Program for Malcolm X Memorial Service, cover
Date: Feb 21, 1969
Caption: During community control, I.S. 201 in East Harlem hosted a memorial service for Malcolm X, who had been murdered nearly four years earlier.
In the East Harlem community control district, teachers emphasized subjects that connected to their students’ African heritage. They also made use of the school’s physical spaces to recognize Black history, including in programs that welcomed members of the community around the school.1
One of these events was a memorial service for Malcolm X, who had lived and worked in Harlem before he was assassinated on February 21, 1965. Held in 1969, this memorial came four years after Malcolm X’s death, and less than a year after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. Dr. King had been the subject of many more public celebrations of his life and work, including in schools, than had Malcolm X. At the time, Malcolm X’s views had often been labeled too radical for inclusion in many school curricula.
By hosting the memorial service at I.S. 201, educators were signaling that the school was a resource for community events, and they were recognizing a range of voices, ideas, and strategies in the Black freedom struggle.
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Marta Gutman, “Race, Space, and Modern Architecture at I.S. 201,” in Educating Harlem: A Century of Schooling and Resistance in a Black Community, ed. Ansley T. Erickson and Ernest Morrell (New York: Columbia University Press, 2019). ↩︎
Watch: A Windowless School in Harlem
Categories: K-12 organizing, community activism, Manhattan
Tags: curriculum, Harlem, the arts, photography, imagery, and visual representation
This item is part of "The Push for Community Control" in "Who Governs Schools?"
Item Details
Date: Feb 21, 1969
Copyright: Public domain
How to cite: “Program for Malcolm X Memorial Service, cover,” in New York City Civil Rights History Project, Accessed: [Month Day, Year], https://nyccivilrightshistory.org/gallery/malcolm-x-memorial.
Questions to Consider
- Why do you think the community control district in East Harlem wanted to host this event? What connections do you see between community control and Malcom X?
- What historical figures and special days get attention at your school? How does it matter?
- Who decides what topics, events, and people are important to recognize at your school?
References
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