JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<ul>
    <li class="administration first">
        <a href="/administration.aspx"><span>Administration</span></a>
        <ul>
            <li class="users first selected"><a href="/administration/users.aspx"><span>Users</span></a></li>
            <li class="forms last"><a href="/administration/forms.aspx"><span>Forms</span></a></li>
        </ul>
        <div style="clear: both;"></div>
    </li>
    <li class="analytics"><a href="/analytics.aspx"><span>Analytics</span></a></li>
    <li class="options"><a href="/options.aspx"><span>Options</span></a></li>
    <li class="system last"><a href="/system.aspx"><span>System</span></a></li>
</ul>

CSS

.selected {
    border: solid blue 1px;
}

JavaScript

$('li.selected').parents('li').addClass('selected');