'Any means necessary' for equality

Regarding the opinion-page column "Duplicity of Race Politics," July 19: If affirmative action is a nonsolution, what is the real solution?I have owned businesses in predominantly white areas. I have been face to face with bankers who would not loan a black businessman money for expansion more because of race than financial statements. I have endured the remarks and subtle boycotts. I have walked through the doors of corporations with the best deals and have seen orders go to the other guy with a lesser program because he is white. It takes affirmative action, quotas, additional laws, and, as Malcolm X said, "any means necessary" to bring about equality. The solution to racism is a commitment to the fulfillment of democratic ideals that this country lacks the will or the guts to adhere to. Richard L. Joseph, Gilroy, Calif.

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