Sept. 21, 1968: New York High School Student Union Founded

By Aaron G. Fountain Jr.

Amid the racially-charged Ocean Hill-Brownsville teachers’ strike in New York City, nearly 200 teenagers from 25 high schools gathered at the New York Society for Ethical Culture in Manhattan on September 21, 1968. Many had first met through the anti-Vietnam War movement and had experienced repression of political activities on campus. They now wanted to coordinate collective actions and gain a stronger voice in school affairs. Now, on this day, they established the New York High School Student Union.

The Union quickly became one of the largest student organizations in the country, with a citywide coordinating council and locals, which were autonomous chapters, in more than 100 public and private schools. Its members organized antiwar protests, threw themselves into the Ocean Hill-Brownsville battle over community control of schools, and pushed for student rights and school reform. It’s fluid membership, according to historian Neil Philip Buffett, allowed it to “become racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse with students from traditional high schools, as well as the city’s more prestigious, college-preparatory school facilities.”

Its underground newspaper, New York High School Free Press, ran as a monthly 16-page tabloid, covering everything from student rights and racism to the Vietnam War, women’s liberation, and gay liberation. It reached a peak circulation of 40,000 copies every three weeks and ran for roughly two years.