The primary focus of affirmative action is attempting to correct unjust discrimination that has occurred over an extended period of history. The focus of this research will primarily be on affirmative action in higher education. The primary method of implementation has been through admissions practices that utilize racial identity as a factor in their overall formula for acceptance to the university. These practices have been in place at universities for almost as long as the debate on affirmative action has been occurring, and shifted over time along with the entire debate on affirmative action. Unfortunately, discussions and debates about the history and implementation of race-conscious admissions have lost touch with the main foundation of affirmative action, improving equity in a higher education system with barriers for communities that were historically marginalized. This paper will bring the current debate back to this focus through an argument in favor of affirmative action. First, this article will contextualize the political and social foundation and trace the legal history of affirmative action through significant court cases. From this historical foundation, a proposed directive grounded in feminist and critical race theory will assert the importance of affirmative action in higher education and emphasize the founding concepts of redistribution and equity.