New York teachers school policy: strike of 1968

The collection includes papers, correspondence, pamphlets and other documents that chart the strike period and after.

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The New York City teachers' strike of 1968 was a confrontation between the new community-controlled school board in the largely black Ocean Hill–Brownsville neighborhoods of Brooklyn, and New York City's United Federation of Teachers. The strike started in May 1968 to November 1968, shutting down the public schools for a total of 36 days and increased racial tensions between Blacks and Jews.

The community wished for more involvement in running the schools and a decentralization policy was initiated. This was contested by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), led by Albert Shanker, who demanded the teachers' reinstatement. At the start of the school year in 1968, the UFT held a strike that shut down New York City's public schools for nearly two months.

The collection is arranged into the following series:

1. Statements from the Office of the Mayor 2. Public Education Association Newsletters 3. United Bronx Parents Material 4. Board of Education Publications 5. Pamphlets 6. New York Civil Liberties Union 7. Letters and Reports 8. Conference papers, Articles, Miscellaneous material

24 hours notice is required to view this collection. Material will then be accessible through Manchester Central Library Search Room, Manchester Central Library, St Peters Square, Manchester, M2 5PD. To access this collection please: Contact the archive

This collection consists of materials collected by Lou Kushnick for research that would later be published in an article in the Journal of American Studies. The material was later donated to the centre.

Please contact the Resource Centre for more details.