BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

P.S. 24
SCHOOL

FLUSHING 55,
BOROUGH ZONE

141-11 HOLLY AVE.
ADDRESS

FLushing 9-2288
TELEPHONE

OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL

February 1, 1965

Dear Mr. Hughes,

May I take this opportunity to tell you how fair I think you were in regard
to the taxi rebuttals. Only once before in the Post did a columnist ever show
this kind of second thinking about something that he had written. Murray Kempton,
in a scathing attack on Steve Allen, retracted much of what he had said after
receiving thousands of letters from readers defending Mr. Allen.

Your writing provides me with many insights both from a civil rights point of view and a humanistic outlook. I wish you would write about the Negro middle-class. I often wonder if the "self-made" achiever is under the pressure of organized civil rights groups to help his less fortunate brothers. Does he help them or does he, like middle-class people everywhere, try to avoid involvement?

Your column is superior in every way and remains the principal reason for
my reading the POST.

February 10, 1965

Mr. Edward Fleishman
Assistant Principal
P. O. 24
141-11 Holly Avenue
Flushing 55, N. Y.

Dear Mr. Fleishman:

Thank you so kindly for your letter of
February 1st which you sent me in care of
THE N. Y. POST, in which you mention that
you found my column on taxi drivers quite
fair.

Perhaps you will be interested to know that
this column stimulated over 100 people to
write me both pro and con--more letters than
I have ever received for any one column
since I have been writing for THE POST.

Your suggestion about doing a piece on the
Negro middle class is a good one, especially
at they relate to the freedom movement. I
think that when I return from a Mid-Western
lecture tour, I shall do such an article.

My cordial regards and all good wishes to
you.

February 10th 1965

Dear Mrs. DeVane:

Thank you so kindly for inviting me
to speak to your students on your special
assembly programs this month, but my
engagement calendar is entirely filled
for the month and I will be away most of
the time giving lectures at various colleges.

I am sorry that I cannot accept your
invitation at this time, but appreciate
the fact that you thought of me.

LH:r

143 Fenimore Street
Brooklyn 25, New York

February 16, 1965

Dear Langston Hughes,

WE LOVE LANGSTON is becoming the cry of these youngsters I am teaching at P S 9 in Brooklyn, as we study your poems and realize that you were one of the literary pioneers of the Civil Rights Movement long before the Movement got under way. When I began to talk to these youngsters the September following the MARCH ON WASHINGTON they had not heard the song WE SHALL OVERCOME, they didn't know who Martin Luther King was, they had never heard about the Montgomery bus incident, and the first they knew of Langston Hughes was when I taught them the poem I TOO SING AMERICA. Therefore, ( I am coming to the point) it would be the greatest thrill for all of us from the principal on down should you consent to interrupt your too- too busy schedule- even turn from your writing for several hours and be our guest at P S 9's annual Brotherhood assembly on Friday morning, February 26th at 9:30 A.M. Should you consent to so honor us we will arrange for your transportation to the school and back home. Our production on that morning is a script written by yours truly and performed by our students.

I called Al and asked him if he would ask you. He said, "That's funny. I just wrote in a column today that Langston Hughes is not accepting any more engagements because he's going to dig in and do some writing." However I thought I would try anyway and I must say that the experience might provide, beside some respite, actual inspiration for the material you are working on.

May I tell you Langston, that you are absolutely the FIRST on our list and we would like to have you ABOVE ALL. Please come for the sake of the children who have never seen a real live flush and blood author-especially one of our color, before. I know this sounds like the tender trap- and it is. I'm caught in it too.

Enclosed you will see flyer for my FREEDOM SCHOOL THEATRE which I carry on at my home. Another time I would like to ask you to visit us there. But I'd better stop here lest I go too far. Please answer as soon as you can. My TELE NO. BU 2- 8327. or write

Yours in Faith and the Hope of Fulfillment

["FREEDOM SCHOOL THEATRE", "143 FENIMORE STREET, BROOKLYN 25, N. Y.", "FOR BOYS AND GIRLS - AGES 8 TO 12 YEARS", "SATURDAYS 3 - 5 P.M.", "September 1964 through June 1965", "FST will create, study and present original musical drama with major emphasis upon the history of the Negro in every country, past and present. Features will include Children's Freedom Chorus, Choral Speaking Group, Dance, Rhythm Band and Musical Drama Group.", "A specific aim of the theatre school is to encourage creativity in the children. All boys and girls 8 to 12 years are invited to register in the Freedom School Theatre.", "Tuition: $10 for 10 weeks payable in advance. (No money returned for absences except in case of protracted illness.)", "For further information call:\nMRS. RUTH DUCKETT GIBBS, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

February 27, 1965

Dear June, Ruth, Peter, David, James,
Robert, Kenneth, Marissa, Ellen, Barbara,
Dierdre, Zilia, Brian, Jacquelyn, Abby,
Eve, Mark, Amy, Stewart, Rosalie, Perry,
Michael, Sally, Debbie:

Thank you very much for all your kind letters.
I am very happy indeed to know that you like my books
and my poems, and that you have made use of them in so
effective a way.

I very much wish that I could come to your
school. But, unfortunately, I cannot come to Elmhurst
this spring as I am about to go soon on a poetry-
reading trip to various colleges in Missouri and Kansas.
And, when I come back, I am going to Europe to give some
talks in Paris and elsewhere, and shall probably be away
from home until late summer. Certainly, I thank you
very much for your invitation, and your kind words about
my poetry.

With cordial regards.

P. S. 89, Queens
85-28 Britton Avenue
Elmhurst, N. Y. 11373

March 6, 1965

Miss Claire K. Davine
Assistant Principal
Junior High School 271
1137 Herkimer Street
Brooklyn, N. Y. 11233

Dear Miss Davine:

It was so kind of you to invite me in behalf
of the principal Mr. Samuel Gilburt to come
to John M. Coleman Jr. High School 271 to
address one of the assemblies this Spring.
I shall not be able to accept, however,
because at the times you mentioned I shall
be away.

As soon as I complete a long overdue writing
assignment now in progress, I shall be leaving
on a Midwest lecture tour. When I return from
that it will be only to pack my things up and
leave for Europe where I shall participate in
seminars under the auspices of USIS. I
appreciate your thinking of me, however.

Langston Hughes

among all their remembrances of Performing Arts,
hold the same warm memory that I have of hearing
you.

Of course, the choice of date and time are
left completely to you, and I will handle all
arrangements at school be it anytime from
September to June.

Thank you for your consideration. I am
eagerly awaiting your reply.

THE BRONX
HIGH SCHOOL OF SCIENCE

75 WEST 205th STREET

BRONX, N. Y. 10468

DR. ALEXANDER TAFFEL
PRINCIPAL

ADM. ASST'S

MR. A. BREINAN
MR. B. MANSON

TELEPHONE
CYPRESS 5-0200

DEPT. CHAIRMEN

MR. A. CALMUS
MR. H. M. CAMPSEN JR.
DR. I. A. DODES
MR. M. FORCE
MR. C. HODES
MR. M. KOPELMAN
MR. A. MEROVICK
MR. M. NADEL
MR. H. RENSIN
DR. Z. SUBARSKY

September 15, 1965

Mr. Langston Hughes
c/o The New York Post
75 West Street
New York, New York

Dear Mr. Hughes:

The FORUM of the Bronx High School of Science would very much appreciate the honor and privilege of your appearance at one of our meetings during the 1965-6 school year.

As you may know, the Bronx High School of Science has earned an international reputation for the caliber and scholastic achievements of its students. The FORUM is the school's largest club, with several hundred members.

Meetings are held on Thursdays, between 3:15 and 4:30 P.M. Customarily, the speaker's address is of 20 to 25 minutes' duration with the remainder of the time devoted to questions from the audience.

In the past we have been fortunate to have drawn to our podium many distinguished figures representing all walks of life and shades of opinion. Over the past few years among our guests have been Roger Baldwin, A.A. Berle, Algernon Black, Spruille Braden, Roy Cohn, Michael Harrington, Robert Heilbroner, Nat Hentoff, Hal Holbrook, Corliss Lamont, Mark Lane, J. Daniel Mahoney, Joseph Papp, Harold Riegelman, Elmo Roper, William F. Ryan, Harrison Salisbury, Harry Schwartz, Telford Taylor, Norman Thomas, Ernest van den Haag, and Paul Zuber. Last year alone our speakers included Jonathan Bingham, Chester Burger, Howard Cosell, James A. Farley, Stanley Lowell, Henry Paolucci, Albert Shanker, Herman Shumlin, Paul Underwood, and William vanden Heuvel.

Could you please let us know if you would be interested in coming. We will soon try to arrange convenient dates and suitable topics. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

EDWIN KARPF
Faculty Advisor
THE FORUM

DAVID POLITZER
Program Director
THE FORUM

October 22, 1965

Dear Mr. Karpf,

It is very kind of you to invite Mr. Hughes
to come to one of the meetings of THE FORUM
at Bronx High School of Science during the
present school year. Due to heavy writing
commitments including theatre and tele-
vision work, Mr. Hughes is unable to accept
any speaking engagements this year. Would
you please convey Mr. Hughes' regrets to
Mr. David Politzer, the Program Director
of THE FORUM.

P. S. 92

Manhattan

222 West 134 Street
ADDRESS

Au. 3-1570

SCHOOL

BOROUGH ZONE

TELEPHONE

OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL

February 24, 1966

Mr. Langston Hughes
201 East 127th Street
New York, New York

Dear Mr. Hughes:

We communicated with you as of February 5, 1965 in reference
to you appearing on an Assembly program for our children. At that time,
the letter was sent from our old school, P. S. 119 Manhattan. Our new
school, P. S. 92 is named in honor of Dr. Mary McCleod Bethune.

We are planning a book jacket for our children. We hope to
have the picture of Dr. Bethune on the book jacket. We would like very
much to include your picture with a biographical sketch of you on this
book jacket.

At this time, I would like to invite you again to speak
to our children. You may set the date, and we will arrange our program
accordingly.

If you approve of our book jacket project, kindly let us
hear from you at your earliest convenience concerning the picture and in-
formation you would like to see on the book jacket.

George Gershwin Junior High School 166

Van Siclen Ave. and Linden Blvd. • Brooklyn 7, N. Y.

IRVING FLINKER, Principal

Nightingale 9-0765

Assistants To Principal

LEONARD FOGEL
MILTON GREENBERG
MOLLIE KOENIGSBERG

PAUL GENDLER
STANLEY LESNICK
NAT ROTHMAN

March 18, 1966

Mr. Langston Hughes
20 East 127 Street
New York, N.Y. 10035

Dear Mr. Hughes,

We are attempting to raise the aspirational level of many of our underprivileged children who have genuine potential but little motivation to achieve. To this end, a number of well-known persons have been gracious enough to discuss at one of our assembly programs the difficulties they encountered in their lives and the manner in which they surmounted their problems.

Your name has been an inspiration to millions of us who have read and heard your poetry and articles. Your appearance at our school would be of inestimable value in our efforts to develop self-esteem in our youngsters. I realize the many impositions on your time, but the staff at the Amsterdam News spoke highly of your great love for children. Could you possibly visit us? We would be more than happy to re-arrange our schedule to suit your convenience.

hg

March 19th 1966

Mr. Paul H. Gendler
Assistant Principal
George Gershwin Jr. High School
Van Siclen Avenue & Linden Boulevard
Brooklyn 7, N. Y.

Dear Mr. Gendler,

It is indeed kind of you to invite Mr. Hughes to come and visit with you and your students at George Gershwin Jr. High School. Because Mr. Hughes is leaving shortly for the First World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal, he will not be able to accept your invitation. But, he certainly appreciates your thinking of him.

BOARD - OF - EDUCATION - OF - THE - CITY - OF - NEW - YORK

LONG ISLAND CITY HIGH SCHOOL

41st AVENUE AND 29th STREET
LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK 11101
937-1610

PAUL BALSER, PRINCIPAL

June14, 1966

Dear Mr. Hughes:

My daughter, Mrs. Nancy Dworkin, is a
teacher at P.S. 180, Morningside Avenue and 119 Street,
in Manhattan, with a class of second year youngsters.
Their ages average about eight. She has taken them to
the live theatre, mid-town movies, Staten Island, the zoo,
the Aquarium, intruded them to the library in which they
all have cards now, and to other activities with which I
am familiar. And now I call on you for assistance.

She is looking for people and places
within walking distance of her school which would be both
interesting and instructive. Any afternoon, after lunch,
would be an ideal time. I don't know whether your
interests extend to such very young children, but I can
think of no one who could introduce them to a world of
which they are completely unaware as you can. I know
this is an imposition but I ask you if you could please
communicate with my daughter at her school if it would be
possible for her to bring her children over to see you.
Forgive the intrusion, and thanks for your interest.

November 17th 1966

Miss Martha Neilson
Office of School District 12
1827 Archer Street
New York, N. Y. 10460

Dear Miss Neilson:

Your note to Mr. Hughes came at a time when he is out of town, so I am answering in his behalf. Your program utilizing poetry in enhancing children's perceptions of themselves sounds very interesting. Because Mr. Hughes has a very heavy writing schedule after having spent so much time recently in Africa and Europe, he cannot take on any new responsibilities at this time. But, I know that he appreciates your having thought of him.

MRS. ROBERT E. LIGHT

35 ORANGE STREET, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 11201

11/22/66

Mr. Lengston Hughes
20 East 127 Street
New York 10035, N. Y.

Dear Mr. Hughes,

Mrs. Miriam Kelber, a co-worker of Miss Adele Glasgow and a parent of P.S. 7-8, has given me your address so that the school might invite you as its honored guest at the Book Fair on December 9. The children would like to present you with originals from their award winning magazine, "Bridges." The presentation would be made in the evening at a program sponsored by the Parents Association.

Perhaps you know that P.S. 7-8 are two Brooklyn elementary schools that were paired for integration two years ago. We were unique at the time because the parents of Brooklyn Heights and of the Farragut housing project elected to join their children for "quality, integrated education." Although we expect you are besieged by requests like ours, we feel that your presence will lend support to our education goals for all children - as well as help our modest treasury through sales.

Milt Meltzer, a long-time friend of mine, recently mentioned a forthcoming book - "Black Magic" - on which

February 2nd 1967

Miss Rubin
Assistant Principal
P. S. 20
1086 Fox Street
Bronx, N. Y. 10459

Dear Miss Rubin:

It was very kind of you to invite Mr. Hughes to come to P.S. 20 and meet the students. As I told you by telephone, Mr. Hughes is leaving shortly for California to fullfill speaking engagements at the University of California and elsewhere. And, then he has to meet urgent deadlines with his literary work before departing again for Africa. He is very sorry that he cannot accept your invitation, but he sends his greetings to the students and, under separate cover, an autographed photo.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

CITY OF NEW YORK
LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD
DISTRICT 14
223 GRAHAM AVENUE
BROOKLYN, N. Y. 11206

CELIA M. VICE, CHAIRMAN
REBECKA PETERS, VICE CHAIRMAN
RUTH P. MCAVOY, SECRETARY
JOSEPH E. FINLEY
ANGEL M. HERNANDEZ
FLOSSIE SHORT
DR. W. REEVES SMITH
DR. H. MELMUTH STERNBERG

EDNA V. CROWLEY
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT

387-2018

February 9, 1967

Mr. Langston Hughes
20 East 127 Street
New York, N. Y.

Dear Mr. Hughes:

As Chairman of the Local School Board for District 14, I deem it a great pleasure to invite you to be our guest at the Dedication Exercises of the Carter G. Woodson School, Public School 23K - 545 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. 11206. The Dedication will take place on Thursday, March 16, 1967 at 8 P.M. in the Auditorium.

We should be honored if you would consent to attend the Dedication.

R.S.V.P. by February 16, 1967

Card is enclosed

45
SCHOOL

Brooklyn
BOROUGH ZONE

84 Schaffer Street
ADDRESS

TELEPHONE

OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL

March 7, 1967

Dear Mr. Hughes,

During the past ten years there has been a growing concern among educators about what can be done to raise the self-image of Negro students. The teachers and supervisors of the Isaac Chauncey School, which has a predominantly Negro pupil population, are also concerned about this. As a result we have formed a committee to devise specific methods that the classroom teacher may implement to further this goal. This committee is initiating a long term unit on the contributions of outstanding Negroes to our culture.

Your poetry has been chosen as an excellent introduction to our unit.

We would indeed be honored if you would visit our school and address the children. This would make the study of your poetry far more meaningful and exciting.

We would appreciate your visiting us during any school day in May.
Transportation will be arranged for you by a member of the committee.

Committee on Improving the Self-Image of Minority Groups

Ruth Blackman
Secretary

P.S.#58
(formerly #622,M.)

Manhattan 10014

490 Hudson Street

WAthkins 4-2454

SCHOOL

BOROUGH ZONE

ADDRESS

TELEPHONE

OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL

March 13, 1967

Mr. Langston Hughes
20 East 127th Street
New York, N.Y.

Dear Sir:

I spoke to Mr. Evan Walker at the Manhattanville Center on Friday about Alvin Smith. Mr. Walker told me that you had seen Alvin's poetry and art work and that you were impressed by his ability.

This summer Skidmore College will have a special program for socially disadvantaged students who have unusual ability in music, dramatics or the arts. In addition to talent in art and creative writing, Alvin also has ability in music and dramatics and superior intellectual potential.

At the present time Alvin attends a special school for socially maladjusted boys. This fact should have little or no bearing on his acceptance into this program. At times, however, we find the need to enlist added support in order for us to effect the proper placement of one of our gifted youngsters. It is for this reason that we are requesting your endorsement of Alvin for the Skidmore program.

Please address a letter to me discussing Alvin's talents and potential as you view them. This letter will be forwarded to the Assistant Superintendent in charge of our school district. He will in turn forward his recommendations for the Skidmore program to Mr. John Motley, Assistant to the Director of Music, who is in charge of the final selection of candidates.

Allow me to thank you for your kind indulgence to my letter. Your earliest reply on Alvin's behalf will be greatly appreciated.

Approved:
Irving M. Boroff
Principal

bb

March 15th 1967

Mr. Jay Dexter
Guidance Counselor
P.S. 58
490 Hudson Street
New York, N. Y. 10014

Dear Mr. Dexter:

Unfortunately, it would seem impossible for
me to write a letter of recommendation for
Alvin Smith since I cannot for the life of
me remember which boy he was among the five
young people who visited me briefly one
afternoon. So, not really knowing him nor
recalling his talents, I regret that I
cannot comply with your request, but I wish
him well.