The James Logan Courier

McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

The following editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, Feb. 23:

For 40 years, competitive colleges and universities in the United States have taken race into account in order to increase their enrollment of African-Americans (and, to a lesser extent, other minorities). Originally justified as a way to compensate for a long legacy of racial discrimination, and later embraced as a way to provide a more diverse learning environment, affirmative action has been good for the United States. It has made it easier for minorities to enter the educational and professional mainstream without compromising the rigor of American higher education. It has promoted the broader cause of racial integration. And it has encouraged the emergence of a black and Latino middle class.

From wikipedia:
William Leo Hansberry (February 25, 1894—November 3, 1965) was an American scholar and lecturer. His was the older brother of real estate broker Carl Augustus Hansberry, uncle of award-winning playwright Lorraine Hansberry and great-granduncle of actress Taye Hansberry.

Hansberry was born on February 25, 1894 in Gloster, Amite County, Mississippi. He was the son of Elden Hayes and Pauline (Bailey) Hansberry. His father taught history at Alcorn A&M in Lorman, Mississippi, but died when the younger Hansberry was only three years old. He and his younger brother, Carl Augustus Hansberry, where raised by their stepfather, Elijah Washington.

Read a letter written by William Leo Hansberry, free from the Internet Archive.