that was not cropped close to their heads, were told to clip their hair to look “clean on the sides," Taylor said, adding that the hair was required to be “almost to the skin.”“I was expelled for not conforming,” said Taylor, now 74. “I did what I wanted to do."
Nearly six decades later, Denver’s public school district overturned its punitive decision to expel Taylor, and the district granted him the diploma he had earned.“I wanted to make sure we rectified a mistake from the past and commit to doing better,” said Auon’tai Anderson, vice president of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. Anderson presented Taylor’s honorary diploma to him in a ceremony on May 15 at the Denver school board office. “We will own our past mistakes.
Taylor’s story came to the attention of the school board after a friend of his recently visited Manual High School for an event and noticed Taylor’s photograph in a glass case, showcasing awards and other accolades achieved by successful alumni.— told Taylor about the photo, and was surprised to learn that Taylor had never graduated.
Semón thought his friend should have the high school diploma that he deserved, so he approached the school board and asked administrators to right a wrong from 57 years ago.