Race War in High School, the Ten-Year Destruction of Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn

by Harold Saltzman

1960s problems in America's secondary schools are discussed, focusing on Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn, NY.

Genres: History, Politics, Race, Banned Books, The United States Of America, Education, Nonfiction

239 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Christopher]

The more I learn about this era, the more I am convinced that the primary cause of white flight was not the racism of whites.

[Jack35]

Upsetting lived thru it I went to Lane from 1966 - 1970 graduating 6 months before I was suppose to, to escape the terror. Sad, but a confirmation of the experiences I went through at the ages of 14 through 17 years old.

[Opossum]

This book is a very insightful period piece about a lot of the initial reactions to school integration and forced busing. Although I did not agree with everything in this book, it is still very much worth the read for people to understand how the current political climate in schools was formed. I finished the first 115 pages of this book in a day, but the middle 50 pages were a bit slower because it focused more on the politics between the teacher's unions, the administrators, the politicians, and the community organizers. Those pages are very necessary, but very slow. I cannot underscore how much of this book comports with today's political climate, I had to put the book down and think quite often about the similarities, very striking. It is a very interesting book, but be prepared for some very uncomfortable sections.

One more fun fact; the real life high school that this book takes place in (now closed indefinitely), is also the same building where those Tom Holland Spiderman movies were filmed.

[Gee]

50+ years of 'progress'. What's changed? Nothing. Draw your own conclusions.

Forced integration was/is a mistake.

[Taylor Evans]

When a Jewish liberal living in New York writes about the reality of desegregation, black violence, and how reality bucked the mainstream media narrative of how integration went smoothly, this man was ostracized from his community and labeled right wing. He was a member of the United Federal Union of Teachers for 61 years before he passed away in 2020. He dedicated his life to teaching underprivileged kids in New York, but he was never afraid to speak openly about the violence, the cultural problems, and the reality of what was happening.

[Elizabeth AcesoUnderGlass]

One of the best case studies on coalitional politics I've seen. It's first person so only one side is told in any complexity, but the biases in an essentially primary source are their kind of information.

[J Landon Light]

I had to listen to Pete Quinones read it because you can only get a used copy on Amazon for $3000. Why is that? Because the author, an eyewitness who is clearly of a liberal mindset and does everything he can to not sound racist, simply tells the truth about what was going on in inner city schools during the sixties and seventies, and it's clear that the civil rights narrative you were taught as a kid is a fairy tale. Just read (listen) and see for yourself that there has been a sustained war on white communities by leftist radicals in and around government for over fifty years. It didn't begin with BLM.

[Ta0paipai]

Although it was written ages ago, it feels contemporary.

[CasaJB]

Go to Pete Quiñones' podcast (if you can find it - thanks, [censored]!) to find where he read this with great guests and great commentary.