I'm heartened by the great responses urging landmark status for a 19th-century racial-caste schoolhouse that was brought to public attention in my biography, Boss of the Grips.

I so appreciate the comment of Pulitzer-winning journalist E.R. Shipp: “Amid concerted efforts nationally to deny a history fraught with racism and to prevent truth from being taught in some public school systems, it is imperative that we preserve as much evidence of our history as possible. This is an opportunity to do so by having the former Colored School No. 4 designated a landmark.”

Check out more about the building's history in a video of my recent presentation for the NYC Mutual Archives.

And please keep signing & sharing the petition to support this historic preservation effort.