Black, White and Green: High School Student Civil Rights And Environmental Activism in New York City and on Long Island, 1968-1975

Abstract

This dissertation highlights the contributions of high school student activists in both the Civil Rights and Environmental Movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Through an in-depth analysis of various New York City and Long Island community case studies, the project sheds light on the importance of place as a theoretical concept in the evolution of student-led social and political activism. The project illustrates how student involvement in both the Civil Rights and Environmental Movements did or did not manifest in two contrasting suburban and urban settings. Moreover, it highlights how place as a construct in and of itself influenced students' participation in both movement types in the post World War II era. Key to this analysis is an examination of not only geographic location and place specificity, but also the race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status of activist students. To contextualize these students' social and political activities, the project also examines the multiple influences within and outside of young activists' families, high schools, residential communities, as well as the local, state and national movements with which the students understood themselves to be associated.