Exclusion of Black Authors

In his article “How Else Will Posterity Understand?” (Commentary, Nov. 17), Mark Mathabane has raised very profound and timely issues with respect to the exclusion of brilliant black writers from the Encyclopedia Britannica’s revised and updated version of the “Great Books of the Western World.”

The exclusion of African and African-American writers from the “Great Books” is due to raw, naked racism. It is the same practice that denies the anteriority of African civilizations versus those of Europe and ignores the contributions of black people to the development of this nation.

When African-Americans seek to revise textbooks to incorporate black contributions, the academic Establishment dismisses this as ethnocentric whining. Yet these same educators are baffled by the regression of black youths in schools across the nation. Whether we admit it or not, our self-esteem is still largely derived from what we are taught. Consequently, white racism in the “Great Books” and the public schools continues to deprive black children of self-respect.

LEGRAND H. CLEGG II

Compton