December 9, 1968 Minutes of Special Meeting of the Negotiation Team of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services
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268 Ashland Place - Room 602 Brooklyn, New York 11217
NEGOTIATION TEAM
Special Meeting
December 9, 1966 - 4:00 p.m.
Hotel Commodore
Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street Re ay ge
New York, New York 8
Present: Messrs: Albert Vann, Chairman
Robert Carson
Thomas R, Jones
Jack L. Pannigan ee
Herman Patterson af
Mre, Elle Sease
This meeting was called pricr to the Presidential Search Committee
Meeting scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the Graduate Center, in order to decide upon
the course of action to be taken by the Team in response to the news of receipt.
of a Ford Foundation grant by the City University of New York.
Request had been made earlier by telegram te cancel the interviews of
Presidential Candidates which had been calendared, in view of the urgency of the
matters to be discussed; accordingly, only one interview was on the Agenda.
Team members ven in agreement that although time was ‘important, no disrespect
toward our Black educators would be permitted on the part of either the
feom or members of the Board of Higher Education,
Through discussion, it was allowed that the Chairman should lead with
® series of questiens put to the Presidential Search Committee, the Team, meanwhile,
listing any pointe missed or in need of clarification to be included. The primary
: ——e of the Negotiating Team is that a major step such as a proposal for a Ford |
: f Foundation grant, supposedly for the benefit of Community College Number Seven, ie
Pirgt: Outline our position toward our community in terms of |
representing them. :
Second: Face them with their maltrust and lack of respect in |
dealing with, us by withholding information.
Third: Itemize the specific kinds of information we need
a) who will direct and supervise the administration
of the Ford grant funds?
b) who developed the proposal for the grant? _
c) ultimately, to be sure that our role in relation-
ship to Community College Number Seven is defixed,
including the Ford grant.
All agreed, and the meeting was adjourned to the Presidential Search : “t
Coamittee Meeting at the Graduate Center at 5:45 p.m.
June Campbell
Secretary
Albert Vann
ay Chairman
268 Ashland Place - Room 602 Brooklyn, New York 11217
NEGOTIATION TEAM
Special Meeting
December 9, 1966 - 4:00 p.m.
Hotel Commodore
Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street Re ay ge
New York, New York 8
Present: Messrs: Albert Vann, Chairman
Robert Carson
Thomas R, Jones
Jack L. Pannigan ee
Herman Patterson af
Mre, Elle Sease
This meeting was called pricr to the Presidential Search Committee
Meeting scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the Graduate Center, in order to decide upon
the course of action to be taken by the Team in response to the news of receipt.
of a Ford Foundation grant by the City University of New York.
Request had been made earlier by telegram te cancel the interviews of
Presidential Candidates which had been calendared, in view of the urgency of the
matters to be discussed; accordingly, only one interview was on the Agenda.
Team members ven in agreement that although time was ‘important, no disrespect
toward our Black educators would be permitted on the part of either the
feom or members of the Board of Higher Education,
Through discussion, it was allowed that the Chairman should lead with
® series of questiens put to the Presidential Search Committee, the Team, meanwhile,
listing any pointe missed or in need of clarification to be included. The primary
: ——e of the Negotiating Team is that a major step such as a proposal for a Ford |
: f Foundation grant, supposedly for the benefit of Community College Number Seven, ie
Pirgt: Outline our position toward our community in terms of |
representing them. :
Second: Face them with their maltrust and lack of respect in |
dealing with, us by withholding information.
Third: Itemize the specific kinds of information we need
a) who will direct and supervise the administration
of the Ford grant funds?
b) who developed the proposal for the grant? _
c) ultimately, to be sure that our role in relation-
ship to Community College Number Seven is defixed,
including the Ford grant.
All agreed, and the meeting was adjourned to the Presidential Search : “t
Coamittee Meeting at the Graduate Center at 5:45 p.m.
June Campbell
Secretary
Albert Vann
ay Chairman
Title
December 9, 1968 Minutes of Special Meeting of the Negotiation Team of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services
Description
On December 9, 1968, in its second Special Meeting in less than a week, the five-member Negotiation Team of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services met to discuss their concerns that City University of New York (CUNY) officials with whom they had been collaborating to plan Community College 7 were making key decisions without consulting them as representatives of the Central Brooklyn community. At issue was news that CUNY officials had submitted a proposal for a $440,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to support the planning and establishment of Community College 7. In minutes from the meeting, the Negotiation Team noted their “primary concern. . .that a major step, such as a proposal for a Ford Foundation grant, supposedly for the benefit of Community College 7, could have been effected without prior knowledge or approval of the Coalition Negotiation Team.” Tensions and mistrust between the Bedford-Stuyvesant and CUNY representatives involved in planning Community College 7 would continue to escalate in the coming weeks.
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
Bedford Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services
Date
December 9, 1968
Language
English
Source
Donald Watkins Collection (Brooklyn Public Library)
Original Format
Notes / Minutes
Bedford Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services. Letter. “December 9, 1968 Minutes of Special Meeting of the Negotiation Team of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services.”, CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, accessed March 10, 2026, https://stephenz.tailc22a4b.ts.net/s/cdha/item/2026