Civil Rights on Long Island Hofstra University The Civil Rights Movement on Long Island: A Local History Curriculum Guide for Middle School and High School Table of Contents Introduction: "Teaching about the Civil Rights Movement on Long Island," by Alan Singer... p. 3 1- "The Origins of the Long Island Civil Rights Movement," by Severin Cornelius................. p. 5 Documents: .............................................................................................................................. p. 7 1A) The Ku Klux Klan on Long Island 1B) Long Islanders Recognize the Problem of Racial Discrimination 1C) Is there a wrong way to challenge discrimination? 1D) Combating Job Bias - Can we overcome past discrimination? 1E) Racial Tension Builds on Long Island 1F) Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaks at Hofstra University Oral History : ........................................................................................................................... p. 15 "Dr. Eugene Reed and the Battle for Civil Rights on Long Island," by Clinton Grant and John Syffrard "Don and Doris Shaffer, Civil Rights Activists," by Robert Gault and Paul Henning Political Cartoons ................................................................................................................... p. 18 2- "Housing Discrimination on Long Island," by Stavros Kilimitzoglou ................................ p. 20 Documents: ............................................................................................................................. p. 22 2A) Racial Exclusion at Levittown 2B) Housing Discrimination- The Issues Become Clear 2C) Combating Blockbusting and Re-Lining 2D) Great Neck Human Rights Committee 2E) Were Zoning Laws Discriminatory? 2F) Did Urban Renewal mean "Negro" Removal? Oral History : .......................................................................................................................... p. 30 "African Americans Remember Life on Long Island," by Denise del Valle, Stephanie Hunte, Laurie Collins-Thomas, Jennifer Palacio, and Karen Lewis 3- "The Battle Over School Integration," by Joyce Kenny ...................................................... p. 33 Documents: ............................................................................................................................. p. 35 3A) Hempstead Proposes a School District Consolidation 3B) Amityville Divided By School Integration Protests 3C) Districts Grapple with Racial Integration Plans 3D) The Malverne School Integration Plan - Racial justice or a violation of the rights of citizens? Oral History : "The Battle Over School Integration in Malverne" by Joyce Kenny ................. p. 44 A) "Norman Lent Defends Neighborhood Schools" B) "Roland Cook - Teacher, Malverne Schools" C) "Sal Zaccaro - Social Studies Teacher, Malverne High School" Oral History : The Battle Over School Integration in Great Neck ........................................... p. 49 "Frank Phillips and the Great Neck School Integration Controversy," by Denise del Valle and Stephanie Hunte "An Interview with Emil "Al" Cianciulli," by Jennifer Palacio and Denise Del Valle Maps: Malverne; Great Neck; Southwest Suffolk County (Amityville area); Central Nassau County (Hempstead area). - 1 - Civil Rights on Long Island Hofstra University 4- "Racial Discrimination and Volunteer Fire Departments," by Stavros Kilimitzoglou ...... p. 52 Documents: Racial Discrimination and Volunteer Fire Departments .................................... p. 52 5- "What Happens to a Dream Deferred?" by Deon Gordon .................................................... p. 55 Documents: ............................................................................................................................. p. 57 5A) Can Long Island Avoid Racial Turmoil? 5B) Protest Intensifies, But Hope Continues 5C) Westbury High School Erupts 5D) Teenagers Search for Answers 5E) Racial Violence Erupts in Freeport High School 5F) Trouble in Amityville 5G) Blacks and Whites Disagree About the Causes of Racial Violence 6- "The Civil Rights Struggle on Long Island in a National Context," by Alan Singer ............ p. 69 Documents: .............................................................................................................................. p. 71 6A) Civil Rights Timeline 6B) Local Presidential Election Voting, 1960-1972 6C) Civil Rights of African Americans in the Post-Civil War United States - 2 - Civil Rights on Long Island Hofstra University Teaching about the Civil Rights Movement on Long Island by Alan Singer Most middle school and high school students see history as something that happened in the distant past (defined as before they were born) and in far away places, that has little impact on their lives. A study of the civil rights movement on Long Island during the 1960's provides social studies teachers with a powerful tool for challenging these conceptions. These events happened here, happened during the life time of their parents, defined currently exisiting institutions and communities, and continue to shape the attitudes of Long Islanders (including our students) about issues like race relations and social justice. In addition, they illustrate the interplay of local and national forces. The same qualities that make this topic contemporary, interesting and valuable for students, also make it controversial and potentially explosive for the classroom. Because racial conflicts during the 1960's were not resolved on Long Island or in the United States, racial tension simmers below the surface in many communities and students still live with prejudices and stereotypes about other racial and ethnic groups. Teaching the material in this curriculum guide requires careful preparation and sensitivity. It also offers tremendous potential rewards as students begin to question their assumptions about the importance of understanding history and their ideas about and relationships with people whose cultures and experiences are different from theirs. As social studies teachers examine this curriculum guide, they will quickly discover that the authors of the explanatory essays in this collection are not "neutral" in their summaries of the articles and issues they researched. In general, the guide presents the view that racial injustice was a major factor in life on Long Island during the 1960's, and that it continues to influence the ways that Black, white, Latino, and Asian people in Nassau and Suffolk Counties live today. However, instead of presenting our conclusions to middle school and high school students as historical fact, the curriculum guide attempts to provide students with documents that will allow them to draw their own historical conclusions. Key to this effort are interviews with Dr. Eugene Reed, a civil rights activists who spearheaded drives to challenge racial discrimination on Long Island, Frank Phillips and Emil Cianciulli, who discuss efforts to integrate Great Neck public schools, and former State Senator and Congressman Norman Lent, who represented white homeowners in their battle to preserve neighborhood schools in Malverne. The interviews allow advocates for different positions to discuss events as they experienced and understood them and provide students with multiple perspectives on major controversies. Social studies themes woven throughout this curriculum guide include the idea that in a democratic society like the United States, the "rights" and aspirations of different social groups and individuals frequently conflict and that these conflicts are not easily resolved. The curriculum guide committee shortened and edited most of the newspaper articles to eliminate street addresses and focus attention on particular topics. However, language was not changed and the committee believes that the editing leaves both the meaning and tone of the articles intact. For example, the word "nigger" was not removed from an article that appeared in the New York Times on September 23, 1963. The committee recommends that prior to beginning the study of this material in class, teachers and students agree to basic guidelines for discussions. For example, articles use the terms "colored", Negro, and Black, to describe African Americans. Also, Black is used as a group name and is capitalized, while white is used as a collective term to describe people and is written in lower case. Students need to understand that both language and the way that people identify themselves individually and collectively changes over time. They also need to discuss the way that language impacts on people and the importance of individual sensitivity and respect for groups within their classroom community. - 3 - Civil Rights on Long Island Hofstra University How to Use this Curriculum Guide This curriculum guide on the struggle for civil rights on Long Island is intended as a local history supplement to a broader unit on the civil rights movement in the 1950's and 1960's. It can be adapted for use in either 8th or 11th grade United States history classes or for a 12th grade Government class. Below are a number of possible ways to include this material in a curriculum. Thematic unit - The entire package can be used as the basis for a thematic unit on the civil rights movement on Long Island encouraging students to view local events in a national context and from multiple perspectives. Lesson materials that focus on local events - Individual documents provide local material for lessons on school integration, racial discrimination,