Power, Protest, and the Public Schools: Jewish and African American Struggles in New York City

by Melissa Weiner

Overview

Accounts of Jewish immigrants usually describe the role of education in helping youngsters earn a higher social position than their parents. Melissa F. Weiner argues that New York City schools did not serve as pathways to mobility for Jewish or African American students. Instead, at different points in the city's history, politicians and administrators erected similar racial barriers to social advancement by marginalizing and denying resources that other students enjoyed. Power, Protest, and the Public Schools explores how activists, particularly parents and children, responded to inequality; the short-term effects of their involvement; and the long-term benefits that would spearhead future activism. Weiner concludes by considering how today's Hispanic and Arab children face similar inequalities within public schools.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813553511
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	08/10/2012
Edition description:	First Paperback Edition
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

MELISSA F. WEINER is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the College of the Holy Cross.

Table of Contents

New York City's racial and educational terrain
Resources, riots, and race: the Gary plan and the Harlem 9
Resource equalization and citizenship rights
Contesting curriculum: Hebrew and African American history
Multicultural curriculum, representation, and group identities
Racism, resistance, and racial formation in the public schools
The foreseeable split: Ocean Hill-Brownsville and Jewish and African American relations today

Editorial Reviews

"Just when you thought there was nothing left to say about race and American education, Melissa F. Weiner comes along to prove you wrong. By comparing Black and Jewish protesters in New York City, Weiner sheds new light upon both groups, and, best of all, upon the shadowy racial politics of twentieth-century schools."--Jonathan Zimmerman "professor of education & history, New York University" (1/1/2099 12:00:00 AM)

"The power of parent organizing as a means to reform schools and make them more responsive to the communities they serve has been underappreciated largely because the history of past efforts has not been well documented. With this detailed account of the experience of Black and Jewish parents in New York City, Weiner has provided new and profound insights into how and why parents can be a tremendous resource for educational change."--Pedro Noguera "Steinhardt School, NYU, and author of The Trouble with Black Boys: And Other Ref" (1/1/2099 12:00:00 AM)

"Weiner's book documents an important and heartbreaking history and offers some hard lessons for activists today. Highly recommended."-- "Choice" (5/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

"Just when you thought there was nothing left to say about race and American education, Melissa F. Weiner comes along to prove you wrong. By comparing Black and Jewish protesters in New York City, Weiner sheds new light upon both groups, and, best of all, upon the shadowy racial politics of twentieth-century schools."

professor of education & history, New York University - Jonathan Zimmerman

"Weiner's book documents an important and heartbreaking history and offers some hard lessons for activists today. Highly recommended."

Choice

"The power of parent organizing as a means to reform schools and make them more responsive to the communities they serve has been underappreciated largely because the history of past efforts has not been well documented. With this detailed account of the experience of Black and Jewish parents in New York City, Weiner has provided new and profound insights into how and why parents can be a tremendous resource for educational change."

Steinhardt School, NYU, and author of The Trouble with Black Boys: And Other Ref - Pedro Noguera