Tulare Lake, which didn鈥檛 exist mere months ago, could overwhelm a town and two state prisons. To meet the challenge, local, state, and even federal agencies are having to work together.
Last week, Otis Taylor finally received his high school diploma in his 70s.聽
Mr. Taylor, a celebrated blues musician, was the guest of honor at Manual High School in Denver. The occasion was more than just a graduation ceremony. It was an act of atonement.聽
In 1966, Manual High School expelled Mr. Taylor after he refused an ultimatum.
鈥溾楥ut your hair, or you won鈥檛 graduate,鈥欌 recalls Mr. Taylor in a phone call. 鈥淚t was very simple.鈥
His hair wasn鈥檛 that long, just a little fluffy on the sides. But administrators at the mostly Black school targeted students, including white hippies, who weren鈥檛 regulars at a barber shop. Back then, Mr. Taylor stood out as different. He was a Black kid who played a banjo while riding a unicycle. The teenager listened to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Muddy Waters.聽
Asked what happened after he was expelled, the musician offers a wry response: 鈥淚 just became Otis Taylor.鈥
The nonconformist artist has released 16 albums, including the 2023 release 鈥淏anjo ...鈥 His hard-to-classify sound, which he dubs 鈥渢rance blues,鈥 centers around the banjo. The songwriter is drawn to exploring injustices faced by Native Americans and African Americans. But his unconventional approach kept him out of the mainstream. His belated breakthrough came in 2009 when director Michael Mann featured the song 鈥淭en Million Slaves鈥 in the movie 鈥淧ublic Enemies.鈥 More recently, the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tennessee, has also recognized Mr. Taylor鈥檚 work. Now, the musician鈥檚 alma mater has made amends for failing to support the musician鈥檚 individuality.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the antithesis to who we are as Manual today, that type of discrimination,鈥 says school principal Joe Glover in a phone call. 鈥淣ow we embrace that creativity. We embrace that uniqueness. ... You could tell this was meaningful and powerful for him.鈥
Mr. Taylor doesn鈥檛 begrudge choosing an unusual path in life.
鈥淚 have two kids. A beautiful wife, married for 37 years,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hy should I have regrets?鈥
Describing the graduation ceremony as a surreal experience, Mr. Taylor jokes, 鈥淣ow I can apply for the Berklee school of music.鈥澛
Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated to correct an error about Mr. Taylor鈥檚 race. He is Black.