The early history of El Museo del Barrio is complex, intertwined with popular struggles in New York City over access to, and control of, educational and cultural resources. Part and parcel of the national Civil Rights movement, public demonstrations, strikes, boycotts, and sit-ins were held in New York City between 1966 and 1969. African American and Puerto Rican parents, teachers and community activists in Central and East Harlem demanded that their children— who, by 1967, composed the majority of the public school population—receive an education that acknowledged and addressed their diverse cultural heritages. In 1969, these community-based groups attained their goal of decentralizing the Board of Education. They began to participate in structuring school curriculum, and directed financial resources towards ethnic-specific didactic programs that enriched their children’s education. East Harlem’s Puerto Rican communities’ energy and dedication to social justice prepared the way for the founding of El Museo del Barrio.
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Tags: East Harlem, History, peurto rico, toni on! new york, toni senecal
