February 1968 Memo and Press Release from Youth in Action

Item

Title

February 1968 Memo and Press Release from Youth in Action

Description

In this February 6, 1968 memo, the leaders of Youth in Action (YiA), an anti-poverty organization based in Bedford-Stuyvesant, responded to CUNY’s announcement of a new community college in their community, expressing grave concerns that community members of Central Brooklyn had not been consulted about plans or programming for the newly proposed college. In the memo, the YiA leaders invited prominent political leaders and CUNY officials, including Senator Robert Kennedy, Mayor John Lindsay, and Judge Thomas Jones to an open meeting with the Bedford-Stuyvesant community, to clarify CUNY’s plans for the new college, and respond to questions from the community.
In February 1968, the City University of New York (CUNY) announced plans to establish a new “Community College 7 in or near Bedford-Stuyvesant. . . oriented to the Bedford-Stuyvesant Community and operated in consultation with the community.” Representatives of a broad network of Central Brooklyn community organizations engaged in an 18 months-long negotiation with CUNY Board of Higher Education officials over CUNY’s plans for its newly announced “Community College 7,” including discussions about the proposed school’s curriculum, who would lead it, and what role the community would play in the school’s governance. The role of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community in planning and determining the leadership of the college remained a central point of controversy between Central Brooklyn’s educational and civil society leaders and CUNY officials in the negotiations that followed.

Contributor

Woodsworth, Michael

Creator

Jordan, Ulysses

Date

February 6, 1968

Language

English

Source

Donald Watkins Collection (Brooklyn Public Library)

Original Format

Memorandum/Press Release / Statement

Jordan, Ulysses. Letter. “February 1968 Memo and Press Release from Youth in Action.”, CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, accessed March 10, 2026, https://stephenz.tailc22a4b.ts.net/s/cdha/item/2010