Between Protest, Compromise, and Education for Radical Change
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Between Protest, Compromise, and Education for Radical Change: Black Power Schools in Harlem in the Late 1960s Viola H. Huang Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2019 © 2019 Viola H. Huang All rights reserved ABSTRACT Between Protest, Compromise, and Education for Radical Change: Black Power Schools in Harlem in the Late 1960s Viola H. Huang In response to stalled struggles for equal and integrated education by African American students, parents, teachers, and activists, Harlem in the late 1960s saw a number of independent schools emerge that drew inspiration and rhetoric from Black Power ideas. This dissertation investigated the reasons for these schools’ emergence in Harlem; what goals these institutions pursued; how they translated their goals, purposes, and ideas into pedagogical practices and curricula; and how these were adapted to the specific challenges faced by the schools by closely examining three such initiatives: West Harlem Liberation School; the storefront academies run by the New York Urban League; and West Side Street Academy, later renamed Academy for Black and Latin Education (ABLE). All of these schools incorporated values and ideas that were central to the philosophy of Black Power, such as an emphasis on self-determination, self- sufficiency, self-reliance, Black history, and cultural pride. However, the ways in which these core ideas of Black Power were interpreted and put into practice varied significantly between different initiatives, especially as they had to navigate daily necessities such as applying for funding or making compromises with corporate donors, foundations, or the New York City Board of Education. Thus, while some of these educational institutions explicitly pursued activist agendas—by positioning themselves as a means to pressure the public school system into fundamental change or by conceptualizing education explicitly as a tool for collectively dismantling systems of oppression—others came to favor approaches designed to uplift individual students rather than pursue more radical social change. While scholars have extensively studied the fights for desegregation and community control of public schools in Harlem and New York City, the establishment of these Black alternative educational initiatives outside of the public school system as an extension of the movement for quality and equitable education—and as a part of social justice movements, including the Black Power Movement, more broadly—has rarely been considered. These schools and their approaches also provide a unique lens through which to study and re-evaluate Black Power ideas: They reflect the diversity and contradictions of the movement, the different goals and avenues for change that activists within that movement envisioned, and how the theories and ideas of Black Power were translated into practice on the local level in specific issues. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I – INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Chapter II – EDUCATION IN POST-WAR HARLEM ............................................................... 20 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 20 Educational Reforms in Harlem’s Public Schools ........................................................... 26 Educational Activism in Harlem’s Public Schools .......................................................... 32 Chapter III – BLACK POWER AND EDUCATION .................................................................. 47 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 47 Black Power ..................................................................................................................... 49 Black Power and Education ............................................................................................. 60 Black Power Schools I: The Black Panther Party ............................................................ 65 Black Power Schools II: Pan-Africa Nationalism ........................................................... 85 Chapter IV – BLACK POWER SCHOOLS IN HARLEM ......................................................... 91 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 91 West Harlem Liberation School ....................................................................................... 92 Urban League Street Academies ......................................................................................107 West Side Street Academy and Academy for Black and Latin Education ....................... 119 Intersections, Similarities, and Differences .....................................................................132 Chapter V – CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................141 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................153 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................................167 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A dissertation is really a communal effort and without my very own community of excellent scholars, mentors, archivists, family, and friends, this dissertation would not have been realized. The tremendous support, flexibility, engagement, and expertise of my dissertation committee not only helped to improve my research but their passion about this research and the scholarship more broadly is what I will take with me as a scholar and more so as an educator. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with Professors James Alford, Megan Laverty, and Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz. Professor Fevronia “Nia” Soumakis has read numerous drafts of my dissertation. Being an invested, curious, and caring scholar, she constantly raised brilliant questions which made my work so much better. I envy everyone who gets to work with her and am more than grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from her. Finally and most importantly, Professor Cally Waite: Although my particular research topic was beyond her immediate scholarly interest, Professor Waite has been an invaluable mentor and her wide-ranging expertise has pushed and motivated me. While she has pushed me to do better and has held me accountable, Professor Waite also trusted me and treated me like a researcher in my own right, and thus found the perfect balance between challenge and support. Thanks to her I have grown intellectually but just as importantly personally, critically reflecting my role and positionality both as a scholar and a human being. In addition to my committee, a number of scholars have provided me with opportunities and support. Courses and conversations about the Black Freedom Struggle, education, and Harlem with Professor Ansley Erickson have contributed to my intellectual growth. In addition ii to crucial intellectual exchange, Professor Britta Waldschmidt-Nelson also provided me with the opportunity to present and discuss my research in public both in the U.S. at the German Historical Institute in Washington D.C. and in Germany at the University of Augsburg, thus enriching my research, but also allowing me to tell and spread this important history. Professor Ira Katznelson has provided feedback on my research and writing repeatedly from afar. Professor Yohuru Williams not only welcomed me into the field of Black Power Studies, but also helped me become a better educator with his advice. Professor Bette Weneck – teacher, mentor, and ultimately one of my dearest friends in New York City. One of the things I have missed most since I left NYC are our weekly meetings, discussing my research. She is an amazing scholar, critically challenging my every thought and holding me accountable, while providing strength and supporting me to grow at the same time. Spending time with Jennifer Boyle, Dr. Deidre B. Flowers, Jean Park, Antonia Abram Smith, and Eric Strome has always brought me joy and given me support. They made me feel home away from home. At the same time, it was a humbling experience to get to know and work with these aspiring scholars who have all so many different phenomenal scholarly projects. I will miss my somewhat regular get-togethers with “my cohort” Jen and Jean, and I especially appreciate that our relationship was never one of competition – so easy to fall into in academia – but of mutual support. Deidre has always been a superwoman to me, completing her PhD while working full-time and raising a family; she has also been my greatest cheerleader. Antonia organized a TC panel at the History of Education Society in 2013 and thus not only gave me a great first-conference-experience but also provided me with an amazing role model of a scholarly colleague. And last but definitely not least, there is Eric. He was the first colleague I met at TC and despite a sprained ankle and working several jobs in addition to pursuing his PhD, iii he took the time and endured the pain while showing me around the maze that is Teachers College. In the following years he was never too busy to drive up from Brooklyn to TC to discuss the history of education, particularly his expertise in