For much of American history, explicit racial discrimination was inscribed in the law.
This can all be summed up with "two wrongs don't make a right". The oddity is when the benevolent decision to reverse privilege causes more harm to the historically underprivileged. In this sense I don't see a clear connection with affirmative action in traditional concepts of work and education - provided of course it isn't a sit of under-qualification/desperation to increase diversity stats
