Balch Institute Of Ethnic Studies

A heated exchange on a comic book cover between Superman and Black Lightning mesmerized a visitor to the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles. DC Comics' Man of Steel offers the African-American renegade super-hero, Lightning, a handshake and a place in the Anglo-dominated "Justice League of America." The gesture was made in a 1973 issue, when affirmative action had reached even the Justice League. "We want you on the team," Superman says.

A heated exchange on a comic book cover between Superman and Black Lightning mesmerized a visitor to the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles. DC Comics' Man of Steel offers the African-American renegade super-hero, Lightning, a handshake and a place in the Anglo-dominated "Justice League of America." The gesture was made in a 1973 issue, when affirmative action had reached even the Justice League. "We want you on the team," Superman says.