When Shirley Shapiro was a 21-year-old student at Boston University, she took a stand against discrimination, and now, 69 years later, she is being recognized for following her conscience.
Shapiro, 90, told the Concord Journal that when she was a music student at the university, she was invited to join the Mu Phi Epsilon fraternity. She was excited to be part of the organization, until she found out black students were not allowed to join the BU chapter. "Who wants to join a group like that?" she asked. She went on to teach second and fourth grade in Boston for 32 years, and when her nephew Mark Shapiro found out what she did all those years ago, he contacted Rosemary Ames, the international president of Mu Phi Epsilon.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Floral afternoon teas to enjoy during the Chelsea Flower ShowThe Week Recommends These are the prettiest spots in the city to savour a traditional treat
-
How to plan a trip along the Mississippi RiverThe Week Recommends See this vital waterway from the Great River Road
-
Sudoku medium: May 15, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
