Policy work by the Board of Education may soon result in the correcting of a historic injustice.

While reviewing and updating Hartford Public Schools’ Graduation Policy, the BOE Policy Committee, at the urging of Chief Performance Officer Bethany Silver, will soon be adopting the following language:

“Honoring Veterans and Others with a History of Service: Hartford residents with 50 or more consecutive years of residency in the state of Connecticut may petition the Hartford Board of Education for an honorary diploma.  Applications are invited from veterans, as well as individuals with a history of service to Hartford that spans 20 or more years. Veterans include any World War II veteran, veteran of the Korean Hostilities, or Vietnam Era veteran requesting such diploma who left high school for military service as defined in the statutes and did not receive a diploma as a consequence of such service.”

Without identifying the individual, Ms. Silver stated that including the phrase “…as well as individuals with a history of service to Hartford…” in the new policy language, will allow a man expelled and denied a diploma from Hartford High School 55 years ago, to receive an honorary high school diploma from the BOE.

As a CT Insider story from May of this year reveals, that man is Mike Fothergill.  Mr. Fothergill, now 75, was a senior at Hartford High in the spring of 1968.  On April 5th, 1968, Fothergill joined hundreds of other students in a peaceful school walkout to protest the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. the day before.  While other students involved in the walkout were allowed to return to school and graduate, Mr. Fothergill was denied that opportunity and was, as he put it, “banned for life,” most likely due to his past run ins with school officials.  Attempts over the years by Mr. Fothergill to obtain a diploma through alternative means had been denied by the district.

However, with some help from Albert DiChiara from the University of Hartford, Mr. Fothergill’s story was brought to the attention of HPS and the BOE who are now writing the policy language which may lead Mr. Fothergill to finally receive his high school diploma.

As the BOE discussed the new language, it was suggested that perhaps the language ought to include the requiring of evidence of community service, residency, and a background check in order to receive the honorary diploma.  When Board Member Browdy raised concerns with the requirement of a background check, mentioning the prohibitive nature of the language for folks who may have had experience with the criminal justice system, board members quickly agreed to omit any evidence requirement language.

Hopefully the BOE will be able to get out of its own way and have this policy ready for approval by the November Regular Meeting, which would then allow Mr. Fothergill to apply to the Board for their approval of an honorary diploma.

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”  However, no one is “unaffected” by injustice, because, as Martin Luther King, Jr, once said, “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.”