A Veil of Community Control in the Target City

• In Event: Urban Communities and School Reform in the 1960s

Abstract

Historical analysis of community school policy from 1964 to 1971 revealed tensions in the city of Baltimore between racial liberalism and calls for Black Power prevalent across the urban landscape. Whereas those political, racial, and generational tensions in cities like New York came to explosive conclusions and a withdrawal of community control, Baltimore provided community members with only a semblance of control. As a result, institutionalized power retained control in ways that provide implications for how community schools are designed today.

Author

• William Harry Rodick, George Mason University