The Back Story of the Captain Vernon A. Richard H.S. of Fire and Life Safety
At 400 Pennsylvania Avenue, in Brooklyn, N.Y., stands a labor of love called the Captain Vernon A. Richard H.S. for Fire and Life Safety. This act did not involve building the high school, which occurred in 1922, but changing its name to honor Vernon Richard, a fallen African American NYC fireman who left home on September 11, 2001, never to return.
I didn’t know Vernon personally, but many of my former Marcy Project neighbors did, along with his high school sweetheart and wife, Dot, and sung his praises. He had the pedigree of man we were proud of: Brooklyn born, Boys H.S. alumnus, an Army vet with service in Vietnam, scored 95% on the lieutenant fire exam, becoming the first African American appointed to that rank. Father of two exceptional children, Vernon II and Vernessa. What was not to love about Vernon?
In 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, a group of online friends decided to get a New York City school named after our hero. An impossible task to some, but not for those well-versed in overcoming barriers as former residents of an NYC housing project.
The journey started with emails and phone calls to community politicians and school principals who either didn’t respond or said, “not interested.” Writing Change.Org petitions. Switching our initial goal from renaming an elementary school to renaming a charter school. Obtaining PTA association approval. Incessant online meetings, phone calls, and just when we thought we had achieved our goal, we hit a brick wall. The charter school we selected had only existed for eight years and wasn’t eligible for a name change bringing us back to Square One.
I was personally devastated, but Vernon’s family, including his widow, Dot, was gracious, understanding, and appreciated the group’s efforts.
During the next three years, life and its calamities happened. Dot received a terminal diagnosis. I was amid an ugly divorce, and my relationship with some of the group’s members had changed. Yet, during all this chaos, a quiet voice told me to dust off the dream of getting a school named after Vernon and try again.
The first glimmer of hope came from Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, Vernon’s alma mater. They provided a wall monument in their library to display some of Vernon’s NYC Fire Department paraphernalia. Then, through some miracle, I ran into some NYC Firemen in the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., and asked for their support. One of them knew Vernon, personally.
A retired female of NYFD contacted me via social media and recommended that we get the “fire department high school” renamed after Vernon. I didn’t know one existed, but it made perfect sense. More letters, more emails, more phone calls, and navigation of bureaucratic tape ensued. Gratefully, the result of our hard work was the approval of the name change from the school’s principal (James Anderson), the Fire Commissioner (Daniel A. Nigro), and the NYC School Chancellor (Carmen Farina). On June 30, 2016, our beloved hero, Captain Vernon A. Richard received the honor he rightfully deserved.
Fourteen months later, Vernon’s widow, Dot, joined her husband in heaven and was buried two days after my birthday.
On June 22, 2017, FDNY The Captain Vernon A. Richard graduated 34 students who received their diplomas at the FDNY Training Academy on Randall’s Island. Additionally, NYSED.gov reported that in 2018-2019, the school had a graduation rate of 81% of its 278 students with a college, career, and civic readiness at level 3 out 4. Those statistics made me burst into tears.
The events of 9/11 taught us that although you kill a man’s body, you will never kill their legacy of greatness. Thank you, Vernon, for a life well-lived, and for your Supreme Sacrifice.
