Do you believe that affirmative action is necessary to redress historical inequalities and imbalance of power?

The main argument for AA is that it offers an opportunity for society to redress the imbalance of power between the haves and the haves-not. The corollary argument linked to this is that these same underserved groups have faced de jure racism (policies instituted by governments denying them rights) and de facto racism (racism that denied them privileges). There is also an expressed need for the people in power to reflect the diversity of the population. The logic behind that is there is a certain inequity when a certain group concentrates too much power in society and that power should be shared among various groups, especially ones that have been historically underprivileged. But how do you achieve such a goal? Obviously, the only way to make this a reality is to institute an affirmative action policy that values a person’s background over her/his merit.