LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the histor-
ical New Rochelle schools desegregation suit, the "Little Rock of the
North"

WHEREAS, With February being Black History Month, it is a time to
reflect on the struggles and victories of African-Americans throughout
our country's history and to recognize their numerous valuable contrib-
utions to society; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 50th Anniversary of the historical New Rochelle schools deseg-
regation suit, the "Little Rock of the North"; and
WHEREAS, This important occasion will be recognized with several
events this year sponsored by Reflections of Change, a committee led by
New Rochelle Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak and author Linda
Tarrant-Reid; the following events include: Change, Challenges and Chil-
dren, a poetry program, to be held on February 24, 2011, at New Rochelle
High School; the opening reception for the Reflections of Change exhibit
will be held on March 9, 2011, at New Rochelle High School; a closing
reception and program for "History Happened Here"; a 50-year retrospec-
tive of the Lincoln School Decision will be held on March 18, 2011, at
Daniel Webster Elementary School; and on March 24, 2011, Carlotta Watts
LaNier, author of A MIGHTY LONG WAY: MY JOURNEY TO JUSTICE AT LITTLE
ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, will speak on March 24, 2011, at the New
Rochelle Public Library; and
WHEREAS, Fifty years ago, on January 24, 1961, Judge Irving R. Kaufman
decided against the New Rochelle Board of Education and found that the
city deliberately gerrymandered African-American students into the
Lincoln Elementary School, which was at times over 94 percent black;
many people do not know that New Rochelle was once called the "Little
Rock of the North" and garnered nationwide attention in a desegregation
case that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, Most remember the Brown v. Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education
(1954) case, where the United States Supreme Court ruled that separate
but equal schools are inherently unequal; the New Rochelle case happened
seven years later; and
WHEREAS, In Dr. Gail Guttman's excellent dissertation on the topic,
she traced the Lincoln segregation problem back to 1930, when Webster
Elementary School opened; the attendance zones put white families in the
new school and the black families in Lincoln; the local NAACP protested,
but no changes were made, and whites who lived within the Lincoln school
district were granted transfers to alternative schools; and
WHEREAS, After a heated school board meeting in 1949, the New Rochelle
School Board ended its policy of permissive transfers and strictly
enforced the "neighborhood school" policy; this led to lawsuits by white
families and people moving out of the district; and
WHEREAS, By the 1950s, a deteriorating Lincoln School, built in 1898,
was surrounded by scaffolding; it was the oldest building in use by the
school district; the city decided to rebuild and held a vote, which
passed; this angered most, but not all, Lincoln district residents; and
WHEREAS, Some thought that a new, but integrated, school would be an
asset to their community; in December of 1957, integration expert Dr.
Dan Dodson and a highly esteemed committee were enlisted to study the
situation, which was growing volatile; the resulting report concluded
that the city had in fact created a segregated school; the Board of
Education had chosen to ignore the recommendations in the report; and

WHEREAS, In September of 1959, African-American families marched in
protest for two days; there were rallies, boycotts and a variety of
failed legal actions; and
WHEREAS, Soon after, the parents of Lincoln students attempted to
register their children in more desirable elementary schools; they went
to Ward School, a newly constructed modern school, and the families were
told by the School Superintendent that Lincoln was just as good as Ward;
and
WHEREAS, African-American parents later were rebuffed at the predomi-
nantly white Roosevelt School; the school district contended that other
New Rochelle schools had a racial mix that matched the demographics of
the city as a whole; and
WHEREAS, A lawsuit was filed on October 21, 1960, against the city on
behalf of Hallie Taylor's eight-year-old daughter, Leslie, and several
other children; the case known as "Taylor v. New Rochelle Board of
Education", went to trial and an important witness, Bertha White, who
kept careful records, testified how particular school lines were drawn
throughout the neighborhoods, as racial housing patterns changed; and
WHEREAS, On January 24, 1961, Judge Irving Kaufman ruled that the
school board intentionally segregated blacks and ordered the district to
desegregate; the district appealed the ruling and Thurgood Marshall, the
chief counsel for the NAACP and later the first black Supreme Court
justice, joined the plaintiffs' legal team; the New Rochelle School
District lost an appeal in August of 1961, and in December of that year,
the United States Supreme Court declined to review the case, ending the
litigation; and
WHEREAS, With its last class graduating in 1963, Lincoln was demol-
ished a year later, although its elementary school district exists
today; and
WHEREAS, Our society is greatly benefited by the purposeful efforts of
individuals who unite for the cause of improving the quality of life for
others, and who proactively work toward the goal of dignity for all;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the historical New Rochelle schools
desegregation suit, the "Little Rock of the North"; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Reflections of Change committee members Richard Organisciak,
New Rochelle Schools Superintendent, and author Linda Tarrant-Reid.