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[Rewind] Woke and Unafraid: Student Activists and The Evolution of Multicultural Education; The CUNY Brooklyn College Story, 1960’s-70’s

May 22, 2025

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The fight for multicultural education and antiracist curricula is not new, as evidenced by the courageous actions of Brooklyn College students and faculty in the 1960s and 1970s, who paved the way for today's struggles against book banning and right-wing pushback.

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Description [Rewind origin date: September 10, 2023] :: Join us for this discussion on multicultural education as a fundamental human right. In these times it is crucial to reflect on the state of education. From right-wing attacks on higher education, pushback against critical thinking and comprehensive history to challenges in class size, teacher compensation, book bannings and the very foundation of quality public education — our conversation aims to shed light on the progress we've made toward multicultural education and the paths we've taken to get here including student demonstrations that led to incarceration of students and teachers exercising their first amendment rights back then in the late 1960’s to 1970’s.

📚 The Birth of Puerto Rican and Black Studies Programs: In this episode, you’ll learn about the efforts to establish Africana Studies and Puerto Rican Studies Departments at The City University of New York, or CUNY's Brooklyn College. Black, Latino, and working-class white students united to reshape a campus, an educational system, and college curricula — setting the stage for today’s multicultural education and overall educational landscape.

🎥 Featured Documentary: Making the Impossible Possible Directed by Tami Kashia Gold and Pam Sporn, and distributed by @ThirdWorldNewsreel, this documentary tells the story of this transformative movement for multicultural education. Streaming on TWN On Demand: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mtipfilm Educational Screenings: twn.org/film.aspx?rec=1531

🌟Meet the Guests:

- Askia Davis: A former Black Panther and one of the "BC 19," Askia was arrested in 1969 for demanding Open Admissions and the establishment of Africana and Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College. He served as Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Schools in Harlem and the Bronx.

- Antonio Nieves: Also a member of the "BC 19," Antonio was a founder of the Puerto Rican Institute & the Afro American Institute, Brooklyn College and has been a pharmacist for 30 years. He currently serves as the Director of Pharmacy for Caribbean Health Outreach.

- Sonia Nieto: A former Brooklyn College faculty and one of the "BC 44," Sonia was arrested in 1974 during a student takeover. She is the Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy & Culture at the College of Education at UMass, Amherst. Her 1992 book, "Affirming Diversity," is considered a defining work in 20th-century education.

Full Episode Notes are located HERE

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Music In the Middle: “Rumba Tobacco y Ron” by Nickodemus featuring Haydee Soul & The Candela Allstars, from his album Soul and Science released on Wonderwheel Recordings.. And original sound design by Jeannie Hopper.

Clips featured in the podcast from the documentary "Making the Impossible Possible" include the trailer and an additional clip featuring former student activists Dr. Orlando Pile, Askia Davis, and Antonio Nieves recounting the reactions by the police

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*Recommended book:

“Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education” by Patty Bode and Sonia Nieto Check out the Book

(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

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[Rewind] Woke and Unafraid: Student Activists and The Evolution of Multicultural Education; The CUNY Brooklyn College Story, 1960’s-70’s

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