DEAR EDITOR:

I am writing to reflect on a powerful yet quiet force lost in the Youngstown community recently. That is the loss of Professor Al Bright.

Professor Bright was certainly well known in our community due to his world-acclaimed artistic works. Professor Bright also happened to be the first black teacher / instructor / professor hired by Youngstown State University.

In the minority community this was more than a moment; it was a movement that opened the door for many, including myself, to teach on a collegiate level.

His hiring created a chance for the intellectual aspect of the black community to be known. It showed, while in the throes of civil rights unrest, that a black person was able to surpass the cultural conditioning of the nation that said, “We were not good enough.”

Thank you, Youngstown State University, and thank you, Professor Al Bright. His legacy will live through us all.

MADONNA CHISM PINKARD

Cortland