The Two Bridges Model School District was one of three demonstration districts within the Community Control movement in New York City. A response to school segregation post Brown v. Board, the Community Control movement, which took place from 1967 to 1969, advanced the notion that when marginalized community groups have power over what goes on in schools, they are better equipped to foster successful and empowering educational environments.
Led by Asian, Black, and Latino working class parents, activists, and community members, the Two Bridges demonstration set an example of the power of cross-racial solidarity in striving for educational and racial justice. Teachers can incorporate this history into their classrooms when covering social justice movements in the 1960s, histories of cross racial solidarity, and present day issues of school inequality and segregation.
Teachers using this project should encourage their students to draw connections between Community Control and the issues they see within their own communities. In doing so, students can be inspired by the fact that oppressive conditions have never been uncontested by marginalized communities of color, and have a deeper understanding of the power of organizing and solidarity work.
About the Archivist
Clarissa Kunizaki is a sixteen-year-old rising senior at Brooklyn Technical High School. She has been a member of the Leadership Team for the Localized History Project since its founding. Her current research focuses on uplifting stories of solidarity in NYC’s Community Control movement and racial coalition-building in the 1960s.