Text of Sterling Speirn's Letter to the Editor of The Wall Street Journal
Timothy Lemmer
Letters Editor
Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
Dear Mr. Lemmer:
Regarding Naomi Schaefer Riley's “Philanthropy and Its Enemies” (March 3): Thank you for drawing attention to our Foundation's commitment to promoting racial equity and working to level the playing field for children whose unequal opportunities are often the result of structural racism. The son of abolitionists, Will Keith Kellogg established our Foundation in 1930 and shortly thereafter President Hoover invited him to assist in a White House Conference on Child Health and Protection, influencing Mr. Kellogg's early concept of his Foundation at a time—much like our own today—when national needs were so strongly felt. “I don't want to restrict you in any way,” he told his new staff. “Use the money as you please so long as it promotes the health, happiness and well-being of children.” We constantly strive to fulfill his desire that all our children could “face the future with confidence, with health, and with a strong-rooted security in their trust of this country and its institutions.”
Sterling K. Speirn
President & CEO
W.K. Kellogg Foundation