A Warrior for Human Rights

CHILDHOOD LESSONS

As a child, Borah lived in a diverse area of East Chicago before moving to Calumet City. 

“At that time, (Calumet City) was considered a Polish city. If you were Polish, you went to St. Andrew School. If you were Italian or Irish, you went to St. Victor,” he said. Despite being Italian, Borah’s mother sent her three sons to St. Andrew because they could walk there.

 

“Of course, we were these Italian kids in a wave of blonde hair.” He learned at an early age about different segregations. 

“The number one question I received even as a boy was what is your nationality … I had the benefit of having a multicultural family. One side was urban and from East Chicago – Italian immigrants – a large family that was very vocal, spontaneous and Catholic. Then I had the other German side that were rural farmers and Methodist.”

Borah’s mom was open in regard to her boys participating in religion and activities with both sides of the family. He said this, coupled with living in the multicultural Region, led them to understand several cultures. 

Working as a newspaper delivery boy and, later, in the steel mills, he learned how to accept diversity before diversity was a topic people talked about. 

“Once you got over initial suspicions, you learned you had a lot in common,” he said.

Several different neighborhood groups helped his own family in times of need.

“When you’re indebted already to multiple nationalities and races, you see the beauty of it. And then when you then go to an environment where sameness and uniformity is a demand, you begin to see how limiting that is and how bad it is.”

BISHOP NOLL CONNECTIONS

Noll provided Borah with a welcoming environment where he actively participated in student council, theater and choir. He formed lasting friendships and cherishes such memories as his award for Best Supporting Actor of 1966 in the “The Music Man,” an achievement he holds dear alongside his legal accolades.

“I loved my years at Bishop Noll,” he said. “In fact, many of those friends from back in the day are still very close today.”

Borah said bonding with classmates over extracurriculars was similar to his brothers bonding with his teammates in athletics, comparing both of his brothers to the Fonz and himself to Richie Cunnigham in “Happy Days.”

“I enjoyed being active. I enjoyed being around my classmates and I laughed. Compared to my brothers, who had fun in sports. I had the same fun in different areas.”

Borah said several teachers at Noll helped shape his early years, especially Mr. La Vaque, Mr. Huffine, Mr. Breckel, Father Dominic and Sister Julian.

“There were special individuals at Bishop Noll,” he said. “I really liked the Christian Brothers when they taught. They were no-nonsense. They were good teachers.” 

He also credits Mrs. Dorothy LaMere with opening his eyes to Shakespeare and said she may have even spurred him toward a law career when she made him read “Merchant of Venus.” 

“As a 14-year-old, it opened my eyes,” he said. 

COLLEGE AND BEYOND

A year after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Borah headed to college in Memphis, Tenn. He was the second in his family to go to college at a time when most students did not go to college. In college, he became heavily involved with the civil rights movement in the South and was chairman of the Tennessee delegation of the National Student Association. In the summer following Kent State, his association assisted in the organization of a national march on Washington, D.C., against the Vietnam War.

He has lived in Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee. In Arkansas, he practiced law, representing the poor in court. In Alaska, he won a constitutional case. In Illinois, he spearheaded free legal work for the AIDS impacted. He helped develop the pro bono program in Markham and became president of the South Suburban Bar Association.

“There are a lot of advantages as a lawyer to staying in your home state and networking, but I was adventurous,” Borah said. “One time I got a phone call from my brother in Alaska and he invited me up. I sent out my resumes, and I had three or four offers, so I moved.”

In 1987, he returned to Illinois and started his own law firm. He currently lives in Chicago. In 2009, the governor of Illinois selected him as a judge with the Illinois Human Rights Commission.

“You watch the news every day and you always hear people discussing discrimination, retaliation, harassment. My cases are exclusively concerning those areas,” said Borah, who previously practiced employment law. “We’re not just talking about employment. We are talking about major areas of discrimination in employment, finance, public accommodation, schools and then retaliation. There are a lot of types of harassment and bullying – I'm hearing those cases which affect people every day.”

ADVICE TO FELLOW WARRIORS

Borah encourages his classmates and current Noll students to enjoy life.

“I am loving it. I especially encourage the students to stay optimistic. When I was a young person, I worried about grades. I worried about my career, my social life, being liked and disliked. Dumping people and being dumped. When you’re growing up, you don’t feel as handsome as you are because you see every flaw and blemish. Until you see old pictures, then you go, ‘I wasn't that bad.’ In many respects, that’s just the baptism of fire which is youth, and it does get better. There’s a lot of adventures out there for you.”

He said each generation deals with its strife, whether it was the Great Depression and World War II during his parents’ youth or Vietnam and the AIDS crisis during his own.

“There’s something to be optimistic about if you look upon it as available opportunities,” he said. “Every generation has its difficulties, but I still see a lot of pictures of my folks during these tough times when they were young, dancing and laughing. You’ll see my Woodstock generation and the great fun we had.”

Borah plans to continue his work on the commission as long as possible. 

“I hear if you retire, you get to do what you want, but I am doing what I want. I’m enjoying it, and let fate take me where it takes me.”