From its opening in 1919, The New School has prided itself on being a progressive institution, focused on creating an innovative space for learning and practice. The founders envisioned a college that allowed students and professors to engage intellectually and freely. They were in support of speaking openly about societal changes during the 20th Century in response to the absence of that intellectual freedom at Columbia University where some of the professors had been before. Over the years, the school represented itself as an urban institution set on supporting its students and exploring the social sciences. The New School offered its first academic writing workshop in 1931 and W.E.B Dubois taught at the school in 1946. Almost 50 years later, in 1996, The New School offers an MFA in Writing. Although from its outset the school claimed to be a liberal institution devoted to societal issues and change for the people, they were not immune to the institutional perpetuation of racism and sexism that many other institutions were steeped in.

In 1989, the Matsunaga Affair occurred, during which professor and poet Sekou Sundiata drew an “X” over Japanese designer Shin Matsunaga’s image of a blackface figure on display in the Parsons Galleries. In the following days, over 40 signatures covered the piece, speaking out against the “racist stereotypes at Parsons”. This example of resistance against racism led to several protests calling for the diversification of the New School and curricular reform at Eugene Lang. Students and professors fought to point out institutional problems within Parsons exhibition policies and more widely with the school’s lack of diversity. Eventually, the push led to changes within Parsons as demonstrated by the pioneering exhibition of several African American designers. This wasn’t the end though, in the push for diversity within the New School. In 1996, The Mobilization for Real Diversity, Democracy and Economic Justice movement began. The movement, which included a hunger strike, lasted until 1998. The mobilization began after the university decided that M. Jacqui Alexander would not be considered for a tenure position, following the end of her contract. Students, staff and professors mobilized together in “tying institutional racism to the permanent visiting status of most faculty of color, and to the exploitative conditions that security guards and part-time faculty and staff had experienced” (125 Alexander). It became a critique of the institution and its “progressive” values. Over the course of those two years, the administration and the mobilization rivaled each other with opposing perspectives on the problems at hand. The administration formed a counter-mobilization and the group fighting for diversity came under fire because of the hunger strike, which led to one student being hospitalized. Through this mobilization, institutional problems were identified and the “diversity of the school” was called out. Following her leave, Jacqui Alexander went on to publish The Third Wave (1997), with Kitchen Table Press and Pedagogies of Crossing: Meditations on Feminism, Sexual Politics, Memory, and the Sacred (2005), where she writes of her experience with the Mobilization and the root of the issue. Through her publications she voiced her opinion on core issues such as racism and sexism. For more information on the Mobilization, listen to Professor Ann Snitow’s oral history interview.

Even following the Mobilization, it is hard to say that much changed for diversity within the institution. Today it is clear that there are still large disparities within salaries, service, faculty and student population numbers, and more. Many of the problems stem from the inability of many people, professors in particular, to facilitate conversations between and among students. It is important for students and staff to be comfortable to engage in dialogue regarding race. These issues raise questions about the responsibility of institutions such as universities in supporting their populations. The New School’s struggle to fully root out symptoms of institutional racism and sexism, inequality in opportunity, pay, title, and support for women of color in administration, faculty, staff and student positions, is ongoing. The question now is, how can this community create a space for learning, engagement and creativity open for everyone in the coming years?