Affirmative Action Fulfills Promise of 1776

Please explain to Michael Ramirez (editorial cartoon, Dec. 7) that when the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” were written, virtually no one, including the founding fathers, believed them as we do now. Even those few who may have believed that African, Asian or Indian men were created equal to Caucasian men of European descent did not act on that belief for nearly a century.

Because we are only recently coming to truly believe those words of 1776, we now need some affirmative action to make up for decades of denying minorities (especially the poor ones) equal employment, education and social opportunities. It is a small price to pay for not believing those words for two centuries.

Malcolm T. Henderson

Culver City