NYC School Boycott (1964)
Mon Feb 03, 1964
Image: A propaganda poster showing a black child looking through a broken window, urging the viewer to participate in the boycott. From the Queens College Civil Rights Archives [zinnedproject.org]
On this day in 1964, 464,000 New York City school children, about half of the city's student body, boycotted the segregated school system, one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in U.S. history.
According to the Brooklyn Eagle, a newspaper at the time, "Though segregation in New York was not codified like the Jim Crow laws in the South, a de facto segregation was evident in the city's school system." The NY Times reported that more than a third of the schools were picketed by parents, students, teachers, and activists.
Bayard Rustin, a chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and the Freedom Rides, directed the boycott. A flier explaining the reason for the boycott stated the following:
"We have found that one of the quickest ways to destroy inequality and segregation is to hit it in the pocketbook. Financial aid to the school system is based upon pupil attendance. No pupils — no money. It's as simple as that."
- Date: 1964-02-03
- Learn More: www.zinnedproject.org, en.wikipedia.org, crdl.usg.edu.
- Tags: #CivilRights.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org