The Little Rock of the North
On March 24, 2011, my English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, Ms. Guzzetti, invited my mother and I to an event in the Ossie Davis Theatre found in the New Rochelle Public Library. There, I got the chance to hear Carlotta Walls LaNier speak about her experience as one of the Little Rock Nine. In that event, she presented her memoir which displayed her struggles in attending school at Little Rock Central High School. During that time, I was made aware of the institutionalized segregation that occurred in New Rochelle, a story that is not so evident when considering New Rochelle High School, a high school known for its diversity. In fact, on the website for New Rochelle, it is mentioned that it ranks 18th on the list of most diverse cities in America. Considering that I was raised in New Rochelle, it was surprising to find out that New Rochelle had been considered a “Little Rock of the North” when looking at the now gone Lincoln Elementary School (LEM). According to the Downtown New Rochelle website, this event was in part to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landmark case that occurred after the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).
The struggle presented in this elementary school revolved around the fact that the school was predominantly black; any whites living in the Lincoln District were permitted to transfer to other schools. As a result, the parents of eleven children went to file a court case due to their incapability of transferring to another school that was predominantly white. Initially introduced as a segregation case, it was then altered to an integration case because of the evidence of the racial imbalance in the school. Once it had been recognized that the school had been racially segregated, the court ordered that around April 14, 1961, a plan for desegregation should commence no later than the start of the 1961-1962 school year. This should be expected after about seven to eight years had passed since the decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
Before filing a court case and then filing for an appeal case with Paul B. Zuber, an attorney in New Rochelle, black families protested and boycotted the school. Parents refused to let their children go to class. Some of the parents who filed for the court, including Hallie Taylor, tried enrolling their children into other schools outside of the district like Ward, Barnard, Webster, and Mayflower. Reverend M. DeWitt Bullock of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) even protested with seven parents by bringing chairs to sit on the lawn of Ward School.
One strategy clearly implemented in concentrating black students into this elementary school was gerrymandering. When looking at the map of the Lincoln District above, it demonstrates the streets that were part of that district that had no choice but to go to Lincoln Elementary School. In the case, the Board of Education (BOE) reasoned that the 94% population of black students in LEM occurred as a result of the “neighborhood school policy.” One of the recorded findings includes the following:
“[A]round 1930, an area of several blocks, occupied by whites, was carved out of the Lincoln District and added to the Daniel Webster District, even though this area was adjacent to the Lincoln School and was a relatively long distance from the Webster School. When Negroes later moved into this area it was restored to the Lincoln District.”
In other words, the area removed from the Lincoln district was, in fact, closer to LEM; children living in these areas had to travel farther to get to Webster. As soon as this elementary school had opened in 1930, white students were being transferred there. Once the said areas were no longer inhabited by whites but instead by blacks, the previously removed streets had been once again added into the Lincoln District.
To combat the blatant concentration of black students in the elementary school, the BOE had reinforced a policy that refused to admit transfers and allowed new students to enter schools that correspond to where they live on January 11, 1949. This is what is referred to as the neighborhood school policy. While reinforcing this policy, the Board of Education promised to correct the district lines by studying them more closely and making them more accurate. Among the surveys and studies created to analyze these district lines was the Dodson Report.
Also known as the “Racial Imbalance in Public Education New Rochelle, New York,” this report urged the BOE to take action and make a change. The Board, while stalling the change, devised three proposals regarding what should be down with the elementary school. One of the proposals of the Board included rebuilding a larger Lincoln Elementary School and then discontinuing Washington School. The Dodson report did not approve of this idea due to the fact that it would encourage more integration in the school. Analyzing the situation, the Dodson Report noted the psychological impacts that racial integration has on the children and how it impedes the learning environment of a child.
Today, when one goes to these neighborhoods, one can see the impact of the gerrymandering in the neighborhoods. In both streets that I lived in, I noticed the number of minorities around me such as Hispanics and blacks. Both of these streets were found in the district lines of the Lincoln District.
With the Brown v. Board of Education as the precedent case, it was mandated that Lincoln should be desegregated; by 1963, a new superintendent and new BOE had other plans. This new group of people decided to completely destroy the elementary school and relocate the students to the other nearby elementary schools.
What remains in the area where the elementary school existed is a plaque found in one of the entrances of Lincoln Park. This was created as a commemorative for the 25 year anniversary of the Taylor v. Board of Education case.
Works Cited
“Author Carlotta Walls Lanier: A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School.” Downtown New Rochelle, New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District, www.newrochelledowntown.com/events/?event=737&past=1.
Feron, James. “NEW ROCHELLE RECALLS LANDMARK BIAS RULING.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 June 1986, www.nytimes.com/1986/06/01/nyregion/new-rochelle-recalls-landmark-bias-ruling.html.
Hessel, Karen. “Lincoln School Desegregation Today (Part II): The Dodson Report.” Lincoln School Desegregation Today, www.hk-studios.com/lincolndistrict/LincolnDistrictPart2.asp.
Hessel, Karen. “Lincoln School Desegregation Today (Part III): Frustration Grows.” Lincoln School Desegregation Today, www.hk-studios.com/lincolndistrict/LincolnDistrictPart3.asp.
Hessel, Karen. “Lincoln School Desegregation Today (Part IV): Civil Disobedience.” Lincoln School Desegregation Today, www.hk-studios.com/lincolndistrict/LincolnDistrictPart4.asp.
Hessel, Karen. “Lincoln School Desegregation Today: Part I – Early Gerrymandering.” Lincoln School Desegregation Today, www.hk-studios.com/lincolndistrict/LincolnDistrictPart1.asp.
Special to The New York Times. “350 NEGRO PUPILS TO ASK TRANSFERS: PARENTS SET TO DEMAND ACTION IN NEW ROCHELLE.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Jun 08, 1961, pp. 37. ProQuest, http://queens.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/115430978?accountid=13379.
Taliaferro, Lanning. “School Segregation: What The Data Shows About Districts.” Ossining-Croton-On-Hudson, NY Patch, Patch, 10 Jan. 2018, patch.com/new-york/ossining/school-segregation-what-data-shows-districts.
“Taylor v. BOARD OF ED. OF CITY SCH. DIST. OF NEW ROCHELLE, 195 F. Supp. 231 (S.D.N.Y. 1961).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/195/231/1524480/.
“Taylor v. Board of Education of City School District, 191 F. Supp. 181 (S.D.N.Y. 1961).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/191/181/1450791/.
United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit. “Home.” OpenJurist, openjurist.org/294/f2d/36/taylor-v-board-of-education-of-city-school-district-of-city-of-new-rochelle-c.
