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TABLE OF CONTENTSInventory |
Guide to the Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld Papers of I.S. 231
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Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator | Weisenfeld family | |
| Title | Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld Papers of I.S. 231, | |
| Dates: | 1978-1981 | |
| Abstract: | The Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld Papers of IS 231 document the Weisenfeld’s anti school segregation case against the New York City Board of Education’s School District 29 in the form of clippings; School District 29’s memoranda and meeting minutes; the Weisenfeld’s correspondence to and from the New York City’s Office of Civil Rights, New York City Mayor’s Office, New York State Senator Frank Padavan, and other government officials; and Nassau County Court’s review of the Weisenfeld’s case against School Board 29. | |
| Extent: | 1 box, 1 cubic foot | |
| Identification: | W-16 | |
| Location: | The material is located in the Archives at Queens Library. | |
Historical/Biographical Note
Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld lived at 223-01 137th Ave., Laurelton, and were parents of an IS 231 student. Barbara Weisenfeld was the Chairperson of the Federation of Laurelton Block Association’s Education Committee and took an active role fighting segregation in New York City’s Intermediate School 231.
During the mid 1970’s School District 29’s schools were overcrowded affecting the quality of education. The school board held many meetings to determine how to resolve this problem. One solution they created was to build an annex for one of the over crowded schools Intermediate School 231. In June 1977 the New York City Board of Education approved School District 29’s request for an annex at IS 231. To determine which building students will attend in the coming school year, the School Board sent a form to parents. In September 1977 when the schools opened, the main building’s student body was predominantly African American and the annex’s was mostly white.
The Weisenfelds noticed this and took the initiative to solve the problem. They wrote to the New York City Mayor’s Office, New York State Senator Frank Padavan, and other government agencies about the problem. They wrote letters to the parents. Eventually they went to court to solve the problem. In 1981, the court agreed that the school board did discriminate.
The following is a chronology of Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld activities involving the Mayor, Senator Padavan, and Board of Education.
Chronology| June 27, 1978 | The Weisenfelds wrote to William R. Valentine, Acting Director of New York City’s Office of Civil Rights to get his attention about the racial segregation issue at IS 231. | |
| September 19, 1978 | Bernard wrote to Ms. Pauline Albritton, Director of New York City’s Office of Civil Rights providing the racial composition of the students at IS 231’s main building and annex. | |
| July 15, 1978 | Bernard wrote second letter to Mayor Abraham D. Beame about IS 231’s problem. A pamphlet was sent to the parents of the children at IS 231 to not send their children to the annex. | |
| November 16, 1978 | Barbara wrote to New York State Senator Frank Padavan informing him of the problem at IS 231. | |
| November 20, 1978 | Barbara received a letter from Frank Padavan’s office acknowledging her letter, and acknowledging his concern about the problem. | |
| 1979 | Barbara had extensive telephone conversations with Frank Padavan, Mayor Abraham D. Beame’s office, her attorney and other city officials regarding the problem and her legal case. | |
| March 19, 1981 | Barbara received a congratulation letter from her attorney about the Judge’s favorable decision. |
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Scope and Content Note
The Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld Papers of IS 231 document the Weisenfeld’s anti school segregation case against the New York City Board of Education’s School District 29 in the form of clippings; School District 29’s memoranda and meeting minutes; the Weisenfeld’s correspondence to and from the New York City Civil Right Office, New York City Mayor’s Office, New York State Senator Frank Padavan, and other government officials; and Nassau County Court’s review of the Weisenfeld’s case against School Board 29.
The series Clippings, (1 folder, 1980-1981) contains copies of newspaper articles about the problems at IS 231, the Weisenfeld’s activities and the court decisions.
The series Correspondences, legal records, meeting minutes (16 folders, 1976-1981) contains School District 29 memoranda and meeting minutes; the Weisenfeld’s correspondence to and from New York City’s Office of Civil Right, New York City Mayor’ s office, New York State Senator Frank Padavan, and legal documents from the Weisenfield’s case against School District 29. The following highlights the significant records to be found.
The folder containing documents from 1976 has meeting minutes of School District 29, including the meeting in which the School Board approved the creation of an annex for IS 231.
The folder containing documents from 1977 has the School Board’s meeting minutes. It also contains the two forms the school board sent to parents to choose between the main building and the annex.
The folder containing documents from 1978 has the statistics of IS 231’s student body that Bernard sent to New York City’s Office of Civil Rights. It also contains the investigation report about IS 231 sent to the mayor’s office from the School Board.
The folder containing documents from 1979 has a letter from Barbara’s attorney to Nassau County’s Administrative Law Judge requesting his attention to IS 231’s problem. It also includes Barbara Weisnefeld’s summaries of her telephone conversation with different officials about IS 231.
The folder containing documents from 1980-81 has legal documents and correspondence of different officials.
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Arrangement
The papers are arranged in chronological order following the creator’s original order.
The files are grouped into series:
| Clippings, (1 folder, 1980-1981) | |
| Correspondence, legal records, meeting minutes (16 folders, 1976-1981) |
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Creator of item, date of item (if known), identification of item, if a photograph its control number. The Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld Papers of IS 231, Archives at Queens Library, Queens Borough Public Library.
Provenance
Bernard and Barbara Weisenfeld donated the Barnard and Barbara Weisenfeld Papers to the Queens Borough Public Library.
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions. Manuscripts are only available in the Archives at Queens Library, please call (718) 990-0770 for hours. Manuscript users will be required to complete the division's Manuscript Usage Form and deposit their photograph identification or Queens Borough Public Library card with a staff member. The identification will be returned to the user after she/he has returned the material. Manuscript users will deposit all their personal items behind the reference desk. Manuscript users must use the division's loose sheets of paper for note taking. To reiterate, no pen of any type is permitted. Paper and a pencil are available upon request. Manuscript users may be required to use special handling procedures depending on the conditions of the material.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
- Archives at Queens Library
- Queens Borough Public Library
- 89-11 Merrick Boulevard
- Jamaica, NY 11432
- Phone: (718) 990-0770.
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Access Points
Subject Names:
- Padavan, Frank
- Weisenfeld, Barbara
- Weisenfeld, Bernard
Subject Organizations:
- Federation of Laurelton Block Association
- I.S. 231 (Laurelton, New York, N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.). Board of Education
Subject Topics:
- Schools
- Segregation in education
Subject Places:
- Laurelton (New York, N.Y.)
- Rosedale (New York, N.Y.)
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Inventory
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
