By:Anthony Rifilato
It hasn't been a great year for basketball at Chaminade, said Michael, a junior, but if he had to choose between a school with a better basketball team than one with an outstanding academic record, he would choose the latter.
A National Honors Society student, Michael's sights are set on medical school, and he doesn't take his education for granted, something the elder Fisher, 58, a former Hempstead Town Board member and Nassau deputy county executive, has worked to instill in his children.
"He wants us to do the best we can," said Michael of his dad. "I'm proud of him."
After all, these opportunities were elusive to Fisher and other embattled African-Americans 40 years ago, as they struggled with segregation, racism and economic disadvantages that made going to college a great challenge.
"I remember being stopped by the police when I was 17 for no reason," said Fisher, who grew up in the Lakeview section of Malverne and said he remembers the turbulent 1960s. "I came through the 1960s. I've been through it all."
But after high school, Fisher's life was forever changed when, in 1964, he was tapped by Hofstra University, who noticed his athletic ability, to enroll in a new program begun that year called New Opportunities at Hofstra (NOAH), which is aimed at helping disadvantaged youth and minorities gain a college education.
On Sat., Feb. 21, NOAH celebrated its 40th anniversary at Leonard's of Great Neck, and Fisher said the program's success has allowed students' such as himself who otherwise wouldn't have been able to go to college achieve the American dream. Today, NOAH helps 25 to 30 students in the program earn undergraduate degrees and pays, along with other financial assistance, about 90 percent of college costs for five years.
"Now it's been 40 years," said Fisher. "It's unbelievable."
Getting a college education had seemed unbelievable to Fisher at one point in his life. Although he was a sports star at Malverne High School, which was predominantly white, Fisher's father, a construction worker, had passed away in 1964 and the family had to go on welfare. The eldest of six kids, Fisher became a role model and helped his mom raise his siblings.
"I wanted to stay home because my mother needed help," Fisher said.
As a captain of the basketball team as well as his outstanding performances on the football and baseball fields, Fisher had sparked the interest of local colleges, including Hofstra. But because of the unfortunate position his family was in, paying for college seemed impossible.
But the school had recently instituted NOAH, a program meant to create more equal opportunities for minorities, and was looking for eligible participants, including students with average grades who had not been able to demonstrate their academic potential in high school. For Fisher, it was a second chance, and he enrolled as the first student in the program, one of 12 students during that first year, he said.
"If I remember correctly, we all graduated together," Fisher said.
Life at Hofstra back then was drastically different than the diverse campus that exists today, Fisher said. "Very rarely did you see another black person," said Fisher.
But Fisher made strides as a politically conscious student on campus, and became involved with university organizations and even joined a fraternity, UGA, along with two other black athletes, and said that they were the first ever to pledge.
"It was unique that they even asked us to pledge," said Fisher.
Fisher, who majored in business and later received his master's degree in education from Hofstra, said he was one of the first NOAH graduates.
Since then, Fisher married his wife, Dr. Marilyn A. Robertson-Fisher, and has two sons who attend Chaminade and two who attend St. Christopher's School in Baldwin. He also has a daughter who is a teacher in Maryland.
Fisher himself has been a teacher and school administrator in Nassau and Suffolk counties. In 1993, he was elected to the Hempstead Town Board, the first African-American to do so.
"In Nassau County there was a gap between ethnic groups," said Fisher. "I wanted to make a change."
Fisher retired from politics last year and now runs his own consultancy business that advises high-profile clients such as Fortunoff about cultural issues. He attributes his success to hard work and the NOAH program.
"It's even more vital today," said Fisher. "It built the confidence in me that I wouldn't have received anywhere else."
