Illinois Man Denied Diploma to Receive It 55 Years Later

Alva Earley will finally get his Galesburg High School diploma Friday at a reunion for the class of 1959

An African-American man from Galesburg, Illinois, is set to receive his high school diploma 55 years after it was wrongfully denied to him.

Alva Earley will finally get his Galesburg High School diploma Friday at a reunion for the class of 1959.

The school district denied Earley his diploma because he attended a picnic at North Lake Storey Park, which was off limits to black people at the time. Early said his lack of a diploma prompted two colleges that accepted him to send letters rescinding their offers.

"I was out! Twelve years of hard work, and with one sentence I was out," he said.

After he was rejected from several other colleges, Earley was ultimately admitted to Knox College in Galesburg. But he was only able to complete two years of school because of money and housing problems.

Earley eventually returned to college and graduated with a bachelor of science from the University of Illinois. He then received a doctor of jurisprudence degree from Chicago Kent Illinois Institute of Technology and a doctor of divinity degree from Northwestern University.

Although he had two doctorates and a law career, Earley said he was denied a job with the federal government because he didn't have the high school diploma.

Galesburg Superintendent Bart Arthur said he hopes that the presentation of Earley's diploma will make up for some of the injustice.

"This school board is doing the right thing when they don't have to, and I am very grateful for that," Earley said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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