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Black Women as Activist Intellectuals: Ella Baker and Mae Mallory Combat Northern Jim Crow in New York City's Public Schools during the 1950s

Kristopher B. Burrell CUNY Hostos Community College

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THESTRANGE CAREERS OfTHE JIMCROW NORTH Segregation and Struggle outside of the South

EDITEDBY Brian Purnell ANOJeanne Theoharis, WITHKomozi Woodard CONTENTS

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Introduction. Histories of Racism and Resistance, Seen and Unseen: How and Why to Think about the Jim Crow North 1 Brian Purnelland Jeanne Theoharis 1. A Murder in Central Park: Racial Violence and the Crime NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS Wave in New York during the 1930s and 1940s ~ 43 New York www.nyupress.org Shannon King © 2019 by New York University 2. In the "Fabled Land of Make-Believe": Charlotta Bass and All rights reserved Jim Crow Los Angeles 67 References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or John S. Portlock changed since the manuscript was prepared. 3. Black Women as Activist Intellectuals: Ella Baker and Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mae Mallory Combat Northern Jim Crow in Names: Purnell, Brian, 1978- editor. I Theoharis, Jeanne, editor. I Woodard, Komozi, editor. 89 Title: The strange careers of the Jim Crow North : segregation and struggle outside of the New York City's Public Schools during the 1950s South / edited by Brian Purnell and Jeanne Theoharis, with Komozi Woodard. KristopherBryan Burrell Description: New York: New York University Press, [2019] I Includes bibliographical references and index. 4. Brown Girl, Red Lines, and Brownstones: Paule Marshall's Identifiers: LCCN 2018037657jISBN 9781479801312(cl: alk. paper) I Brown Girl,Brownstones, and the Jim Crow North 113 ISBN 9781479820337(pb: alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: African Americans-Civil rights-History-20th century. I Civil rights BalthazarI. Beckett movements-United States-History-20th century. I African Americans-Segregation­ 5. "Let Those Negroes Have Their Whiskey": White Backtalk History-2oth century. I Racism-United States-History-20th century. I United States-Race relations-History-20th century. I Northeastern States-Race relations­ and Jim Crow Discourse in the Era of Black Rebellion 139 History-2oth century. I Middle West-Race relations-History-20th century. IWest Laura WarrenHill (U.S.)-Race relations-History-20th century. Classification: Lee E185.61.s9143 2019 j nnc 323.1196/0730904-dc23 6. Segregation without Segregationists: How a White LC record available at https:/ /urldefense.proo(pointcom/V2/url?u=https-3A_lccn.loc.gov _ Community Avoided Integration 163 2018037657&d=DwIFAg&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeOog-IQ&r=gT953V 3c8BdcJV 4pugGa Wue Y1IXCnXKbUfECBSmo3jI&m=OM6f_RGB6AFJbX7ZQnlKZG-viPbauFZSSFMX8oxJF_ Mary Barr k&s=1_CPUgRHQfc_lwTdHSq9NQfCfj7TRZdbfxoBevJEW8M&e= 7. "You Are Running a de Facto Segregated University": Racial . Segregation and the City University of New York, 1961-1968 187 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials TahirH. Butt are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppli­ ers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books. 8. A Forgotten Community, a Forgotten History: Manufactured in the United States of America San Francisco's 1966 Urban Uprising 211 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Also available as an ebook Aliyah Dunn-Salahuddin

V ilding Peace;' Daily Worker,September 3

Tireless Leadership;' CE, October 26, Black Women as Activist Intellectuals th · e Campaign Committee, October 27, Records, University oflowa Special Col- Ella Baker and Mae Mallory Combat Northern Jim Crow in New York City'sPublic Schoolsduring the l 950s ·_,., I, 173. 1efor Both Major Parties:' New York KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL Alliance;" PC, April 5, 1952, 29_ :' LAS, March 13, 1952,A1; Bass, «I Ac-

Dinner, April 18, 1952;' Additions- Box • Southern California Library for Social , Introduction - 14, 1952, 2. The year is 1955. Imagine a city where, in 70 percent of public schools, ,s;' July 5, 1950, Box 12, Folder 50, over 85 percent of the students belonged to one racial group. 1 Zoning :owa Special Collection and University policies funneled children from racially homogenous neighborhoods into racially homogenous public schools. Residential patterns, brought ~48, 1. on by racial segregation in housing, created a system whereby an Folder 50, Progressive Party Records, University Archives. overwhelming majority of underutilized public schools were in pre­ dominantly white areas, and the most overcrowded, overutilized schools were in predominantly black areas. The city's racial and ethnic minori­ ties lived concentrated and clustered in a handful of neighborhoods. Thus, the demographics of public schools in those areas exhibited high levels of racial and ethnic concentrations clustered into specific schools. Imagine that this racial isolation, concentration, and clustering occurred outside of the city's central commercial, manufacturing, and industrial districts. Such an urban sc)lool system would, by definition, exhibit elements of what the sociologists Nancy Denton and Douglas Massey called "hyper-segregation:' 2 One year prior, the Supreme Court had unanimously declared that such a public school system was unconstitu­ tional, and that it must racially desegregate. The above scenario of hyper-segregation described public schools not in the Deep South but in ground zero of the Jim Crow North: liberal, cosmopolitan New York City. In 1954, despite laws that forbade racially segregated schools, New York City had racially hyper-segregated public schools to the same degree as Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Tallahas- 90 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL see, St. Louis, and cities in the seventeen states that legally mandated Jim Crow public schools. As Tahir Butt shows in his essay in this book, racial a segregation in Jim Crow New York's education system followed African Americans all the way up through the public university. 3 In Jim Crow New York, hyper-segregated black public schools were housed in old buildings, had staffs with fewer licensed and full-time teachers, and had larger class sizes. Overcrowding mandated that stu­ dents typically only attended school on half-day schedules to accom­ modate two differnet cohorts. As a result of all these inequities, black students usually scored lower on standardized te_sts.4 In fact, at the con­ clusion of their high school careers, less than 0.2 percent of black gradu­ ates were prepared to attend college. 5 Activist-intellectuals in New York knew these facts. Through an array n of organizations and social movements, they worked to ameliorate the dis­ parities produced by the city's history ofJim Crow racism. During the de­ tJ cade after Brown,the Reverend Milton A. Galamison waged a decade-long struggle for racial integration in New York City's public schools. For years, f the radical activist Annie Stein worked with Galamison's Parents Work­ l, shop for Equality and the Public Education Association, and investigated s how hyper-racial segregation of New York'sneighborhoods caused gross \ inequities in predominantly black public schools. During the early 1960s, r the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality staged a one­ family sit-in at a predominantly white school to highlight the racial in­ equalities in all-black and Puerto Rican schools throughout the borough. During a city-wide school boycott in 1964, over four hundred thousand students were absent to protest the city's Jim Crow education system. Dur­ ing the mid- to late 1960s, city-wide movements for community control advanced earlier movements for equity and justice in New York'sJim Crow education system. These were movements initiated and led by, for the most part, unsung "local'' people. 6 "Grassroots activists not only acted:' Jeanne Theoharis and Komozi Woodard argue, but they also "theorized for them­ selves and tailored global ideas to suit their local circumstances:' 1 Black women were central to this struggle to desegregate New York City's Jim Crow education system as theorists, organizers, advocates, and mothers. 8 During the 1950s, Ella Baker and Mae Mallory, two black women activist-intellectuals, crossed paths around education inequity. Baker, who later helped form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commit- BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS j 91 ttes that legally mandated Jim -. tee, emerged as a key activist and theorist in New York City's battles n his essay in this book, racial against Jim Crow in schools. She organized conferences, served on tion system followed African city committees, and led key organizations. 9 Mallory exercised a more 3 lie university. •; direct-action form of protest. She sued the New York City Board of ~d black public schools were Education (BOE) for maintaining a Jim Crow education system. Both ewer licensed and full-time women wrote letters, made public statements, and marched. Like other rowding mandated that stu­ black women activist-intellectuals in the black freedom struggle, they alf-day schedules to accom­ compelled city leaders to acknowledge the existence of the Jim Crow of all these inequities, black North. As black women, they understood that this work required an ied tests. 4 In fact, at the con­ intellectual agility born of wide reading, organizational and personal ex­ n 0.2 percent of black gradu- perience, and ideological pragmatism. As needed, Baker and Mallory al­ tered their strategies, organizational affiliations, and partnerships. They :hese facts. Through an array merged revolutionary activity with adaptable praxis to combat Jim Crow worked to ameliorate the dis­ in a region where political leaders claimed that systemic racial segrega­ Crow racism. During the de­ tion did not exist. 10 _amisonwaged a decade-long ·Baker and Mallory's work as activist-intellectuals was especially im­ ty's public schools. For years, portant given the particular nature of northern Jim Crow racism. White

1 Galamison's Parents Work­ leaders and city institutions in the North attempted to hide their de jure \ssociation, and investigated segregation in plain sight. Rather than acknowledge how racism per­ neighborhoods caused gross vaded policies and institutions, like public education, they argued that ools. During the early 1960s, racial inequality emerged from black people's poor behavior and culture. icial Equality staged a one­ They used the South's laws as the exemplar of racism in America, and )1 to highlight the racial in­ pointed to the Jim Crow North's antidiscrimination laws as evidence of ::>lsthroughout the borough. progress. Mallory and Baker laid bare the lies that segregation did not ,ver four hundred thousand exist in New York, that city leaders had nothing to do with it, and that :row education system. Dur­ nothing could be done to fix the Jim Crow North. ents for community control Just like in the South, northern cities and states relegated blacks to a )tice in New York'sJim Crow second-class status through an effective combination oflaws, policies, lated and led by, for the most and customs. An ethos of"color-blindness;' became ensconced in north­ vists not only acted;' Jeanne _ernlaw, language, policy, ideology, and custom through the formulation ey also "theorized for them - of "de facto" segregation, a rhetorical invention that emerged after the ocal circumstances:' 7 Black Brown v. Board decision, 11 and absolved northern cities of responsibil­ ;regate New York City's Jim ity to eradicate racial segregation because whatever separation existed ·s, advocates, and mothers. 8 happened accidentally and unintentionally. In the Jim Crow North, sup­ fallory, two black women posedly "color-blind" postal zones determined school districting. Re­ education inequity. Baker, strictive covenants, redlining, and violence caused housing segregation, ·nt Coordinating Commit- but "color-blindness" became a masking agent that made Jim Crow in 92 j KRllTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL

the North more elusive, although not less insidious and destructive, than in the battle to de southern Jim Crow. stitutional experi( The ethos of "color-blindness" helped New York'spoliticians and bu­ through her activ: reaucrats feign ignorance about the unequal effects of their policies on Ella Baker and black citizens.12New York's Democratic mayor, Robert Wagner, for ex­ activism and theo ample, characterized his ·city at midcentury as a democracy where all part of an impor1 nationalities could thrive. 13City officials also refuted charges of "seg­ challenged the m regation;' blaming "separation" 14 on impersonal market forces. News and that black w• media often downplayed, or ignored, widespread discriminatory prac­ cial equality. Mal tices.15Mae Mallory and Ella Baker had to develop ways to think about the quality of pul racism in the Jim Crow North, and activist practices for fighting against holding city leadE it. They rejected the premise of de facto segregation, and called the city's York City. public school system a Jim Crow system. In doing so, Baker and Mallory argued that Jim Crow was national in scope. The Need to "M At least four themes shaped Mallory's and Baker's intellectual activ­ ism against educational inequality in the Jim Crow North. The first was Twenty years bef ,personal. Mallory had two children attending public schools during the in New York Ci~ 1950s. Because of the inferior public schools in Harlem, Baker chose a ist George Schu) private school for the niece she raised. 16Second, communal connec­ Here, she honed tions and relationships fueled their intellectual-activist work. Mallory and molded the · credited female family members and teachers with fostering her agile, 1940s, she becarr action-oriented philosophy. Ella Baker's mother, Georgianna, was an throughout the c abiding influence on her sense of self and duty. As a young woman in New York City, Harlem, Baker also developed relationships with black women activ­ president of the ists, such as Pauli Murray, Marvel Cooke, Anna Arnold Hedgeman, seat on the City and Dorothy Height, that sustained her and helped her grow intellec­ career as an act tually.17 Third was their education. After high school, Mallory taught She needed botr. herself about communism, black nationalism, and racial liberalism, 18 thorny issue of s tailoring these "global ideas" to her "local circumstances" of New York By the 1950s, City. Baker graduated valedictorian from Shaw University. Later, she Rican children l studied labor history and social movements. Baker and Mallory, both Harlem, Bedfor broad learners, became strategic activist-thinkers. Last was their pasts the city's Board as political organizers. Baker had been codirector of the Young Negroes' marshalled evi Cooperative League (YNCL) during the 1930s, national field organizer schools. In corr for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People black school bu (NAACP) during the 1940s, and president and Education Chair of the lacking in book New York NAACP during the 1950s. Mallory connected with Ella Baker or school nurse BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS I 93

,idious and destructive, than i.nthe battle to desegregate schools, but possessed much less formal in­ stitutional experience, and learned most about how to mobilize people w York's politicians and bu- through her activism. 1 effects of their polic)es on Ella Baker and Mae Mallory are part of a tradition of black women's yor, Robert Wagner, for ex­ activism and theorizing. 19 Their work in New York during the 1950s was , as a democracy where all part of an important era in the history of the city and the nation that so refuted charges of "seg­ challenged the notion that Jim Crow did not exist outside the South, sonal market forces. News and that black women could not be out front leading an effort for ra­ Jread discriminatory prac­ cial equality. Mallory and Baker helped build a movement to improve . evelop ways to think about the quality of public education for black and Puerto Rican children by :actices for fighting against holding city leaders accountable for the Jim Crow school system in New gation, and called the city's York City. )ing so, Baker and Mallory

The Need to "Move from Debate to Direct Action'' Baker's intellectual activ­ Crow North. The first was Twenty years before Brown, Ella Baker fought for school desegregation public schools during the in New York City. During the 1930s, she collaborated with the journal­ in Harlem, Baker chose a ist George Schuyler to build the Young Negroes' Cooperative League. ond, communal connec­ Here, she honed her skills in the "mechanics of movement-building;' al-activist work. Mallory and molded the YNCI:s commitments to gender equality.20 During the ; with fostering her agile, 1940s, she became national field o~ganizer for the NAACP and traveled her, Georgianna, was an throughout the country. All that time, she maintained a connection with -:y.As a young woman in New York City, and in the early 1950s, Baker became the first female vith black women activ­ president of the Manhattan NAACP. She even ran, unsuccessfully, for a nna Arnold Hedgeman, seat on the City Council as a Liberal Party candidate. Throughout her elped her grow intellec- career as an activist and organizer, Baker built trust and friendships. t school, Mallory taught She needed both during the 1950s,when she turned her attention to the and racial liberalism, 18 thorny issue of school segregation in New York City.21 1mstances" of New York By the 1950s, the struggle for quality education for black and Puerto w University. Later, she Rican children had been underway for two decades. Parent groups in :aker and Mallory, both Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Williamsburg had protested against ers. Last was their pasts the city's Board of Education (BOE) during the 1930s and 1940s. They 1rof the Young Negroes' marshalled evidence that proved the inferiority of their children's national field organizer schools. In comparison with white schools, black parents uncovered, 1ent of Colored People black school buildings were old and in disrepair, poorly equipped, and Education Chair of the lacking in books and supplies. Black students went without hot lunches, mected with Ella Baker or school nurses. Their classrooms were overcrowded. Schools lacked 94 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL yards and gyms. The Bedford-Stuyvesant-Williamsburg Schools Coun­ her NAACP collea: cil found that school overcrowding led to half-day schedules, and that the-ground activit~ their schools lacked sufficient full-time teachers with proper certifica­ conference was no tion. Parents' investigations also revealed that some teachers exhibited disregard of black; bigoted and racist behavior towards students. 22 pants to act on the In 1954, Ella Baker immersed herself in organizations committed to Baker was cert fighting Jim Crow in New York City's public schools, which connected was more hesitan· her to a broad network of activists and intellectuals. She chaired the NAACP's litigatic Manhattan NAACP's Education Committee, and, along with Dr. Ken­ wanted to maintai: neth Clark, the prominent child psychologist, she served as a member for changes to pub of the Intergroup Committee on New York's Public Schools (IC). Baker's gation. Her idealis involvement in established institutions, and her diverse connections to public schools wi activists who may have disagreed in their political philosophies (some volvement in imp 30 were Marxists, others were liberals, others were black nationalists) but children. remained united on the need to break the power of New York's racially In her battle ag segregated education system, signaled her ability to facilitate pragmatic to get close to the political solutions. To become an effective activist in the fight against activist idealism. Jim Crow schools in New York City, Baker needed to possess strong but Baker accepted a nimble ideals, and deep appreciation for practical outcomes. Baker and Kenne The IC, an umbrella organization representing groups concerned with examining a for the welfare of New York City's children, became an important labo­ recommendation ratory for Baker's idealism and pragmatism. 23 In April, she and Clark to believe that sh organized a conference entitled "Children Apart: The Effects of Segre­ derstood that she gation on the Educational Future of Young People in New York's Pub­ the BOE. Baker a, lic Schools." Clark delivered the conference's keynote address, which reports for the su' outlined the existence of racially segregated schools in the city. Clark In the next ye: argued, "There is strong suggestive evidence that the educational stan­ BOE's own Com dards and achievement of Negro children in the New York City Public highlighted uneq Schools are declining [compared to the 193os]:'24 Baker helped organize While the report the conference's events, and drafted some of the literature distributed to black activists ha, the nearly two hundred activists, social workers, educators, and parents black and Puerto in attendance. 25 The information illustrated the BOE's willful neglect cation system. of black students, as "some Negro children [had] been illegally placed Black and Pue in classes for the mentally retarded:' 26 A few weeks later, the Supreme dated facilities a.r Court handed down Brown I. curriculum. Tuer The Brown decision ·signaled to Ella Baker that the time had come to were more likely 1 "move from debate to direct action:>21Conferences and debates among of intellectual ca1 .. BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS j 95

amsburg Schools Coun­ her NAACP colleagues had value, but not at the expense of tangible on­ ·day schedules, and that the-ground activity. For Ella Baker, the purpose of the "Children Apart" rs with proper certifica­ conference was not just to expose the Board of Education's intentional mme teachers exhibited disregard of black and Puerto Rican youth but also to prime the partici­ pants to act on the Supreme Court's ruling. 28 nizations committed to Baker was certainly ready to move, even if the national NAACP hools, which connected was more hesitant in "liberal;' "color-blind" New York. The national ctuals. She chaired the NAACP's litigation had focused on the South, and national leaders td, along with Dr. Ken­ wanted to maintain amicable relations with city leaders.29 Baker pushed he served as a member for changes to public education that included much more than desegre­ lie Schools (IC). Baker's gation. Her idealism connected an end to Jim Crow in New York City's r.,,. diverse connections to public schools with better child-welfare policies and community in­ cal philosophies (some volvement in improving public education for black ~nd Puerto Rican black nationalists) but children. 30 r of New York's racially In her battle against Jim Crow in New York, Ella Baker worked hard ' to facilitate pragmatic to get close to the levers of political power without compromising her •ist in the fight against activist idealism. To improve the quality of education for black youth, d to possess strong but Baker accepted a position on the BOE's Commission on Integration. 1 outcomes. Baker and Kenneth Clark were two of the thirty-seven people tasked ing groups concerned with examining all aspects of the public school system and providing me an important labo- recommendations to improve the schools. Baker was not so na'ive as 1 April, she and Clark to believe that she had been appointed for altruistic reasons. She un­ : The Effects of Segre­ derstood that she had been chosen, in part, to blunt her criticisms of •lein New York's Pub­ the BOE. Baker accepted the appointment, nevertheless, and worked on -ynote address, which reports for the subcommissions on zoning and teacher placement. ools in the city. Clark In the next year, the Public Education Association (PEA), and the the educational stan- BOE's own Commission in Integration (CI), issued statements that New York City Public highlighted unequal conditions throughout New York City's schools. 31 Baker helped organize While the reports were controversial, it was impossible to deny what terature distributed to black activists had pointed out for years: the BOE systematically harmed ducators, and parents black and Puerto Rican children by perpetuating a Jim Crow public edu­ BOE's willful neglect cation system. been illegally placed Black and Puerto Ricap. children, in addition to encountering dilapi­ ks later, the Supreme dated facilities and less qualified teachers, suffered from a less rigorous curriculum. There were fewer classes for "gifted" children, black children the time had come to were more likely to be put into "retarded" classes, and teacher expectations ·s and debates among of intellectual capacity were often much lower of black and Puerto Rican 96 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL .. children than of white children. 32 While white children circumvented stand up for herself, zoning restrictions to avoid attending predominantly black schools on son. When she was 1 the borders of their districts, black and Puerto Rican students remained feed her and other t virtually locked into inferior schools with few means of escape. 33 maggots. Mallory sl. When it came to turning any of the Cl's recommendations into BOE owner then slapped : policy, such as redrawing school zones to encourage integration or mov­ told her she was er: ing teachers to correct imbalances in teacher staffing, the BOE balked. 34 lory's cousin comm2 For example, although the Board of Education established a Central hit the white girl ba Zoning Unit in July 1957 at the Cl's suggestion, Superintendent Jansen showed up at her c gave it no authgrity to implement the recommendations of Baker's sub­ cousin protected he commission. Zoning decisions remained in the hands of district super­ absurd way to the a< intendents, and permissive zoning for the purposes of integration was a very young age, th not permitted. The "neighborhood school" policy remained in effect. Mae Mallory's fii Rose Shapiro, the chair of the zoning subcommission, asserted that the her pupils possesse◄ zoning report was "altered substantially after the public hearing:' Other to stand tall:' Mall commission recommendations were also ignored. 35 came from he; sch< So, Baker pursued educational and child-welfare policies through the shoulders thrown l: NAACP, and as a member of the Commission on Integration, but also Is Mine, The Worl­ as the head of Parents in Action Against Educational Discrimination instilled in her cha (PAAED), a grassroots organization of black and Puerto Rican parents realize that a persc that she would mobilize in Harlem. Her involvement on the CI and the and schools, shape• NAACP honed her skills and intellect as a pragmatist, and her leader­ Mallory develoJ ship within the PAAED readied her for direct action in a more con­ mother moved tht frontational fight against Jim Crow New York. The direct-action protest dealt with racial s involved different types of activists from the ones, like Clark, whom came from Georgi Baker worked with to craft policy proposals and study the nature of New cotton. When Mall York's Jim Crow public school system. Direct protest against racial seg­ that her assumptio regation in New York City's schools relied on countless "local people": dismissed Mallory civic agitators who insisted that racism in schools hurt black children high school a teac and that black children deserved better treatment and opportunities. race, and Mallory Perhaps the most important example of such an activist in New York posed Mallory to l City during the 1950s was Mae Mallory.36 racial inequality iI Mallory's activi two children. Dur Becoming a "Troublemaker" New York fought Mallory spent the early years of her life in Macon, Georgia, where she Her affiliation wit dealt with racism and white supremacy, but people encouraged her to expanded upon tl BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS I 97

~ children circumvented stand ~p for herself, and to believe she was as good as any white per­ inantly black schools on son. When she was three years old, a white female store owner tried to ucan students remained feed her and other black neighborhood children cheese crawling with :1eansof escape. 33 maggots. Mallory slapped the tray out of the woman's hand. The store mmendations into BOE owner then slapped Mallory, who ran home to her adult cousin. Mallory ·age integration or mov­ told her she was crying because the store owner's daughter and Mal­ ffing, the BOE balked. 34 lory's cousin commanded the little girl not to return home until she had 1 established a Central hit the white girl back. When Mallory complied, fifteen police officers Superintendent Jansen showed up at her cousin's home. Instead of backing down, Mallory's tdations of Baker's sub- eousin protected her. She told off the police for responding in such an 1ands of district super­ absurd way to the actions of a toddler. The experience taught Mallory, at )Ses of integration was a very young age, that black people deserved respect. 37 cy remained in effect. Mae Mallory's first elementary school principal also made sure that ,sion, asserted that the her pupils possessed self-esteem. "[T]his woman said to us that we had public hearing." Other to stand tall;' Mallory remembered. "She said that the children that 35 came from her school would face the world with their heads high, their ·e policies through the shoulders thrown back and they would walk to the tune of 'The World t Integration, but also Is Mine, The World Is Mine:" The gravity of what this black woman ional Discrimination instilled in her charges sunk in as Mallory matured. Mallory came to Puerto Rican parents realize that a person's environment, especially his or her communities ent on the CI and the and schools, shaped what kind of person he or she became. 38 atist, and her leader­ Mallory developed her defiance and sense of self-worth after her :tion in a more con­ mother moved the family to Brooklyn in 1939. In Brooklyn, Mallory direct-action protest dealt with racial stereotypes in school. On her first day, because she s, like Clark, whom came from Georgia, Mallory's white teacher assumed she had picked dy the nature of New cotton. When Mallory told the teacher she had never picked cotton, and st against racial seg­ that her assumptions about southern blacks were incorrect, the teacher .ttless "local people": dismissed Mallory and refused to readmit her without her mother. 39 In hurt black children high school a teacher told Mallory to sit in the last row because of her and opportunities. race, and Mallory refused. 40 These instances of self-advocacy predis­ :tivist in New York ppsed Mallory to stand up for her own children when they experienced racial inequality in school. Mallory's activism fit into her life as a working-class, single mother of two children. During the early 1950s, Mallory saw that Communists in New York fought for workers' rights and against racial discrimination. ]eorgia, where she Her affiliation with the Communist Party in New York was brief, but it encouraged her to expanded upon the knowledge she gained from family and community, 98 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL ' and strength!:!ned the intellectual basis upon which she thought about the improvement ol activism against structural discrimination. She dabbled in organizing to four hundred m with black nationalists, but found their inactivity and politics around public schools and gender unsatisfying. 41 educational practic Mallory moved between and within different groups. While she never fair share of the pie, settled on one ideology or approach as the only way to combat northern body else's;' Mallor· racism, her children's experiences made Mallory focus her activist ener­ something rather ti gies on the city's Jim Crow school system. One day Mallory's children came home from school and said their friend had been run over and Challenging City· killed outside the school. When Mallory investigated the incident, the principal speculated that the bereaved mother was better off. The dead During the 1950s, child meant one less mouth to feed. The principal made sure to mention ably believed the n to Mallory, however, that the school's "Sunshine Club" h~d taken the proved how, in her mother of the dead child groceries. Baker mobilized H The meeting incensed Mallory. How dare this man compare a bag of In developing PAP groceries to a black child's life! The principal's callousness opened her movement-buildir eyes to the school's dilapidated conditions and terrible smell. She learned parents how to bee that the building had two broken toilets for 1,650 students. Janitors ir­ matic, doctrinaire regularly used water to wash away the urine and excrement. 42 Why did right after the '54 d children attend a school like this? Mallory asked the principal. What was you had to help it n the principal doing about student safety and the building's condition? sion. They finally c His answers failed to satisfy her, so Mallory took matters into her own That realization hands. Mallory traveled to Albany to see Harlem's state assemblyman, In the three years a James C. Thomas, and she told the entire assembly about conditions in considered superinl her children's school. Her making noise in Albany inspired the principal to be untrustworth to fix the bathrooms. He then assailed Mallory as a Communist and a The BOE refused tc "troublemaker:' The principal wanted other parents to ostracize Mal­ would have allowed lory. "I hadn't related communism to the schools;' Mallory said in 1970. residential districts "I had only related communism to jobs:' But in New York during the sive zoning on a ve 1950s, in the eyes of people who defended racial inequalities, Mallory's to high schools, an, advocacy for black children's rights, or her work to ameliorate racist would be relatively practices within an institution, like her child's school, was tantamount next few years, it b to advocacy of communism. Mallory was not cowed and did not cave in ested in facilitating to these intimidation tactics. They emboldened her.43 the policy recomm Tired of empty talk, and desirous of substantive changes beyond two transfers were gran repaired toilets, in 1956Mallory and twelve other Harlem mothers formed Throughout 19'. the Parents Committee for Better Education (PC). The group demanded tendent Jansen, ar BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS I 99

•on which she thought about -theimprovement of conditions in Harlem's schools. The PC quickly grew 1. She dabbled in organizing to four hundred members. It documented deteriorating conditions in tactivity and politics around public schools and secured other forms of evidence that showed inferior educational practices in black neighborhoods. 44 "We were demanding a rent groups. While she never fair share of the pie, that our children be educated the same way as every­ mly way to combat northern body else's;' Mallory recalled. She and the PC "decided that we would do llory focus her activist. ener­ something rather than just sit and complain among ourselves:'45 One day Mallory's children end had been run over and tvestigated the incident, the Challenging City Hall ber was better off. The dead During the 1950s, Mallory surmised that many New Yorkers prob­ tcipal made sure to mention ably believed the maxim, "you can't fight city hall:' But she and Baker tshine Club" had taken the proved how, in her words, "you can challenge city hall:' 46 Mallory and Baker mobilized Harlem parents. Ella Baker worked on multiple fronts. this man compare a bag of In developing PAAED, Baker created an organization to implement a al's callousness opened her movement-building philosophy. With Parents in Action she showed :i terrible smell. She learned parents how to become leaders themselves. Baker never developed dog­ 1,650 students. Janitors ir­ matic, doctrinaire approaches to activism. "New York City didn't act and excrement. 42 Why did right after the '54 decision:' she said. "It didn't have any reason to act so :ed the principal. What was you had to help it realize it. I was asked to serve on the Mayor's Commis­ the building's condition? sion. They finally discovered the city wasn't integrated:' 47 'took matters into her own That realization did not result in significant policy changes, however. rlem's state assemblyman, In the three years after Brown, Baker and others became frustrated. They embly about conditions in considered superintendent of schools William Jansen, and the entire BOE, >anyinspired the principal to be untrustworthy on matters of racial segregation in the city's schools. ry as a Communist and a The BOE refused to implement proposals like permissive zoning, which parents to ostracize Mal- would have allowed students to attend schools of their choice outside their 1ols;'Mallory said in 1970. residential districts. In September of 1957,the BOE only adopted permis­ '. in New York during the sive zoning on a very limited basis. Permissive zoning would only apply :ial inequalities, Mallory's to high schools, and the schools had to have seats available, though there vork to ameliorate racist would be relatively few since school was just about to begin.48 Over the , school, was tantamount next few years, it became increasingly clear that the BOE was not inter­ :owed and did not cave in ested in facilitating school integration, as the board was not implementing 43 :l her. the policy recommendations of its own subcommissions. Few permissive ttive changes beyond two transfers were granted and primarily at the high school level.49 r Harlem mothers formed Throughout 1957, PAAED pressured Mayor Wagner and Superin­ C). The group demanded tendent Jansen, and accused them of using the same strategies of ob- 100 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL struction tMt southern school boards employed to resist implementing Baker also tried Brown. Throughout the summer of 1957, Mallory's Parents Committee that underscored tl and Baker's PAAED, along with the Negro Teachers Association, worked schools in New Yor: together to recruit parents into the struggle, and request meetings with tially alienating its the mayor. Both groups planned to stage a protest that September. so tional or "provocati, Ella Baker organized weekly meetings of parents throughout the city, NAACP desired din "getting them to deal with the question of their schools, what was hap­ leaders undermine, pening to their children:' 51 Mae Mallory pointedly told Superintendent who defined Jim Cr, Jansen that her daughter's school was "just as 'Jim Crow' as ... [those] ... Baker wanted to ct in Macon, Georgia:' 52 Activist-intellectuals such as Baker and Mallory educated them abm argued that racial school segregation was not unique to the South. By school and city offic calling it Jim Crow, Mallory identified with accuracy and anger that the space to create their BOE consciously designed and maintained a racially segregated school The protesters tl system. the mayor what we During the fall of 1957, as city officials' obstructions and delays con­ which were schools tinued, and activists' frustration mounted, parent activists marched. deemed to display ' Their interpretation of the social and political situation signaled for tory that New York' them that nothing short of public action would move the needle of pub­ est degree of demo lic opinion, or stimulate those with power to act, in ways that recog­ know the ballot ha nized the disadvantage that the city's Jim Crow education system put what happens to th upon black students. On September 19, 1957, PAAED staged its rally to channel their anger draw greater attention to the campaign. The New York Times gave poor Puerto Ricans as coi coverage of the protest. Its reporter contended that only one hundred poor racial and eth, protesters participated, but Baker led a picket of over five hundred black dren as possessive o and Puerto Rican parents in front of city hall to protest the beginning played to the city's i of another segregated school year.53 PAAED called on the mayor for an to provide quality, i equal share of experienced teachers compared to white schools, the end Baker honed he1 of part-time school days, smaller class sizes, a standard curriculum at "People have a righ1 each grade level, more remedial teachers, and the removal of the neigh­ She believed an ac1 borhood school concept where it hindered immediate integration. 54 Baker traveled all < Rather than recognize these conditions as products of a racist sys­ involved "organizin tem, Superintendent Jansen instructed PEA researchers to use the word in terms of their le­ "separation'' in their final report instead of the word "segregation:' The reach from one lev, word choice was tantamount to a denial that Jim Crow existed in New have to use differer York City.55 Official blindness to New York's Jim Crow system and their cal and social drew refusal to call racial segregation by its rightful name maintained New people knew how tc York as a Jim Crow city. a pragmatist giving BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS I 101 yed to resist implementing , Baker also tried to get the NAACP to support direct-action tactics llory's Parents Committee that underscored the urgency of improving black and Puerto Rican tchers Association, worked schools in New York City. The national office, concerned about poten­ and request meetings with tially alienating its liberal white donor base, discouraged confronta­ 50 otest that September. tional or "provocative" protest strategies against northern officials.56 The arents throughout the city, NAACP desired direct access to the "city'spower brokers, and its national ~ir schools, what was hap- leaders undermined Baker, and members of more militant branches, 1tedly told Superintendent who defined Jim Crow to encompass forms of northern discrimination. fim Crow' as ... [those] ... Baker wanted to cultivate leaders among the parents of Harlem. She uch as Baker and Mallory educated them about their rights, helped them to develop tools to hold t unique to the South. By school and city officials accountable for their actions, and gave them the :curacy and anger that the space to create their own protest movement for their children. 57 racially segregated school The protesters threatened Mayor Wagner's reelection. Baker asked the mayor what would be done for the children in "subject schools;' tructions and delays con­ which were schools in "underprivileged" areas where the children were >arent activists marched. deemed to display "culturally deprived" behaviors. 58 "It seems manda­ :al situation signaled for tory that New York City, the world's leading city, should reflect the high­ l move the needle of pub­ est degree of democracy in its public school system;' Baker said. "We , act, in ways that recog­ know the ballot has speaking power and parents are concerned with )W education system put what happens to their children:' 59 For Baker, dissatisfied parents could >AAEDstaged its rally to channel their anger through their votes. She portrayed these blacks and 'ew York Times gave poor Puerto Ricans as concerned parents, which challenged stereotypes about d that only one hundred poor racial and ethnic minorities as inadequate parents, and their chil­ .f over five hundred black dren as possessive of inveterate "cultural deprivation:' Baker's arguments to protest the beginning played to the city's image as a beacon of democracy to compel its leaders tiled on the mayor for an to provide quality, integrated education to all its students. to white schools, the end Baker honed her leadership philosophy of grassroots mobilization. standard curriculum at "People have a right to participate in the decisions that affect their lives:' he removal of the neigh- She believed an activist had to "start with the people where they are:' 54 1ediate integration. Baker traveled all over the city to educate and organize. The first step Jroducts of a racist sys­ involved "organizing people around [breaking down school segregation] earchers to use the word in terms of their level of understanding:' Then, Baker said, "You try to word "segregation:' The reach from one level of understanding to another. Sometimes you may m Crow existed in New have to use different strategies to focus on the same question:' 60 Politi­ 1 Crow system and their cal and social circumstances shaped how activists worked together. Poor name maintained New people knew how to solve their problems, and Baker always saw herself as a pragmatist giving them the tools to change their own lives themselves.61 102 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL ... ·The multipronged and multilayered approach to leadership and subcommission rep movement building that Baker displayed during her time fighting for mission on Integrat: educational equality in New York was emblematic not only of her prag­ research. They wen matic and "radical democratic" method of operation but also of the represented these b way many other women activist-intellectuals, like Mae Mallory, partici­ obscure, or ignore pated in the black freedom struggle. These activists balanced an ideal­ accepted the Jim Ci ism that wished to eradicate racism in New York City, and the nation, reality of a racially i with a pragmatism that focused on achieving tangible political victories In 1957,Mallory c against Jim Crow, schools in Gotham. Their work as activist intellectu­ against "de facto" s1 als enabled them to develop theories about how the Jim Crow North civilrights attorney worked and about the most effective ways to create broad, democratic, suit had "nothing t flexible approaches for opposing it. These theories named northern rac­ was obvious that a ism as racism, not as something else, and they inspired direct-action of the board of ed1 protest. her words, "my chil Mallory and Baker participated in the planning and execution of the children and they] protests of 1957.Mallory also spoke out, and demanded action of city of­ I did. This isn't proi ficials to improve Harlem's schools. She continued to demonstrate the agil­ Mallory, like Ba ity of her theorizing, organizing, and activities in pressing a legal case to the school system f improve education in Harlem. This type of evolution of pragmatic activ­ principal, wrote let ism, built from the ideals her family and community taught her and made parents' organizati< real in her everyday life, grew from two fundamental truths that defined did not grow from ; her political praxis and animated her actions: first, black people possessed regarding historic. esteem and value independent of what racist whites said and did; and sec­ from the social real ond, New York City's systems and institutions promoted and perpetuated political theory to t racism and segregation. From this intellectual foundation, this faith-filled homework assignn reason, flowed her ability to fight racism in the Jim Crow North. Her fifth-grade pipes under the kit that her students 1 Unmasking the "Whole Segregation Myth" in the North that their parents ,

Mallory and Baker wanted the city's black and Puerto Rican children to Mallory not only c live as first-class citizens, and to have the same opportunities for success low standards, but white children had. In a more tangible sense, Baker and Mallory wanted needed to change .. schools rezoned, transfers between districts, more experienced teachers, and his teacher am an increased number of schools to end the practice of half-days for Har­ that addressed the lem students, and rigorous curricula. 62 These plans would fix some of tions led to the wi, the structural inequities that perpetuated Jim Crow in New York City's children. Such inte schools. These proposals had come from multiple places, including the method, style, and BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS I 103

approach to leadership and ., ubcommission reports that Baker had helped write as part of the Corn- l during her time fighting for missions on Integration, and Mallorys' Har 1em P arents C omm1ttees. ' own blematic not only of her prag- research. They were rooted in research, facts, and investigations. They of operation but also of the r~presented these black women's intellectual work. They did not hide, als, like Mae Mallory, partici­ obscure, or ignore racism in New York's public school system. They .e activists balanced an ideal­ accepted the Jim Crow system as real and dealt directly with the social !W York City, and the nation reality of a racially segregated education system. ng tangible political victorie; In 1957, Mallory channeled this intellectual work into the first lawsuit ir work as activist intellectu­ against "de facto" segregation in the North. Her daughter, Pat, became •ut how the Jim Crow North civil rights attorney Paul Zuber's first client.63 As Mallory put it, her law­ to create broad, democratic, suit had "nothing to do with wanting to sit next to white folks, but it heories named northern rac- was obvious that a whole pattern of black retardation was the program . they inspired direct-action of the board of education:' Mallory's intellectual work proved that, in her words, "my children were going to the same school system [as white !anning and execution of the children and they] were coming out of school with less knowledge than l demanded action of city of­ I did. This isn't progress!" nued to demonstrate the agil­ Mallory, like Baker, challenged the racial structure of city life and ies in pressing a legal case to the school system from multiple fronts. Mallory spoke to her children's :volution of pragmatic activ­ principal, wrote letters to city officials, helped to establish a grassroots munity taught her and made parents' organization, and protested in the streets in 1957.These actions iamental truths that defined did not grow from abstract theories about inequality, or political dogma [;. first, black people possessed regarding historical materialism and class struggle, but instead grew whites said and did; and sec- from the social realities of her everyday life. She did not need an abstract ·11~ s promoted and perpetuated political theory to tell her that New York City was racist. One of her son's ( I foundation, this faith-filled homework assignments snapped that reality into focus for her. t . te Jim Crow North. Her fifth-grade son came home with an assignment to count the pipes under the kitchen sink. Mallory's son's teacher took it for granted that her students had no career prospects beyond manual labor, and l' in the North !' that their parents would not dare challenge the teacher's authority. Mae f;.', 1dPuerto Rican children to Mallory not only called out the teacher for assigning work with such lu---,. te opportunities for success low standards, but she also decided that the school's entire curriculum I:.'(~ Baker and Mallory wanted needed to change. Mallory's analysis of the problem started with her son nore experienced teachers, and his teacher and their school, but she telescoped it out into an action actice of half-days for Har­ that addressed the entire city's system. She recognized that low expecta­ :e plans would fix some of tions led to the widespread miseducation of entire generations of black I/·~ 1 Crow in New York City's children. Such intellectual analysis of the Jim Crow North influenced the •·f.C iv .. ltiple places, including the method, style, and explanations of her direct action.

tit•rf,· ~1;{ 104 j KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL

Mallorts initial lawsuit, coupled with the 1957 protest, brought little and Zuber worried· change. A lengthy meeting with Mayor Wagner, Superintendent Jansen, cause the alternativ BOE president Charles Silver, and other city officials offered more vague that black parents, · promises, but no tangible action. The Board of Education reported in culturally sensitive, October of 1957 that it was making progress toward integration, having than the Board of l rezoned fifty schools and transferred five thousand black and Puerto they decided to en< Rican students into formerly all-white schools. 64 Parents demanded that against the city for' their children attend the school of their choice, not their zoned schools ation of racial segrc in Harlem. They also insisted that all one million students in the city's This action garn• public schools, not just the black and Puerto Rican ones, share the bur­ not been in their c den for integration. BOE charged the H Parents' aggravation with inaction reached ever higher levels dur­ tion law. The cases ' ing the 1957-1958 school year. More protests occurred. Parents circum­ known as family co vented the established BOE proce_ss.They picked a fight with. the BOE in Kaplan, who viewe the hope that their confrontations would force changes in the education parents guilty. Ho, system's practices, even incremental ones, to happen. 65 Rector went befon In September of 1958, nine Harlem mothers, including Mae Mal­ of gross inequality lory, removed their fifteen children from junior high schools. This act to be protecting, ra violated the state's compulsory education law. These mothers, initially On December ~ nicknamed "the Little Rock Nine of Harlem;' soon became known as the against one set of "Harlem Nine:' As one mothe( described her growing exasperation, she that children atten echoed Ella Baker's sentiment from 1954. "Conference upon conference ferior education ir has procured nothing;' the mother said. "We're going to see this through This signaled a sig1 to the bitter end [even] if it goes to the Supreme Court:' 66 Mallory. The judge Mallory and the PC hoped litigation would pressure the BOE to speed defeating as "racia up its timeline for desegregation. Most previous lawsuits about segrega­ Mallory, and so n tion in K-12 schools focused on southern places, and national discus­ interpret the socia sions about desegregating schools only focused on the South. Mallory official judge's ruli and the parents of the PC announced that segregation and educational education system. inequalities plagued the North. Jim Crow education harmed northern results of racial se children, and black and Puerto Rican parents should not be forced to shirk its responsil send their children to inferior schools because of the zoned district. dicated. 10 The par In addition to filing suit against the BOE, the PC established an alter­ delayed the case, a native school in Harlem. Civil rights lawyer Paul Zuber, Yale graduate Mae Mallory n< Barbara Zuber, and other licensed teachers offered classes in English, underscored "the French, math, science, social studies, world events, music, and art. 67 Adina Back point1 After operating this unlicensed school for more than a month, the PC segregation, betw BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS I 105

1957 protest, brought little ltndZuber worried that the BOE would not take action against them be­ ter, Superintendent Jansen, cause the alternative school functioned too well. The PC demonstrated >fficialsoffered more vague that black parents, with community support, could develop a rigorous, I of Education reportfd in culturally sensitive, and diverse liberal arts curriculum more effectively toward integration, having than the Board of Education. "Recognizing the irony of the situation, tousand black and Puerto they decided to end the private tutoring" and filed a $1 million lawsuit 64 ,. Parents demanded that against the city for "sinister and discriminatory purpose in the perpetu­ :e, not their zoned schools ation ofracial segregation in five school districts in Harlem:' 68 Ilion students in the city's This action garnered the authorities' attention. Since the children had Rican ones, share the bur- not been in their official schools for thirty-five consecutive days, the BOE charged the Harlem parents with violating the compulsory educa­ !d ever higher levels dur­ tion law. The cases were heard in Domestic Relations Court, colloquially xcurred. Parents circum­ known as family court. Six of the cases were assigned to Judge Nathaniel :ed a fight with the BOE in Kaplan, who viewed the matter as simple truancy. He found four of the ! changes in the education parents guilty. However, the cases of Charlene Skipwith and Sheldon tappen. 65 Rector went before Judge Justine Wise Polier. She looked at the issues 1ers, including Mae Mal­ of gross inequality through a broader lens and considered the parents ior high schools. This act to be protecting, rather than endangering, the welfare of their children. '· These mothers, initially On December 3, 1958, less than two ~eeks after Kaplan had ruled oon became known as the against one set of parents, Polier ruled in favor of the parents, saying ~rowing exasperation, she that children attending Harlem's junior high schools were getting "in­ 1ference upon conference ferior education in those schools by reason of racial discrimination:' 69 : going to see this through This signaled a significant victory for activist intellectuals like Baker and 1e Court:' 66 Mallory. The judge identified the problem they devoted their activism to >ressurethe BOE to speed defeating as "racial discrimination:' The intellectual framework Baker, ts lawsuits about segrega­ Mallory, and so many other activists in the Jim Crow North used to ces, and national discus­ interpret the social problems of racism in New York became part of an :d on the South. Mallory official judge's ruling in a case on justice and equality in the city's public regation and educational education system. Judge Polier charged the BOE with perpetuating the cation harmed northern results of racial segregation and argued that the BOE could no longer should not be forced to shirk its responsibility to fix the problem. The Harlem Nine were vin­ of the zoned district. dicated.70 The parents in Judge Kaplan's case appealed his decision. He 71 ! PC established an alter­ delayed the case, and they escaped punishment. aul Zuber, Yale graduate Mae Mallory noted years later that the school boycotts and legal cases fered classes in English, underscored "the whole segregation myth" in the North. As historian :vents, music, and art. 67 Adina Back pointed out, "The boundaries between de jure and de facto re than a month, the PC segregation, between the North and the South, became blurred as the 106 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL -. Harlem Nine and their supporters called attention to inferior educa- and Baker left N tional opportunities in the city's black schools .... [T]he North could no end Milton A. G longer hide behind de facto segregation as an excuse for inferior educa­ City Schools, ba tional facilities:>72 decade. Galamii Rather than enact reforms, accept the racism within the system, and New York, had adopt a framework for understanding racial inequities in public schools since 1954, and 1 as systematic and endemic, the New York City BOE initially appealed the Brooklyn N Polier's ruling. 73 In February 1959, however, the new superintendent establish the N, of schools, John Theobald, reevaluated the political damage the case which included had caused, overruled the board, and dropped the appeal.74 Theobald and several loca allowed the children to attend JHS 43, the school of his choice, even lived coalition v though it fell outside their district. Theobald also agreed to an eight­ school integrati point program designed to address the PC's demands to improve its when on Febru district's schools. Reforms included an increase of licensed teachers, public schools. guidance counselors, reading specialists, and adv~nced classes. Theo­ sought freedon bald also created an advisory group of African Americans to counsel Crow racism. him on educational issues. For the first time, black leaders had direct access to the Board of Education. Their ideas about a Jim Crow racist NOTES 1 Kristopher B1 city and education system mattered. 75 Assistant dur The Harlem Nine compelled the BOE to reckon with the fact that of New York black parents would not accept their children's consignment to inferior Research. Pai schools. With the help of women like Baker, these women organized of thought in themselves to develop their own movement philosophies and theories East Freedon about racial inequity in New York City. Systematic racism embedded port. 2 On "hyper-s within politics created a Jim Crow public school system. Only direct ac­ segregation i tion could address and reverse that political reality. FiveDimem 76 As time passed, the BOE did not implement the reforms it promised. hyper-segre1 Its intransigence intensified school segregation. The BOE used several see "Some f, strategies to evade its responsibility to integrate public schools, includ­ "Utilization ing initially denying there was segregation in the schools; then renaming Annie Stein MS#1481, B, what was occurring; calling for studies of the school system in order to 3 Brown v. Bo delay reforms; and, finally, not implementing the suggestions provided. cation of To, The BOE broke promises to black New Yorkers, and then repeated these states mane strategies as needed in order to perpetually maintain the city's Jim Crow Louisiana, l education system, while also maintaining the city's liberal image. ginia, Dela, And while the BOE continued to operate a Jim Crow system, the See Sean F, Labor in th movement to integrate public schools also continued long after Mallory BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS j 107 .. ention to inferior educa­ and Baker left New York City. Grassroots organizations such as Rever- .... [T]he North could no end Milton A. Galamison's Parents Workshop for Equality in New York excuse for inferior educa- City Schools, based in Brooklyn, carried the movement into the next decade. Galamison, who pastored one of the largest congregations in m within the system, and New York, had been at the forefront of the school integration battles 1equitiesin public schools since 1954, and became even more prominent after severing his ties to :y BOE initially appealed the Brooklyn NAACP in 1960. By the summer of 1963, he had helped the new superintendent establish the New York Citywide Committee for Integrated Schools, 1olitical damage the case which included other grassroots groups, six branches of the NAACP, d the appeal. 74 Theobald and several local chapters of the Congress of Racial Equality. This short­ :hool of his choice, even lived coalition was responsible for one of the most powerful protests for also agreed to an eight­ school integration, and the largest protest of the civil rights movement, demands to improve its when on February 3, 1964, more than 460,000 students boycotted the ase of licensed teachers, public schools. Many attended "Freedom Schools" for the day.77 They adv~nced classes. Theo­ sought freedom from Jim Crow in America's northern outpost of Jim n Americans to counsel Crow racism. black leaders had direct about a Jim Crow racist NOTES 1 Kristopher Burrell would like to thank Mr. Paul Torres, who served as a Research Assistant during the 2016-2017academic year, as a result of a City University :ckon with the fact that of New York Community College Research Grant for Mentored Undergraduate consignment to inferior Research. Paul's assistanceand diligence were valuable for improving the clarity these women organized of thought in this chapter. He would also like to thank the members of the North 1ilosophies and theories East Freedom North Writers Collective for all of the scholarly and emotional sup­ natic racism embedded port. l system. Only direct ac­ 2 On "hyper-segregation''see Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton, "Hyper­ segregation in US Metropolitan Areas: Black and Hispanic Segregationalong lity. Five Dimensions:• Demography26:3 (1989),373-91. For a vivid depiction of how 76 1ereforms it promised. hyper-segregatioµ affectedutilization of public schools in Brooklyn, New York, . The BOE used several see "Some facts about segregatedschools in Brooklyn, 1957School Year;'and : public schools, includ­ "Utilization of Schoolsin the Borough of Brooklyn;' maps for 1957,1958, 1959, in schools; then renaming Annie Stein Papers, Columbia University,Rare Book and Manuscript Division, hool system in order to MS#1481,Box 11. 3 Brown v. Board of Educationof Topeka,347 U.S. 483 (1954).Brown v. Boardof Edu­ e suggestions provided. cation of Topeka,349 U.S.294 (1955).In the United States, before 1954,seventeen and then repeated these states mandated segregation in schools: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, 1tainthe city's Jim Crow Louisiana, Mississippi,North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,Texas, Vir­ r'sliberal image. ginia, Delaware, Kentucky,Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Jim Crow system, the See Sean Farhang and Ira Katznelson,"The Southern Imposition: Congress and med long after Mallory Labor in the New Deal and Fair Deal;' Studies in American PoliticalDevelopment 108 j KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL

19 (Spring 2005): 1, fn 1. On racial segregation and its effects on the City Univer­ Women in the Civil Ri; sity of New York, see Tahir Butt, "'You Are Running a de Facto Segregated Univer­ Barbara Ransby, Ella 1 sity': Racial Segregation and City University of New York, 1961-1968;' chapter 7 in cratic Vision (Chapell this volume. 9 Barbara Ransby, "Beh 4 Board of Education of the City of New York, Toward GreaterOpportunity: A Prog­ The Roots of Ella Bak, ressReport from the Superintendentof Schools to the Board of Education Dealing American Women in t with Implementation of Recommendationsof the Commission on Integration (June Thomas and V. P. Frar 1960), 3, Box 5, Folder 41, Series 261, "Commission on Integration Papers;' Board IO Ashley Farmer, Rema ofEducation Papers, Special Collections, Milbank Memorial Library, Teachers Hill: University of No College, Columbia University, New York. This collection is now housed at the Justice:The Life of An NYC Municipal Archives. 2016); Ransby, Ella Be 5 The Intergroup Committee on New York's Public Schools, "Children Apart: 11 Paul Zuber, in Jeanne The Effects of Segregation on the Future of Young People in New York's Public and Misuses of the Ci' Schools;' 24 April 1954, 12, Box 56, Folder 2, Professional File, Subject File, Inter­ D. Lassiter, "De Jure/ group Committee on New York's Public Schools, Kenneth Bancroft Clark Papers, in The Myth of South Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Will be referred to Crespino (New York: hereafter as KBC Papers. 12 Jennifer de Forest, "1 6 Four key studies that offer theories on the significance of histories of "local" activ­ Struggle for Educatic ists in the civil rights movement are John Dittmer, Local People:The Strugglefor 2008): 27. Civil Rights in Mississippi(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994); Charles M. 13 Robert Wagner, Pres Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom:The OrganizingTradition in the Mississippi Discrimination (2), 1 Black FreedomStruggle (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007); Jeanne 1954-1965, New Yori< Theoharis and Komozi Woodard, Groundwork:Local Black FreedomMovements 14 Adina Back, "Exposi in America (New York: NYU Press, 2005); and Emilye Crosby, Civil Rights History New York City's Sch, from the Ground Up:Local Struggles,a National Movement (Athens: University dam Strugglesoutsid of Georgia Press, 2011). On Milton Galamison, see Clarence Taylor, Knockingat Woodard (New Yod Our Own Door: Milton A. Galamisonand the Struggleto IntegrateNew York City 15 Matthew F. Delman· Schools(New York: Columbia University Press, 1997). On Annie Stein, see Adina to SchoolDesegregat Back, "Up South in New York: The 195o's School Desegregation Struggles" (Ph.D. 16 Malaika Lumumba i diss.: New York University, 1997). On Brooklyn CORE, see Brian Purnell, Fighting Bunche Oral Histor Jim Crow in the County of Kings:The Congressof RacialEquality in Brooklyn (Lex­ Manuscripts Divisic ington: University Press of Kentucky, 2013). On community control see, Jerald hereafter be referrec Podair, The Strike That ChangedNew York:Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill­ munism: Local Poli Brownsville Crisis (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002); Heather Lewis, Civil Rights in New New York City Public Schoolsfrom Brownsvilleto Bloomberg:Community Control Taylor (Bronx, NY: and Its Legacy (New York:Teachers College Press, 2013), and Michael R. Glass, "'A 17 Barbara Ransby, "B, Series of Blunders and Broken Promises': IS 201 as a Turning Point;' GOTHAM:A 47. Blogfor Scholarsof New York City History,August 1, 2016 www.gothamcenter.org. 18 Lumumba intervie1 7 Theoharis and Woodard, Groundwork,2. 19 Sometimes a book 1 8 Darlene Clark Hine, ed., Black Women in United States History (Brooklyn, NY: sentation of a histo1 Carlson, 1990); Belinda Robnett, How Long?How Long?African-American Women women's history an in the Strugglefor Civil Rights (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997); Bettye Smith, eds., All the Collier Thomas and V. P. Franklin, eds., Sistersin the Struggle:African American Brave (Old Westbu BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS j 109 .. 1 and its effects on the City Univer­ Women in the CivilRights-Black PowerMovements (New York: NYU Press, 2001); .mning a de Facto Segregated Univer­ Barbara Ransby, Ella Baker and the Black FreedomMovement: A Radical Demo­ Jf New York, 1961-1968;' chapter 7 in cratic Vision (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003). 9 Barbara Ransby, "Behind-the-Scenes View of a Behind-the-Scenes Organizer: TowardGreater Opportunity: A Prag­ The Roots of Ella Baker's Political Passions;' in Sistersin the Struggle:African to the Board of EducationDealing American Women in the Civil Rights-Black PowerMovements, eds. Bettye Collier he Commission on Integration(June Thomas and V. P. Franklin (New York: NYU Press, 2001), 44, 47. ssion on Integration Papers:' Board 10 Ashley Farmer, Remaking Black Power:How Women Transformedan Era (Chapel >ank Memorial Library, Teachers Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2917); Jennifer Scanlon, Until There Is •collection is now housed at the Justice:The Life of Anna Arnold Hedgeman (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016); Rans by, EllaBaker and the Black FreedomMovement. >lieSchools, "Children Apart: 11 Paul Zuber, in Jeanne Theoharis, A More Beautiful and TerribleHistory: The Uses .mg People in New York's Public and Misuses of the Civil Rights Movement (New York: Beacon, 2018), 38; Matthew ·ofessional File, Subject File, Inter­ D. Lassiter, "De Jure/De Facto Segregation: The Long Shadow of a National Myth;' · ls, Kenneth Bancroft Clark Papers, in The Myth of Southern Exceptionalism,eds. Matthew D. Lassiter and Joseph shington, D.C. Will be referred to Crespino (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 27. 12 Jennifer de Forest, "The 1958Harlem School Boycott: Parental Activism and the ificance of histories of"local" activ- Struggle for Educational Equity in New York City:' UrbanReview 40.1 (March 1er, focal People:The Strugglefor 2008): 27. ,f Illinois Press, 1994); Charles M. 13 Robert Wagner, Press Release, January 6, 1964, Roll 40054, Box 58, Folder 681, izing Tradition in the Mississippi Discrimination (2), 1954, Office of the Mayor (Robert F.Wagner, Jr.), Subject Files, · California Press, 2007); Jeanne 1954-1965, New York Municipal Archives, New York, New York. LocalBlack FreedomMovements 14 Adina Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth': The Harlem Nine and ~milye Crosby, Civil RightsHistory New York City's School Desegregation Battles:' in FreedomNorth: Black Free­ Movement (Athens: University dom Strugglesoutside the South, 1940-1980, eds. Jeanne F.Theoharis and Komozi :ee Clarence Taylor, Knockingat Woodard (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 68, 70. ruggleto IntegrateNew York City 15 Matthew F. Delmont, Why Busing Failed:Race, Media, and the NationalResistance t997). On Annie Stein, see Adina to SchoolDesegregation ( Oakland: University of California Press, 2016), 8-9. Desegregation Struggles" (Ph.D. 16 Malaika Lumumba interview with Mae Mallory, February 27, 1970, 11-15,Ralph :ORE, see Brian Purnell, Fighting Bunche Oral History Collection, Moorland-Spingarn Research Collection, ·RacialEquality in Brooklyn(Lex­ Manuscripts Division, Howard University, Washington, D.C. The collection will :ommunity control see, Jerald hereafter be referred to as the RBC. Barbara Ransby, "Cops, Schools, and Com­ :s, Whites,and the OceanHill- munism: Local Politics and Global Ideologies-New York City in the 1950s;' in ity Press, 2002); Heather Lewis, Civil Rights in New York City: From vyorld War II to the GiulianiEra, ed. Clarence Bloomberg:Community Control Taylor (Bronx, NY:Fordham University Press, 2010), 35. 2013), and Michael R. Glass, "'A 17 Barbara Ransby, "Behind-the-Scenes View of a Behind-the-Scenes Organizer:• 44, ' .s a Turning Point;' GOTHAM:A 47.

: 1, 2016 www.gothamcenter.org. 18 Lumumba interview with Mae Mallory, 10-1, RBC. ' I 19 Sometimes a book stands as part of an intellectual, political movement, and repre­ v·· >fatesHistory (Brooklyn, NY: sentation of a historical moment. But Some of UsAre Braveis such a book in black i Long?African-American Women women's history and literature. See Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, and Barbara t· University Press, 1997); Bettye Smith, eds., All the Women Are White, All the BlacksAre Men, but Some of Us Were the Struggle:African American Brave(Old Westbury, NY: Feminist Press, 1982). See also, Darlene Clark Hines's llO I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL

Bia~ Women in America (New York:Oxford University Press, 2005),Belinda 41 Ibid., 10-11. Robnett's How Long?How Long?,Bettye Collier Thomas and V. P.Franklin's Sisters 42 Ibid., 11-12. in the Struggle;Jeanne Theoharis, '"We Saved the City': Black Strugglesfor Equality 43 Ibid., 12-13;.tv in Boston, 1960-1976:'Radical History Review, 81 (Fall 2001):61-93; Theoharis and PostwarNew Woodard, eds., FreedomNorth; Theoharis and Woodard, Groundwork;Dayo Gore, 186,209, 266; Jeanne Theoharis, andKomozi Woodard, eds., Want to Start a Revolution?Radical can Americar Women in the BlackFreedom Struggle (New York:NYU Press, 2009); Jeanne Theo­ Americansin haris, The RebelliousLife of Mrs. Rosa Parks (Boston: Beacon, 2013). 44 de Forest, "TI 20 Ransby, Ella Baker and the BlackFreedom Movement, 79-81. Schuyler was then a 45 Adina Back i1 leftist, but by the 1950shad become an arch-conservative. 46 Lumumbain1 21 ·J. Todd Moye, Ella Baker:Community Organizerof the Civil RightsMovement 47 Ransby,"Cop (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield,2013), 70-71; Joanne Grant, Ella Baker Free­ 48 Taylor,Knoc~ dom Bound (New York:Wiley, 1998), 96; and Joanne Grant, Fundi, documentary, 49 Rogers, 110 L: directed by Joanne Grant (1981),VHS. so Night Letter · 22 Clarence Taylor,Knocking, 62. Parrish, 16Ju 23 Kenneth Clark, "SegregatedSchools in New York City;' 24 April 1954,12, Box 56, Zuber, and R Folder 5, ProfessionalFile, Subject File, Intergroup Committee on New York's Zuber, and R Public Schools, KBC Papers. Education C, 24 Ibid., 7. Research in I 25 Intergroup Committee of New York'sPublic Schools, "Conference Report,»1. subs·equentl) 26 Ransby, "Cops, Schools, and Communism;' 37; Intergroup Committee on New 51 Back, "Expoi York'sPublic Schools, "Children Apart:' Program, KBC Papers. with Ella Bal 27 Ransby, "Cops, Schools, and Communism," 37; Ransby,Ella Baker,152-53. Program Co: 28 Ransby, "Cops, Schools,and Communism,» 37. Ransby,"Co1 29 Ransby, Ella Baker, 153-54. 52 Mae Mallor) 30 Ransby, "Cops, Schools,and Communism;' 36. unpublished 31 Board ofEducation of the City of New York, TowardGreater Opportunity, 3; Lynn 53 Sara Slack," Farnol to Commission on Integration, n.d., Box 5, Folder 49, Series 261,"Com­ damNews,S mission on Integration Papers:' Board of Education Papers, Special Collections, 54 "Parents De1 Milbank Memorial Library,Teachers College, Columbia University,New York. Folder 20, N 32 Ransby, "Cops, Schools, and Communism,»37. 55 Back, "Expo 33 "Clark Cites SeveralExamples of School Segregation Here,"New YorkHerald­ 56 Ransby, "Co Tribune, 21October 1954;Kenneth Clark, "Steps toward Racial Integration: 'Segre­ 57 Ibid., 37-38. gation in New YorkCity Schools,»'October 18,1954, 3, Box 158,Folder 4, Profes­ 58 Marie Lily C sional File, Speechesand Writings, Speeches,KBC Papers; Taylor,Knocking, 81. Looking for 34 Taylor, Knocking,116-17; Theoharis, A More Beautiful and TerribleHistory, 39-40. tion's 1954C 35 David Rogers, 110 LivingstonStreet: Politics and Bureaucracyin the New York City Education (1 Schools (New York:Random House, 1968),19-20. 59 Slack, "Don 36 Ransby, "Cops, Schools,and Communism," 36-37. 60 "Interview 1 37 Lumumba interview with Mae Mallory, 3-4, RBC. 61 Ransby,Ellt 38 Ibid., 1-2. 62 Back, "Exp< 39 Ibid., 5-6. Protest,and 40 Ibid., 7-8. City (Newa: BLACK WOMEN AS ACTIVIST INTELLECTUALS I 111 liversityPress, 2005), Belinda -. 41 Ibid., 10-11. Thomas and V. P. Franklin's Sisters 42 Ibid., 11-12. City': Black Struggles for Equality 43 Ibid., 12-13; Martha Biondi, To Stand and Fight: The Strugglefor Civil Rights in 1 (Fall 2001): 61-93; Theoha,is and Postwar New York City (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003}, 137, 'oodard, Groundwork;Dayo Gore, 186, 209, 266; Brian Purnell, "Desegregating the Jim Crow North: Bronx Afri­ 1ant to Start a Revolution?Radical can Americans and the Fight to Integrate the Castle Hill Beach Club:' in Afro­ : NYU Press, 2009); Jeanne Theo­ Americans in New York Life and History 32.2 (2009): 47-78. :on: Beacon, 2013). 44 de Forest, "The 1958 Harlem Schools Boycott:' 26. nent, 79-81. Schuyler was then a 45 Adina Back interview with Mae Mallory, New York City, 2000. :ervative. 46 Lumumba interview with Mae Mallory, 14, RBC. of the Civil Rights Movement 47 Ransby,"Cops, Schools, and Communism:' 37. · 71; Joanne Grant, Ella Baker Free­ 48 Taylor,Knocking, 81. nne Grant, Fundi, documentary, 49 Rogers, 110 Livingston Street, 20; Taylor, Knocking, 81. 50 Night Letter to Mayor Robert Wagner from Ella Baker, Paul Zuber, and Richard Parrish, 16 June 1957; Telegram to Mayor Robert Wagner from Ella Baker, Paul City;' 24 April 1954, 12, Box 56, Zuber, and Richard Parrish, 25 June 1957; Letter to Parents from Ella Baker, Paul p Committee on New York's Zuber, and Richard Parrish, 3 July 1957, Box 4, Folder 20, NAACP-NYC Branch Education Committee, 1956-1957, Ella J. Baker Papers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, New York, New York. Will ols, "Conference Report," 1. subsequently be referred to as the EJB Papers. tergroup Committee on New 51 Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth:' 70; Eugene Walker, interview KBC Papers. with Ella Baker, September 4, 1974, Interview G-0007, Southern Oral History .nsby,Ella Baker, 152-53. Program Collection, http://docsouth.unc.edu, accessed on November 10, 2015; Ransby, "Cops, Schools, and Communism:' 38. 52 Mae Mallory, quoted in Adina Back, "Taking School Segregation to the Courts:' unpublished manuscript, 1. · rd GreaterOpportunity, 3; Lynn 53 Sara Slack, "Don't Forget, N.Y. Has Its Own School Problem:' New YorkAmster­ Folder 49, Series 261, "Corn- dam News, September 28, 1957, 1. n Papers, Special Collections, 54 "Parents Demand Integration Here:' New York Times, September 20, 1957, Box 4, 1mbia University, New York. Folder 20, NAACP,NYC Branch Education Committee, 1956-57, EJB Papers. 55 Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth:" 70. n Here;' New York Herald­ 56 Ransby, "Cops, Schools, and Communism;' 38. vard Racial Integration: 'Segre­ 57 Ibid., 37-38. ' 3, Box 158, Folder 4, Profes­ 58 Marie Lily Cerat and Whitney Hollins, ''An Integration Plan That Never Was: )apers; Taylor,Knocking, 81. Looking for Brown v. Board of Education in the New York City Board of Educa­ rul and TerribleHistory, 39- 40. tion's 1954 Commission on Integration:' Theory, Research,and Action in Urban ·eaucracyin the New York City Education (n.d.}, n. 4. 59 Slack, "Don't Forget:' 1. 60 "Interview with Ella Baker;' Urban Review, 20, EJB Papers. 61 Ransby, Ella Baker, 44-45. 62 Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth:" 72; Melissa Weiner, Power, Protest, and the Public Schools:Jewish and African American Strugglesin New York City (Newark, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2011), 59. 112 I KRISTOPHER BRYAN BURRELL

63 Adina Back, "Taking School Segregation to the Courts;' unpublished manuscript, 4 15. .. 64 Benjamin Fine, "Education in Review: Report on Integration in the City's Schools Brown Girl, Shows Progress and Problems Ahead;' New York Times, October 6, 1957. 65 Weiner, Power,Protest, and the Public Schools,59. 66 Harlem parent Carrie Haynes, quoted in Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation PauleMarshc. Myth;" 73. 67 de Forest, 27-28; Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth;" 73. BALTHAZAR 68 Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth;" 74. 69 Justine Wise Polier, "Domestic Relations Court of the City of New York: Chil­ dren's Court Division-County of New York,"Docket No. 3913/58 and Docket No. 3945/58, December 1958, 27-8, Box 131,Folder 2382, "Race Discrimination, 1958-66;' Pauli Murray Papers, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, In a 1969 Ne Massachusetts. Brooklyn as a 70 Polier, "Domestic Relations Court of the City of New York: Children's Court possible, he h Division-County of New York;' 26-27; Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation for $30,000, v Myth;'' 75-76; de Forest, 32. you are willin 71 Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth;" 76. 72 Adina Back, "Still Unequal: A Fiftieth Anniversary Reflection on Brown v. Board leading voice~ of Education;' Radical HistoryReview 90 (2004): 67. Brooklyn's my 73 Back, "Exposing the 'Whole Segregation Myth;" 77, for investors. ' 74 Ibid., 37-38. from Brookly1 75 Ibid., 38. and '40s, "a se 76 Weiner, Power,Protest, and the Public Schools,63-64. idyll ended wi 77 Taylor, Knocking,141-42; Delmont, Why BusingFailed, 43. Brooklyn;' wt Brooklyn hare and vilified ti: black man car black man:' I­ the real reaso1 by describing and discarde, increased; ho1 ings, and soor moving away: Challengin derings of byg racism worke the social and tive to this na