“Several alumni of color and BLA alumni have experienced discrimination and other offenses.”
Upset by what they characterize as a deliberate attempt to exclude large groups of people from their alumni association, graduates of Boston Latin Academy (BLA) have gone public with a campaign and petition calling attention to their issues with the governing board of the Girls’ Latin School/Boston Latin Academy Association. The plea states, “Stop the illegal exclusion of Boston Latin Academy graduates from our alumni association,” and details:
In spite of its clearly stated mission and its legal obligation to all of its members as a public charity, a small group of GLS graduates and board members has recently taken the following actions:
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In November, 2020, Sent a written survey to Girl’s Latin School graduates asking them if they wish to continue the association’s financial support of Boston Latin Academy;
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Excluded all Boston Latin Academy graduates from written communications concerning the association’s business, and instead only communicated with Girls’ Latin School graduates;
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Refused to disclose the organization’s current by-laws to Boston Latin Academy graduates in violation of M.G.L. c. 180 section 17;
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On December 8, 2020, Held an election for board member positions over Zoom by muting the 93 members in attendance and only permitting 6 GLS members the ability to speak who then nominated and voted themselves into all of the open board positions;
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Seized control of all board positions, and therefore the organization’s finances, and excluded all Boston Latin Academy graduates, men and people of color from board positions despite the fact that many applied for the open positions.
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The petition also notes, “The Girls’ Latin School/Boston Latin Academy Association, Inc. is a public charity governed by M.G.L c. 180 and Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). According to its Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth and its tax filings with the IRS, the organization’s mission is to promote and support academic excellence at Boston Latin Academy (formerly called Girls’ Latin School).”
And continues, “Please sign our petition and stop the exclusion of Boston Latin Academy graduates from our association. Please support our call for an open, honest and inclusive election for board positions and an association that represents all of its members.”
According to school materials, “Boston Latin Academy was established in 1878 as Girls’ Latin School, the first college preparatory high school for girls in the United States.” The name was changed to Boston Latin Academy in the mid-’70s. The alumni who appear to be excluding BLA grads attended the school prior to 1978.
According to one alumnus who reached out to DigBoston, “Several alumni of color and BLA alumni have experienced discrimination and other offenses.” Another person, a BLA teacher and alumna, added, “I really am worried for the future of our association and our students’ connections with it. There is so much more that our association could be doing for alumni and current students. I have tried to help before to no avail. I’ve reached out to the association in the past to offer my help and I got no response.”
The head of the Girls’ Latin School/Boston Latin Academy Association did not respond to a request for comment.
Read a timeline of events provided by the petitioners here
Read a letter further explaining the events leading up to the petition here
A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
