The struggle for school integration in New York City, home to the
nation's largest public school system, was one of the most
wrenching episodes in the story of America's civil rights movement.
Following a disastrous struggle in 1964 between a new community
school board in Brooklyn and the largely white teachers' union,
close to half a million children boycotted school to protest the
lack of a firm policy on integration. What caused one of America's
most promising civil-rights coalitions to implode on the eve of
change?
Clarence Taylor confronts this troubled history, focusing on the
city's preeminent integrationist figure, the Presbyterian pastor
Milton Galamison. In Knocking at Our Own Door, Taylor presents a
detailed account of this controversial but little-studied figure,
whose militant approach to the struggle deeply divided the city,
winning support in some circles and bitter criticism from others --
not only from anti-civil rights forces, but also from some of the
more moderate factions of his own movement. Taylor shows how
Galamison became a prominent activist through his Parents' Workshop
for Equality, seeking to eliminate the barriers that burdened
minority children in New York.
The book explores Galamison's early years and the political and
social context of his radical thinking on desegregation and
community control of schools. Taylor chronicles Galamison's
emergence as a radical pastor, and the grassroots coalition of
parents, teachers, ministers, civil rights activists, and community
organizations he helped build. Disentangling the complex issues of
race and class, local power and centralized politics, and the
collapse of Jewish-Black relations sparked by allegations ofBlack
anti-Semitism, Knocking at Our Own Door is a searching exploration
of why New York's integrationist campaign disintegrated.
One of the few in-depth studies of the politics of urban
integration, Knocking at Our Own Door is written with clarity and
sensitivity by a scholar who bore personal witness to this
important chapter of American history.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
