Golfers Lower Banners at Course to Honor Hahn

The U.S. flag and a banner representing minority golfers were lowered to half-staff Tuesday at a golf course in South Los Angeles in honor of the late Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn for his efforts to help integrate the sport.

The banner of the Minority Golfers Assn. ruffled in the wind near the clubhouse at the Chester Washington Golf Course, which was purchased by the county in 1963, largely due to Hahn’s work, officials said. Prior to the purchase, no African American golfer played on the privately owned links, which were then known as the Western Avenue Golf Course, county officials said.

“Kenny was my best friend, but the best thing he did was to make progress for all nationalities,” said Maggie Hathaway, a golf instructor who was the former president of the Beverly Hills/Hollywood chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. “Kenny was a real character. One time I asked him why he did these nice things for people and he told me he just wanted to be a good Christian.”

The flag will stay at half mast for seven days in tribute to Hahn, who died Sunday.