“’A History of Constant Outbursts and Tensions’: African American and Italian American Clashes in Post-Rebellion Newark’s High Schools”

Nancy Carnevale, Montclair State University

In the aftermath of the 1967 rebellion and into the 1970s, disorders involving Black and white students within Newark high schools became commonplace, with the most notable occurring at Barringer and Vailsburg high schools. These schools had historically been dominated by Italian Americans who were the largest white ethnic group remaining in Newark. Through an analysis of key examples, this paper goes beyond the role of individual racial animus to situate the story of these high school conflicts within a larger contest over political, economic, and social power between Black and Italian American Newarkers. As the growing Black population began making greater demands on the schools, the long held day-to-day sway of Italian American students as well as oversight of the schools by an Italian American dominated Board of Education and mainly Italian American parents became contested. Although the initial spark for high school unrest varied, a key point of contention that emerged was whose values would be inculcated in the schools, whether via curriculum—the teaching of Black history vs. Columbus, classes in Swahili--or the presence of the Black Liberation flag in public schools. These debates took on added meaning as part of the broader ethnoracial struggle that had been intensifying throughout the 1960s. That major figures representing each of the two groups involved, the race-baiting demagogue, Anthony Imperiale, and Amiri Baraka, the embodiment of Black Power politics, took opposing sides in these conflicts heightened the perception of what was at stake, particularly for Italian American Newarkers who equated Black Power with Black racism. In addition to exploring the underpinnings of these disturbances, my paper calls attention to Italian American and Black racial moderates in and out of the school system who sought to de-escalate tensions but who could not gain any traction in such a polarized environment.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 191. Racial Counter-narratives and the City