United Bronx Parents and Community Organizing for Bilingual Education in New York City

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Education and Equity in the United States and Abroad

Abstract

In the South Bronx from the mid-1960s through the late 1970s, United Bronx Parents (UBP) sought to empower poor and working-class Puerto Rican and African American parents to demand accountability from their neighborhood public schools. Through a Freirian-based program of parent-training workshops, UBP informed parents and created leaders who would confront the unresponsive and callous principals and administrators in the schools. Through advocacy and direct actions, UBP brought lasting structural changes to the schools in the South Bronx and throughout New York City, including bilingual education programs, increased numbers of minority teachers and administrators, and multicultural curricula. This paper presents a future-oriented historiography of UBP’s work that offers a valuable model for educators and activists seeking reform in schools today.

Author

• Laura Janet Kaplan, Pace University