One extraordinary thing I’ve come to appreciate in the past two years at Hostos is the fact that its history is fascinating and even inspiring. As I learn more and more about the institution—why it was founded, whom it serves—I feel quite privileged to be a member of its faculty and in a position to promote its mission. I have been affiliated in the past with institutions built upon shameful legacies, so to serve an academic community with the potential to dismantle oppression motivates a lot of the pedagogical work I do.
I’ve been collecting materials about the college to use in my developmental and first-year writing courses, largely because I’m interested in learning more, but also because the issues raised by those who established this campus remain pertinent today (educational apartheid, poverty endemic to the South Bronx). And, for that matter, students love learning this bit of history. So many arrive at Hostos largely because of proximity and affordability, so when they learn that they just so happen to be at a school whose mission relates directly to their own educational goals, and when they identify with the reasons for which people founded the school in the first place, this knowledge ignites a spark.
Below, I’m compiling a list of articles and resources for future reference, and because I think everyone can benefit from learning more about this particular history. It’s a tale that documents the power of grassroots organizing, the importance of the Young Lords and other 1960s radical movements, and the educational obstacles endemic to historically oppressed communities.
Hostos History Resources:
From the New York Times:
- “College Building on a Base of Hope” (1971)
- “Head of College in Bronx Resigns” (1971)
- “A Bilingual College Paced for the Individual” (1975)
- “Hostos, Rescued at the Last Moment, Is Looking Forward to Another Year” (1976)
- “Space Need Upsets College in the Bronx” (1978)
- “College Speaks Their Language” (1981)
- “Hostos College to Get New Campus in the Bronx” (1985)
- “College Acts as Gateway in the Bronx” (1986)
- “Last-Minute Requirement Stuns Students at Hostos” (1997)
- “A Judge Tells CUNY to Give Diplomas to Hostos Students” (1997)
- “Sotomayor Makes Good on a Committment to a Scrappy College with a Family Tie” (2010) – NB: I found this article patronizing and blogged about it here
- “Activist Is Celebrated at the College He Helped Save” (2014)
From the Hostos Website:
- The “Save Hostos” Movement
- Hostos’s 50th Anniversary Timeline
- Hostos History
- Professor Paula Korsko’s Course Guide: The Young Lords
Miscellaneous:
- Information about Hostos’ recent work in service of victims of Hurricane Maria: “Netflix Documentary Directed By CUNY Alumna Spotlights The Plight Of Hurricane Maria Victims In Puerto Rico And New York City” (featuring my friend Sol Rivera!)
- “The College in the Tire Factory” from Kim Phillips-Fein’s Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics (2017)
- “Hostos! The Struggle! The Victory” – preview of a documentary in progress (as far as I know) by Felix Romero
- “Hostos 50 Oral History Collective” – brief film about the school’s history that includes interviews with founders
- “A Young Lord Remembers“
Alexandra L. Milsom 