June 10, 1969 Letter from the Bedford-Stuyvesant "majority dissident" group to CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker
Item
* H. Bowker
Dri -ALber
Chancellor Bite x
tae Opty University of New York
S35 Bast 20th otreat
wp New York
e)
tachea is a copy of the, list of members of the Bedford-
yvecan~ Coalition for Community College #7.
“We the undersioned representatives of the majority of these
Listed thereon do hereby state our concern over
3 at now prevails in tha.selection of a president —
fori Bie cellece.. We do not agree with the inflexible position =]
tant one Neqotpating= Team persists. in ‘taking. ee
yee to the lack of integrity in which the community meetings
core seen conducted, there is no other vehicle through which we
ean vecl niet eur total disapproval. (Therefore, we demand that
arene siiations be resumed immediately, strengthened with repre-
ees 2 i on fom our majority dissident group. e
‘Sincerely yours, ose
y RN Ae ee eee NAACR (Brooklyn Branch)
/ g tet aie S UL een eee Salvation Army - Bedford Temple Corp
Community of Bedford-Bushwick(C.0.8.8.)
7,
oo Aye fF 4 ( al
antral Brooklyn Coordinating Councl Coordinating Council
ae 2k fente I
bested: Stuyvesant Youth-in- Action, we
las cre
T Unity Democratic Club
OF,
Cy tial Sea talais be I eee et Oey Interdenominational Ministerial
mg Be Re aes eon Alliance
oy fit oe
AR AY ein Pine at: na a nab eee a dgiae ty cape deme <ainely OA Rte ptt OA 2 Oe engwe BE SHIT ate "VMS. 2 os Aas ayo ene ee eee bompe: e Set ap ee
re ete Te OPAC ee o
Dri -ALber
Chancellor Bite x
tae Opty University of New York
S35 Bast 20th otreat
wp New York
e)
tachea is a copy of the, list of members of the Bedford-
yvecan~ Coalition for Community College #7.
“We the undersioned representatives of the majority of these
Listed thereon do hereby state our concern over
3 at now prevails in tha.selection of a president —
fori Bie cellece.. We do not agree with the inflexible position =]
tant one Neqotpating= Team persists. in ‘taking. ee
yee to the lack of integrity in which the community meetings
core seen conducted, there is no other vehicle through which we
ean vecl niet eur total disapproval. (Therefore, we demand that
arene siiations be resumed immediately, strengthened with repre-
ees 2 i on fom our majority dissident group. e
‘Sincerely yours, ose
y RN Ae ee eee NAACR (Brooklyn Branch)
/ g tet aie S UL een eee Salvation Army - Bedford Temple Corp
Community of Bedford-Bushwick(C.0.8.8.)
7,
oo Aye fF 4 ( al
antral Brooklyn Coordinating Councl Coordinating Council
ae 2k fente I
bested: Stuyvesant Youth-in- Action, we
las cre
T Unity Democratic Club
OF,
Cy tial Sea talais be I eee et Oey Interdenominational Ministerial
mg Be Re aes eon Alliance
oy fit oe
AR AY ein Pine at: na a nab eee a dgiae ty cape deme <ainely OA Rte ptt OA 2 Oe engwe BE SHIT ate "VMS. 2 os Aas ayo ene ee eee bompe: e Set ap ee
re ete Te OPAC ee o
Title
June 10, 1969 Letter from the Bedford-Stuyvesant "majority dissident" group to CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker
Description
On June 10, 1969, ten representatives of various Bedford-Stuyvesant’s educational and community organizations wrote to Albert Bowker, Chancellor of the City University of New York (CUNY) formally expressing their disagreements with the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services (B-SCENS) Negotiation Team for Community College 7. In recent weeks, the five-member Negotiation Team, which had been appointed by B-SCENS, and chaired by Al Vann, had reached what Bowker had deemed an “impasse” with CUNY officials over the selection of a president for the new college. The letter’s signatories, who included Louise Glover of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and representatives of several local chapters of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), demanded to be represented in the ongoing deliberations with CUNY. The “majority dissenters” also cast aspersions on the processes by which Vann and his Negotiation Team had represented the preferences of the broader Bedford-Stuyvesant 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
NAACP, (Brooklyn Branch), Salvation Army - Bedford Temple Corp, Community of Bedford-Bushwick (C.O.R.B.), Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council, Bedford-STuyvesant Youth Action, Inc, Unity Democratic Club, YMCA - Bedford Branch, Bed-Stuy Model Cities Education Committee, Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
Date
June 10, 1969
Language
English
Source
Donald Watkins Collection (Brooklyn Public Library)
Original Format
Pamphlet / Petition
NAACP, (Brooklyn Branch), Salvation Army - Bedford Temple Corp, Community of Bedford-Bushwick (C.O.R.B.), Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council, Bedford-STuyvesant Youth Action, Inc, Unity Democratic Club, YMCA - Bedford Branch, Bed-Stuy Model Cities Education Committee, Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. Letter. “June 10, 1969 Letter from the Bedford-Stuyvesant ‘majority Dissident’ Group to CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker.”, CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, accessed March 10, 2026, https://stephenz.tailc22a4b.ts.net/s/cdha/item/2031