Last week, I went on a bit of bender asking (begging, pleading, rather) for people to subscribe to the magazine -- either in print or via iPad. In making my argument, I pointed to the support The Atlantic has traditionally given its writers to go long in an era when everyone (ourselves included) is somewhat concerned about the future of the medium. 

Howard Ramsby, who heads the Black Studies program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, saw that and began wondering why so few black writers get that sort of support, and how that can change: