The Downtown Community School was an American experimental, cooperative, racially integrated school located at 235 East 11th Street in the

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Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The school was founded in 1944 and was closed in 1971.
Norman Studer Papers at Suny Albany. Its mission was described as being to train children to “live and work together in understanding.” School reformer and folklorist Norman Studer was the director from 1950 to 1970. Prominent alumni of the school include

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. Parents who sent their children to the school included Bella Abzug, Miriam Makeba,

Leonard Boudin Leonard B. Boudin (July 20, 1912 – November 24, 1989) was an American civil liberties attorney and left-wing activist who represented Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame and Benjamin Spock, the author of '' Baby and Child Care'', who advoca ...

Douglas Turner Ward Douglas Turner Ward (May 5, 1930February 20, 2021) was an American playwright, actor, director, and theatrical producer. He was noted for being a founder and artistic director of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). He was nominated for the Tony ...

Josh White Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the Sou ...

, Dore Ashton. and

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Col ...

. Students who attended the school in its last years included the actor Corey Dee Williams, the graphic novelist Eric Drooker, the poet and translator Vincent Katz, and the literary critic

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. In the early 1950s, the school employed a music teacher who had been

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

because of his refusal to cooperate with the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

. Unable to get concerts because of the blacklist,

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

was hired to teach singing. The school had links to other progressive private schools such as

Little Red School House The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, is a school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 as the Little Red School House and is one of the city's first progressive ...

and The Walden School. In 1963, the school arranged to teach a group of

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

students who were protesting their assignment to a racially segregated school. The school closed under financial pressure in 1971, after facing the prospect of raising tuition to cover increased mortgage costs.

References

1944 establishments in New York City Educational institutions disestablished in 1971 Educational institutions established in 1944 Experimental schools Greenwich Village Private schools in Manhattan {{Manhattan-school-stub 1971 disestablishments in New York City