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Why the School Boycott?

Why the School Boycott?

Flyer that outlines a justification for the school boycott

Date: 1964

Caption: The flier by Queens Congress of Racial Equality and the Jamaica branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (or NAACP) called for a boycott of New York City’s public schools.

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Flyer that outlines a justification for the school boycott

The flier designed by two Queens civil rights organizing groups - the Congress of Racial Equality and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - calls for a boycott to protest segregation in New York City’s public schools.

Boycotting was a dramatic and disruptive move, so the organizers had to explain to people why it was needed. Queens CORE and the Jamaica NAACP argue for why a boycott will make a strong moral, and financial, impact.

You might notice that the text mentions some neighborhoods in Queens - Kew Gardens and South Jamaica - as examples. Segregation was a reality all over New York City, but the authors of this flier were focused on Queens, so they used examples that would be close-to-home and familiar to their readers. Kew Gardens was a segregated white area at the time, while South Jamaica was a segregated Black area.

Categories: parent activism, community activism, K-12 organizing, Queens

Tags: protest, racist segregation, organizing, photography, imagery, and visual representation, Black people

This item is part of "The 1964 Boycotts" in "Boycotting New York’s Segregated Schools"

Item Details

Date: 1964

Creator: Jamaica Branch NAACP and Queens CORE

Source: Queens College Special Collections and Archives

Copyright: Public domain. Courtesy of Queens College Special Collections and Archive.

How to cite: “Why the School Boycott?,” Jamaica Branch NAACP and Queens CORE, in New York City Civil Rights History Project, Accessed: [Month Day, Year], https://nyccivilrightshistory.org/gallery/why-the-school-boycott.

Questions to Consider
  • What do you notice about the poster? What do you wonder?
  • Who was the audience for this flier? What strategies does the flier employ to encourage that audience to join the boycott?
  • What information in the poster echoes the present?
References
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