Public Schools: Teacher Power v. Black Power

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The nation's largest public school system last week fell victim to a collision between two significant contemporary movements: the justifiable, and not necessarily incompatible, yearnings for teacher power and for black power. All but a handful of New York City's 900 schools were twice shut down by strikes as the tightly disciplined United Federation of Teachers confronted a predominantly Negro community in an angry struggle over teacher assignments.

The main issue in the dispute was whether or not a community-run school committee in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville section of Brooklyn had the right to transfer teachers out of its district. In an unusual show of solidarity, the teachers' union, School Superintendent Bernard Donovan and the central board of education all insisted that it did not. Although not opposed in theory to community control of schools, the union insisted that teachers be protected from arbitrary dismissals. The conflict degenerated into an ugly battle that had racist overtones.

Only In Brownsville. For the second year in a row, the school year in New York City opened last week with the teachers on strike. A strike vote had been called by Albert Shanker, the tough, shrewd president of the teachers' union, when the locally elected Brooklyn committee refused to reinstate ten teachers it had ordered out of the district last year and tried to replace 200 teachers who had walked out in sympathy. The city's 4,000 school supervisors, including principals and district superintendents, aided the strike by ordering schools closed for the children's "safety." Fully 53,000 of New York's 57,000 teachers stayed away from classes. Ironically, the only schools operating normally were those of Ocean Hill-Brownsville, where Rhody McCoy, the district's cool Negro administrator, had recruited an eager group of new young teachers. Most were white.

After two days of round-the-clock negotiations, the school board announced a settlement under which the ousted teachers would "not be prevented" from returning and any teachers dismissed by local boards in the future could appeal to arbitration panels. The union called off its strike—but the agreement blew up when the affected teachers tried to return to their classrooms.

Jeering Crowd. Told by McCoy to assemble in the auditorium of Ocean Hill-Brownsville's Intermediate School 55, the teachers faced a group of angry parents and Negro militants who repeatedly disrupted the meeting with screams and howls. Auditorium lights were flicked on and off, and spectators taunted the teachers. "They hooted at us, cursed us, called us fagots and honkies," reported one teacher. "They said we'd be going out in pine boxes."

When 15 challenged teachers tried to enter one junior high school, the way was blocked by a jeering crowd. Police who fought to clear a path met cries of "racist cops!" "You nigger!" a black demonstrator shouted at Assistant Chief Inspector Lloyd Sealy, one of the city's top Negro cops. "You plotted this with those racist white pigs, you traitor!" After three protesters were arrested, the teachers got into the building, but none were given assignments.