Primary Sources
Buder, Leonard. “Parents Smash Windows, Doors to Open Schools.” The New York Times,
October 19, 1968.
This New York Times article by Leonard Buder reports on the reactions to the Teachers Strike by parents and community members who fought for their children to be able to attend school, highlighting both action inside and outside of the classrooms that would have otherwise been entirely closed.
Farber, M.A..“Boycott of Experimental Schools Is Threatened Over Control.” The New York
Times, April 3, 1968.
In this article, M.A. Farber reports on the threat of a school boycott made by Community Control advocates unless the Board of Education transferred control of the schools to locally elected governing boards. Farber reiterates the goals of Community Control and the advocates’ belief that the central school board was not honoring the movement’s commitments.
Isaacs, Charles S. Inside Ocean Hill–Brownsville: A Teacher's Education, 1968-69 (Excelsior
Editions). Albany: Excelsior Editions, 2014.
In this book, Charles Isaacs, a Jewish educator and ally of the community control movement, provides an insider's perspective on the events in the Ocean Hill–Brownsville schools. He offers strong support for the community control efforts, emphasizing the importance of local governance in schools and critically analyzing the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and its opposition to the movement.
Jennings, James, Francisco Chapman, and Luis Fuentes. "Puerto Ricans and the Community
Control Movement in New York City's Lower East Side: An Interview with Luis
Fuentes." 1995. UMass Amherst.
Luis Fuentes, a prominent leader in the Community Control movement, reflects on his advocacy for bilingual education and his leadership in the Ocean Hill–Brownsville and Two Bridges demonstration districts. In this interview, Fuentes highlights the collaborative efforts of Asian, Black, and Brown parents in uniting to demand equitable education for their children. His perspective sheds light on the intersectional solidarity within the movement and the significant strides made to address the needs of multilingual and multicultural communities in New York City’s schools.
Jordan, June. “I.S. 55 Graduation Speech.” In Life Studies, edited by Conor Tomás Reed and
Talia Shalev. Published 2018. Originally delivered 1970.
June Jordan was a middle schooler who attended I.S. 55, which was located in Ocean Hill-Brownsville and under community control. Her riveting graduation speech encapsulates not just the severe inequities Black students faced, but also their hopes for a better future in which they could live as empowered citizens.
Kamiser, Leonard. “Education.” The New York Times, August 2, 1970.
In this news article, Leonard Kamiser reports on the aftermath of the Community Control movement, exploring how the school decentralization law passed by the state last year was influenced by the Teachers Strikes, and caused further conflict in communities that wanted to restore Community Control.
Pessin, Marc. "The Picket Line That It Was Right to Cross." Socialist Worker, November 21,
Marc Pessin was a young teacher who decided to cross the picket line and work with parents and community members to open up his Lower East Side during the strike. He compares the goals of Freedom Schools in the South to that of Community Control schools, and talks about the invigorating nature of Black empowerment in curriculum.
Thames TV. 1960s New York | Crisis in the City | Teachers Strikes | Racial Tension | John
Lindsay | 1968. YouTube video, 10:08. April 3, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRTQsFpH7P8. Originally broadcasted on November 7, 1968, in This Week
This video is a 1968 news segment from This Week documents the teacher strike and divisions that arose from Community Control. It provides firsthand accounts from educators, officials, students, and community members who had different perspectives of the strike and Community Control.
Torres, Dolores. Interview by Andre Wright and Dr. Noliwe Rooks. School Colors Podcast,
Season 1, Episode 2, 2021. 8:03.
In this interview, Dolores Torres, a mother, reflects on her activism during the community control movement in Ocean Hill–Brownsville, sharing motivations for joining the movement, which stemmed from her desire to improve educational opportunities for her children and her community. Torres details how she organized parents and other community members, emphasizing the importance of self determination in shaping school policies and curricula to reflect the needs and culture of local students.
Weusi, Jitu. Interview by Louis Massiah. December 18, 2010. Eyes on the Prize Interviews
Collection. Washington University Libraries, Film and Media Archive.
http://repository.wustl.edu/concern/videos/s1784q41z
In this interview, Jitu Weusi recounts his experiences as a teacher in the Ocean Hill–Brownsville Demonstration School District and his role in the Community Control movement. He discusses the challenges faced during the controversial struggle for local governance of schools, including the 1968 New York City teachers’ strike. Weusi provides first hand insights into the conflict between teachers’ unions and community advocates, as well as the broader implications for educational equity and self-determination.
Secondary Sources
Brier, Stephen. “The UFT’s Opposition to the Community Control Movement.” The Jacobin,
September 12, 2018.
In this article, Stephen Brier analyzes the UFT’s resistance to the community control movement during the Ocean Hill–Brownsville conflict. He also touches on the positive reforms carried out in Community Control demonstration districts, and how they were seen as a threat to the UFT.
Cerat, Marie Lily, and Whitney Hollins. "An Integration Plan Never Looking Forward: Brown v.
Board of Education and the New York City Board of Education’s 1954 Commission on
Integration." CUNY Academic Commons, 2014.
In this article, Marie Lily Cerat & Whitney Hollins are critical of the New York City public education system’s role in perpetuating school segregation, which fueled the demand for Community Control. They cover the fire school conditions marginalized children in the city experienced that Community Control efforts sought to address.
D’Amico, Diana. “Teachers’ Rights Versus Students’ Rights: Race and Professional Authority in
the New York City Public Schools, 1960—1986.” American Educational Research
Journal 53, no. 3 (2016): 541–72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24751606
This article examines the dialectical nature between teacher professionalism, race, and the political conflict in the Community Control movement. It specifically unpacks the United Federation of Teachers’ response to changing perceptions of race and authority in education, highlighting tensions between perceived teachers’ rights and local communities’ rights.
“Decentralization: Community School Districts For Some.” New York City Civil Rights History
Project, n.d.
https://nyccivilrightshistory.org/topics/who-governs-schools/decentralization/
This resource examines the decentralization of New York City’s school system and its limited success in addressing the demands of community control advocates. It highlights how decentralization often failed to deliver genuine power to marginalized communities, instead maintaining systemic inequities.
Dougherty, Ansley T., and William S. Cole, eds. Educating Harlem: A Century of Schooling and
Resistance in a Black Community. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019. Digital edition
This book highlights the systemic racism Black Harlemites fought for equitable educational opportunities. It provides a comprehensive view of Harlem’s role in the broader struggles for racial justice and community empowerment in education, including important information on what went on in schools during the Community Control era.
Frankenberg, Erica, Jongyeon Ee, Jennifer B. Ayscue, and Gary Orfield. Harming Our Common
Future: America's Segregated Schools 65 Years After Brown. Los Angeles: UCLA Civil
Rights Project, May 10, 2019.
This report examines the persistent segregation in American schools, highlighting how patterns of racial and economic segregation continue to harm educational equity and opportunity. The authors call for renewed efforts to address these inequities through policy and systemic change, emphasizing the urgent need to confront segregation to ensure a more inclusive and just educational future, providing critical insights into ongoing issues with school segregation and underscores the importance of dismantling structural barriers to integration.
Gittell, Marilyn. “Decentralization and Citizen Participation in Education.” Public
Administration Review 32 (1972): 670–86. https://doi.org/10.2307/975232
This article provides an in-depth analysis of the structural and logistical elements of the Community Control movement, focusing on the organization of local school boards, the policies—or lack thereof—addressing integration efforts in New York City, and the development of demonstration districts. Gittell also examines conflict arising from radicalism in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, and emphasizes the broader need to reform the governance of American education to better serve marginalized students.
Podair, Jerald. The Strike That Changed New York: Public School Teachers and the Great Labor
Strike of 1968. Yale University Press, 2004.
In this book, Podair examines the 1968 Ocean Hill-Brownsville teachers' strike, providing a detailed analysis of the conflict between the United Federation of Teachers and the community control movement. Podair unpacks how the strike reshaped public education in New York City and impacted labor relations, offering insights into the broader social and political dynamics of the time.
Merin, Maia S. “The Other Community Control: The Two Bridges Demonstration District and
the Challenges of School Reform, 1965–1975.” PhD diss., New York University, 2014.
In her dissertation, Dr. Maia Merin examines the Two Bridges Demonstration District as a pivotal yet overlooked example of community control and educational reform during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly due to the fact Two Bridges was a multiracial neighborhood and cultivated coalition across racial lines. She brings to light the activism Asian families, especially mothers, led and took part in; for my research, this dissertation stood out as a favorite secondary source, and the only source I could find that comprehensively covered the Two Bridges demonstration district.
Lewis, Heather. “Grassroots Activists Should Lead the Way.” The Gotham Center for New York
City History, January 30, 2020.
In this article, Heather Lewis discusses the role of community members in shaping the 1968 community control movement and the subsequent teachers strikes in New York City that hurt the movement. She talks about how Community Control inspired future educational reforms that addressed racial and economic inequities in the New York City education system.
Perlstein, Daniel H. Justice, Justice: School Politics and the Eclipse of Liberalism. New York:
Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2004.
Perlstein examines the intersection of school politics and the decline of liberalism during the mid-20th century, focusing on how racial and political tensions influenced educational reform. He explores key moments like the Ocean Hill-Brownsville conflict, analyzing the struggle for community control and the pushback from unions and liberal leaders.
Pondiscio, Robert. “The Power to the People, Part 2: History’s Lessons on Community Control.”
Thomas B. Fordham Institute. October 9, 2018.
Pondiscio takes a more nuanced approach to Community Control, highlighting its logistical origins (such as its funding), conflicts, and argues Community Control was unorganized. This gave me more perspective into the arguments against Community Control, and how chaos arose out of conflicting views from the UFT and other city officials.
Steinberg, Stephen. “Revisiting Open Admissions at CUNY.” The Clarion, February 9, 2018.
https://psc-cuny.org/clarion/2018/february/revisiting-open-admissions-cuny/
Steinberg explores the history of Open Admissions at CUNY, with a specific focus on the socio-political circumstances in the 1960’s, such as Community Control, that incited marginalized community activism of students and community members. This source gave me more insight into the broader impact Community Control had on New York activism.