Sue Lehrer

 

Susan Stern Lehrer

A story from PJ:

In September 1968, NYC public schools went on strike for 36 days.

The trouble started when the Ocean Hill-Brownsville school board fired 19 teachers and administrators without notice.

While the students in the district were predominately black, their teachers were primarily white and Jewish.  (At the time, Sue taught in Bedford-Stuyvesant - also a black neighborhood.)

The UTF, led by Albert Shanker demanded the reinstatement of the teachers and accused the board of antisemitism.

The strike ended in November when the state stepped in and rehired the teachers. The bad feelings continued longer.  You can read more about it here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_New_York_City_teachers%27_strike

Meanwhile, for nearly two months a million children were left without school, including me and Ken.

So, Sue stepped up and held classes for the children in our building in our basement community room.

I am sure that all the parents were very grateful. 😊