In 1839, Eunice Ross passed the entrance exam for Nantucket High School, but because she was Black, the town rejected her admission. Over 180 years later, she’ll be awarded a posthumous honorary diploma at the school’s 2024 graduation ceremony.
The diploma will be presented to Ross, who became an education advocate, on June 14 by the Nantucket Historical Association in partnership with the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket, the town of Nantucket and Nantucket Public Schools, according to a press release.
The recent decision comes around the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (May 17, 1954), the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared separating students in public schools based on race was unconstitutional, Noelle Trent Ph.D., president and CEO of the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket said in a statement.
“Eunice Ross’s story highlights the inherent injustice experienced by generations of Black children pursuing their education,” Trent added. “The fight to end discrimination in public schools extends to all parts of the country. Honoring Eunice Ross acknowledges her sacrifice and the long legacy of the civil rights struggle in this country.”
In the 1830s, Nantucket’s Black students were taught in a one-room schoolhouse with a curriculum that Ross (1823 to 1895) had outgrown, the press release stated. Although Ross, then 17, was refused admission to Nantucket High School and motions to overturn the Town Meeting decision fell flat, it helped inspire activists and abolitionists to fight for school desegregation on a local and national level.
Anna Gardner, an educator at the island’s African School, resigned after her star pupil, Ross, was rejected by the local high school, according to the Cape Cod Times.
The daughter of abolitionist Quakers, Gardner went down to the South to continue teaching, the Cape Cod Times reported. She taught free African Americans during and after the Civil War and went on to develop a school to train groups of teachers to teach Black students.
Nantucket’s refusal to admit Ross into high school in 1840 resulted in the first law in the United States guaranteeing equal access to education, according to the press release.
“The law passed in 1845 ensured the right to sue should any child in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts be ‘unlawfully excluded from any public school,’” according to the Nantucket Historical Association.
“The awarding of this posthumous honorary diploma to Ross is so very important because it affirms Nantucket Public Schools’ dedication to fostering an inclusive learning environment where every student has the opportunity to thrive,” Elizabeth Hallett Ed.D., the superintendent of Nantucket Public Schools, said in a statement.
“We not only celebrate Ross’s enduring impact on our community but also acknowledge our ongoing commitment toward educational equity and justice in our schools and on our island,” she added.
For Shantaw Bloise-Murphy, the director of culture and tourism for the town of Nantucket, awarding Ross her high school diploma is a significant moment in the town’s history, the press release read.
“Honoring Eunice Ross will mark an important moment in our community,” McCarthy said in a statement. “We have an opportunity to acknowledge the past, celebrate the life and contributions of a proud Nantucket native, and at long last right a wrong.”
