Kathy Goldman Puerto Rican Community Papers

Kathy Goldman Puerto Rican Community Papers would be of interest to any researcher seeking to understand how the New York City Puerto Rican community in the mid-1960s fought to gain community control of local school districts from the Department of Education. Segregation and inferior education persisted in minority districts a decade after the Supreme Court decision on Brown v. Board of Education that ruled against “separate but equal schooling”. Goldman and like-minded activists advocated for various programs including decentralization of the Board of Education, establishment of citywide summer meals program, and adoption of the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). The bulk of the material is from 1964 – 2003 and documents social and political oganizations in the five boroughs of New York City. It contains correspondence, memoranda, clippings, flyers, menus, and community newspapers focused on the organizations where Goldman worked and led throughout her professional career.

This collection includes EQUAL (1964-1967) where Goldman was chairman and coordinated seven Bronx parent and citizen groups interested in bettering public education. Highlights include documents advocating for the Educational Park Concept. Equal also published reading scores and ethnic date for each school district in New York City compiled from Board of Education data and the New York Times.

There are also documents from Goldman’s time as coordinator with United Bronx Parents Inc. (UBP) (1967-1972). Details on the three experimental districts: IS-120 in East Harlem, Two Bridges in Lower East Side, and Ocean-Hill Brownsville in Brooklyn. This collection documents how Goldman was able to launch the first Summer Lunch Program in New York City in 1971 by attaining a $3.2 million dollar grant for the United States Department of Agriculture. The program provided 6 million lunches through 1,000 sites in all 5 boroughs in a span of 44 days.

The collection documents Community School Board District One – Lower East Side (1972-1974). The Lower East Side known as Loisaida was home to a large Puerto Rican population served by District One. Parents sought local control of the Community School Board to gain decision- making power over budget, personnel, and curriculum. This series contains materials pertaining to the For the Children Slate (Por Los Niños) of nine members running for the local school board. While the slate did not win, the flyers, newspaper ad, and poster (see OS) show an organized campaign with racial and gender diversity. As Director of Food Service Programs for District One, Goldman was responsible for developing and implementing the City’s only decentralized and community run breakfast and lunch program.

This collection also focuses on Community Food Resource Center (CFRC), (1980-2000s). Goldman founded CFRC as a nonprofit organization in 1980 with the primary goal of helping low income New Yorkers gain access to nutritious food. The materials in this series relate to the direct services CFRC provided: Community Kitchen of West Harlem, Entitlements Clinic, Senior Dinner Programs, and Eviction Prevention. Also included are materials that chronicled CFRC advocacy and policy on issues of child nutrition and food stamps.

Finally, the collection includes documents from Goldman’s time at Community Food Advocates (CFA), (2004-2006), post CFRC.