Description
Book SynopsisDesegregation of the New York City Schools: A Story of the Silk Stocking Sisters explores the use of young black and brown children to eliminate segregation in an urban public school to meet the challenges of equal education opportunity in the North during the mid-twentieth century. Author Theresa J. Canada, herself part of the experiment, tells the story of the desegregation of PS 6an elite New York City public schoolthrough the narratives of seven of the girls who desegregated the school. While all of the names within each narrative have been changed, the book follows the author as well as the stories of her elementary school classmates.
Desegregation of the New York City Schools provides a chapter explaining the history of PS 6 and this time period. There are chapters that describe the contrast between Northern and Southern school desegregation and the psychological and emotional impact these events have had throughout the lives of the girls in the narrative
Trade Review
“Theresa J. Canada provides an excellent overview of this unknown desegregation experience in the New York City public schools. This book informs us that little Black girls in the North were just as courageous as the Black children who desegregated schools in the South. The common fact is that these children were willing to do what was necessary to receive a better education.” —James H. Meredith, civil rights activist and author of Three Years in Mississippi
“With Desegregation of the New York City Schools: A Story of the Silk Stocking Sisters, Theresa J. Canada opens a window into the struggles and triumphs of seven highly accomplished Black women who were selected, as children, to desegregate PS 6 in New York City during the 1960s. While racial prejudice and economic disparity shaped the women’s experiences at PS 6, the women drew on their individual talents, supportive families, and strong connections to their Black communities to excel in the school and beyond. The book provides important insights to parents, teachers, and policymakers grappling with the twin forces of persistent educational inequities and deepening racial segregation.” —Dorothea Anagnostopoulos, Associate Professor and Executive Director of Teacher Education at the University of Connecticut
“The schooling narratives in Theresa J. Canada’s Desegregation of the New York City Schools: A Story of the Silk Stocking Sisters do not evoke nostalgic memories ensconced in an insatiable desire to return to that historical moment. Instead, her narratives compel us to wonder why, despite the Brown decision that officially ended school segregation in 1954, the schooling of Black Americans in the 21st century is virtually indistinguishable from the narratives of … the Silk Stocking Sisters in an elite NYC public school in the 20th century.” —Signithia Fordham, Associate Professor at the University of Rochester
Table of Contents
Preface – Acknowledgements – Part I: A Private School Education in a New York City Public School – The Silk Stocking School – Schools Up South – Select a Student – Part II: The Silk Stocking Sisters – Rise to Thrive—Evelyn – Brains and Brave—Monique – Black Power Princess—Imani – Slick and Sassy—Regina – School Secrets—Summer – Social Solitude—Janine – Pretty Rough and Tough—Latasha – Part III: Desegregated Public Schools – Northerly Versus Southerly – Of Heart and Mind – Education or Bust – Now Is the Future – Conclusion – Index.
