I don't know why out of all things in that letter, I'm mildly impressed by the fact that they returned his application fee. Because today they would never? Returning the fee gives me the impression the dean actually regretted they fact he couldn't admit him.
Yeah, it was a very polite letter.
if I remember correctly, the administrators wanted to admit him, but were prevented by the state
The university couldn’t admit him because state law prohibited it. They would also attempted to challenge those laws in court a few years later.
Cos it reads like a little piece of decency towards a Black man in a time when you really didn't have to be decent to Black people. I saw the same thing.
Two followups: -- He became a doctor, and couldn't quite retire. -- The college apologized ... suz decades later news.emory.edu/features/202...
A Crucial Step Toward Healing: After a rejection from Emory’s School of Medicine more than 60 years ago because of his race, prominent physician M. Gerald Hood tells his story of resolve and triumph.
I bet it's just that administrators hadn't yet thought up the vile idea to not return the fee. I bet if anyone at the time had thought of it, they would've done it.