Tilden High School and Integration
The racial tensions that swept the nation during the 1960s and 1970s were felt at Samuel J. Tilden High School as well. The school’s African American population was growing. The school’s demographics were changing; Tilden High School was becoming more diverse. In 1962, of the 5,000 students that attended Tilden HS, 97.9% were Jewish and Italian. By 1971, of the 3,000 students at Tilden, 63.4% were “others”, the Board of Education’s term for non-blacks and non-Puerto Ricans. Changing demographics and under-enrollment set the stage for controversy around rezoning and plans for Samuel J. Tilden HS.
Tensions came to a head during the March 1972 hearings on rezoning the catchment areas for three Brooklyn high schools. The hearings aimed to assure an integrated education in Samuel J. Tilden High School, Canarsie High School, and South Shore High School. Parents groups linked to each high school had their own ideas for a zoning plan that would preserve the racial and ethnic diversity of each school while maintaining a quality education for every student.
A number of Tilden High School students prepared a flier in which they outlined their position regarding the rezoning. They wanted to preserve an ethnic balance in the school but wanted to avoid a result in which the majority of students were nonwhite. The students who prepared the flier were concerned that if the ethnic balance were to tip too much, "an unfortunate chain of events place: white families the neighborhood." The school and the surrounding neighborhood would no longer remain integrated. The result would be "another segregated school, another segregated neighborhood.”
In order to attract students, specialized honors programs were established with Samuel J. Tilden High School. Students from all over the city would be able to apply to the special programs. This marked a shift in New York City School zoning, as a student’s school options were no longer only determined by geography.
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