The Idea of Skill in 1960s Harlem

• In Event: Harlem Stories: Contesting Educational Goals and Strategies for Reform in the 20th Century

Abstract

In current education discourse, ideas of “skill,” “non-cognitive skill,” and “human capital” gain extensive attention. These concepts deserve a rich historical investigation, to consider how, over time and within various communities, ideas of skill have been articulated and have made their way into educational practice. What counted as skill, and which skills were most important? Which seemed worthy of teaching, through what means? The rich confluence of intellectual activity and activism, particularly in the fields of psychology, economics, and community development, in Harlem and its schools and communities in the 1950s and 1960s provides an opportunity to investigate how various Harlemites defined skill and sought to foster it within the communities in which they worked.

Other projects have investigated the networks of psychologists and activists working in and around Harlem schools at the time – including Kenneth and Mamie Clark, Doxey Wilkerson, Preston Wilcox, and others. But these projects have tended to focus either on the political struggles that youth-focused programs produced, or have focused on the roots of compensatory education. This investigation considers how the programs that these leaders created for out-of-school youth and young adults in particular evidenced debates over and articulations of ideas about skill. When focused on vocational preparation or training, ideas of skill came to the fore even more boldly. Within the rich political milieu of the time, and coming from distinct political perspectives, defining and fostering skills for employment created interesting confrontations between these leaders’ educational and community visions and the contemporary economic conditions their students navigated. Thinking about skill, then became entangled with thinking about the place of education in relationship to an often unjust economic order.

This paper will draw on the rich archival sources available in the collections of Doxey Wilkerson and Preston Wilcox (held at the Schomburg Center of the NYPL), as well as readings in their published works, to map how their work touched upon the idea of skill and to venture preliminary findings about how, in the context of various strains of political activism as well as the disciplinary traditions in which they worked, these leaders defined the idea of skill.

Author

• Ansley T. Erickson, Teachers College, Columbia University