CLASSROOM IN THE THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

rapidly in numbers, gaining control of certain important industries, and threatening the supremacy of the AF of L, which the Government consistently favored throughout the war period. It was while I was working in Boston that I received a tip that I was in line for indictment by a Federal Grand Jury. Accepting this tip as authentic[,] I returned to my home in Philadelphia, where I preferred to be placed under arrest. The next week[,] I read in the paper that indictments had been returned against 166 of us and that we were to be arrested on sight.”

After he served time in prison, Fletcher’s union activities were no longer as vigorous and determined as in the past. He remained aligned with the IWW, but not in a leadership capacity. Much of his energy was devoted to denouncing the Communist Party and what he believed were attempts to co-opt the union. On occasion, he delivered speeches on behalf of union activities, which were eventually limited by health issues. He later settled in Brooklyn with his wife, and worked as a building superintendent until his death in 1949.

Feb. 12, 1934: Bill Russell, the legendary NBA player and coach, was born in W. Monroe, La. He died in 2022.

Feb. 14, 1946: Tap dancer, actor Gregory Hines was born in New York City. He died in 2003.

Feb. 18, 1931: Renowned author Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio. She died in 2019.

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Trujillo also pointed out that collaboration between school staff and YCOs can erode student trust in social workers, counselors, and other campus resources, preventing at-risk youngsters from seeking them out due to concerns about mandated police reporting. He attributed the recent youth violence to the exacerbation of poverty and stress by the COVID-19 pandemic rather than the absence of police.

Former City Council member and longtime educator Inez Barron also expressed concerns about more YCOs in schools for students of color.

“We know that encounters that Black and Latino have with the NYPD can be very catastrophic and even deadly. I don’t think that they should be positioned in schools,” said Barron. “ I know they say, ‘Well, they’re there to assist with the school safety’ [but] I think that the money that’s going to be allocated for these additional 100 or so new YCOs should have been put into the Department of Education (DOE) to provide for social workers