Timeline
This timeline provides a chronological list of major events discussed in Educating Harlem. It is not exhaustive, but seeks to relate events in New York City, United States, and education histories.
Wadleigh High School for Girls opened
Afro-American Realty Company founded by Philip Payton, beginning Black residential growth in Harlem
The Amsterdam News founded
Great Migration of Black southerners to northern cities began
Harlem Renaissance/New Negro Era
Schomburg collection opened at the 135th St Library
The Great Depression and the launch of the New Deal
Federal Housing Administration created
The city’s first public housing created by New York City Housing Authority on the Lower East Side
Harlem uprising occurred in response to the rumored death of a young man at the hands of a police officer
Harlem Committee created by members of the Teachers Union
Permanent Committee for Better Schools in Harlem created
World War II
Second Great Migration of Black southerners to northern cities began
Harlem uprising occurred after a Black World War II veteran was shot by a white police officer
Housing Act was passed, allowing for clearance of large areas of Harlem
Langston Hughes’ The First Book of Negroes published
Brown v. Board of Education decided by the Supreme Court
New York City Board of Education’s Commission on Integration created
Boycott of 3 Harlem junior high schools organized by the Harlem Nine
New York City Open Enrollment policy began
United Federation of Teachers consolidated previously separate unions and gained collective bargaining rights
HARYOU founded by Harlem-based social work professionals
Harlem uprising occurred in response to the police killing of a Harlem teen
School boycotts to protest segregation in New York City
Civil Rights Act passed
Malcolm X assassinated
Black Arts Repertory Theater/School founded
Head Start program launched by the Office of Economic Opportunity
Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed
IS 201 opened and Harlem Parents Committee boycott
Black Power movement coalesced
IS 201 and four area schools in East Harlem defined as a community control demonstration district, along with one in Brooklyn and one on the Lower East Side
Boycott of PS 125 and creation of West Harlem Liberation School
Campaign against the construction of the State Office Building on 125th St
United Federation of Teachers strike in response to Ocean Hill-Brownsville community control demonstration district
Columbia University and Harlem student protests against the University’s plan to build a gym in Morningside Park
Young Lords Liberation School held during their months-long occupation of First Spanish United Methodist Church
Great Migration of Black southerners to northern cities ended
Decentralization of New York City school system
CUNY’s Paraprofessional-Teacher Education Program created
New York City financial crisis
Harlem Parents Union began petitioning the state for school vouchers
CUNY began charging tuition
Protests against school closures in Harlem
Federal funds for magnet schools were first available
New York State Charter School Act authorized the creation of the state’s first charter schools
Harlem’s first charter school, Sisulu Academy, opened
New York City Schools recentralized under mayoral control
No Child Left Behind legislation passed