be less broad, the African Americans.
"I have a dream today." This is a famous quote by one of histories most famous and influential civil rights activists of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Being a civil rights activist, Dr. King wanted nothing more than for his people, the African Americans, to have equality. In the effort to gain equality, there were four steps he took. The first step was the collection of facts. In other words, this meant that they would identify the justices and the injustices. The second step in Dr. King's plan was negotiation. To make that simpler, negotiation was actually a compromise on the part of the African Americans. The third step in his plan was self-purification. In doing this, the African Americans would get together in prayer and they would sing the psalms. The fourth and final step in Dr. King's plan was non-violent direct action. Dr. King and his people tried each and every one of these steps, but sadly none of them were successful.
Like Hillary Clinton and Howard Stern, in my opinion, Martin Luther King Jr. and Affirmative Action just would not mix. Dr. King wanted to earn civil rights he didn't want them handed to him. That's why the term is noted as the "fight for civil rights." The word "earn" in this sense is pretty vague. What Dr. King Wanted was for his people to "earn" their rights. He would probably argue that affirmative action was a "handout," which isn't what he wanted. Dr. King simply wanted the whites cooperation in the African American achievement of equal rights.