Democracy Pamphlet
As is promised in LREI’s mission statement, “Students graduate from our diverse community as active participants in our democratic society,…” Elisabeth Irwin and three of her early colleagues, in the language of the times, shares their thoughts on this important..Read More
LRSH Student Gives Speech Before State Legislature, Receives Letter from Eleanor Roosevelt
Paul Coburn, a ten-year-old at LRSH, made a speech before the State Legislature, in favor of the Ives-Quinn Anti-Discrimination Bill, which would make New York the first state to enact legislation curtailing the practice of discriminating against job applicants and employees based on race, religion, or creed...Read More
Abraham Lincoln Carries On Club
10-year old LRSH students fight to end racial bias and advocate for legislation banning discrimination in employment based on race, creed, color, and national origin by forming the Abraham Lincoln Carries On club. They wrote to Mayor Laguardia, urging him..Read More
Students Visit Phelps-Dodge Strike
Ninth graders visit the Phelps-Dodge Strike at the Phelps-Dodge Copper Products Corporation plant in Elizabeth, NJ. The eight-month-old strike was one of the longest major industrial disputes on record in the nation, resulting in a 18.5% hourly wage increase and..Read More
EI Marches with NAACP
Elisabeth Irwin students marched with a delegation from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Washington D.C. on January 16, 1950 to advocate for Congressional action on the passage of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC). EI..Read More
Dr. Randolph B. Smith Defends the Bill of Rights
Randolph Smith was called to testify on “Subversive Influence in the Educational Process” at hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate in September, 1952.
EI Students Attend Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom
The date was May 17, 1957. Three years ago on that date the Supreme Court of the land added a new verse to freedom’s song. “Desegregate and state to integrate” chorused the nine men in black. And now three years..Read More
10s Play About Integration
A play by the 10s about integration was performed at an assembly in 1957, and then later at the high school. Teacher Mimi Levy transcribed phrases from class discussions of integration and turned their words into the script, which was..Read More
NAACP Youth Secretary Visits EI
Herbert Wright, NAACP Youth Secretary, speaks to the EI student council
Jackie Robinson Visits EI on Behalf of NAACP
In 1958, Jackie Robinson, ambassador of the NAACP, came to LREI with Herbert Wright, Youth Leader of the NAACP, to accept a check from EI students, funds raised to support their efforts in the fight for racial justice and to..Read More
EI Students Attend Youth March for Integrated Schools
On Saturday, October 25, 1958, EI students traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the Youth March for Integrated Schools led by A. Philip Randolph, Jackie Robinson, Coretta Scott King, Harry Belafonte, Bayard Rustin.
EI Students Picket Woolworth’s
Students from EI picket Woolworths at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue as part of a Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) drive.
Willam Kunstler (P’94/P’96) Speaks at MLK Assembly
Lawyer, civil rights activist, and LREI parent William Kunstler spoke to students at the annual Martin Luther King Day assembly.
LREI Marches in NYC Pride March
LREI marches in the New York City Pride March. For this annual event, LREI shares a float with the Calhoun School complete with a DJ “booth” and rainbows galore. (Photos in slideshow are from 2014)
LREI Hires Director of Diversity and Community
LREI hires Sharon Dupree as its first Director of Diversity and Community. Sandra “Chap” Chapman (also pictured here on the right) becomes Director of Equity and Community in 2007.
Students March to Fight Global Warming
On Saturday, April 14, 2007 over 90 members of the LREI community covered themselves in blue and joined hands with thousands of others to form the human coastline around lower Manhattan called the Sea of People. Consisting of a U-shaped..Read More
The Power and Price of Privilege
Tim Wise, Director of the Association for White Anti-racist Education (AWARE) came to LREI to facilitate dialogue on race and privilege in America with students, faculty, and parents. He discussed the historical foundations of white privilege and how it is..Read More
First Eighth Grade Social Justice Project
One of the major themes of the eighth grade curriculum is active citizenship. In humanities classes, students work on the “Social Justice Project.” Students identify civil and human rights topics in which they are interested, and work in small groups..Read More
Student Walkout 2014
In December 2014, thousands of students from schools across the U.S. staged a massive walkout in solidarity with Ferguson and other communities affected by police violence. LREI high school and middle school students joined the many demonstrations that occurred in..Read More
LREI Students at Drink Up with Michelle Obama
LREI students participated in Drink Up, a collaboration to encourage everyone to drink more water between the Partnership for a Healthier America – which works with the private sector and PHA Honorary Chairwoman Michelle Obama to make the healthy choice..Read More
New York Magazine Features LREI Protesters
LREI students featured in New York Magazine’s annual “Reasons to Love New York ” 12th edition, 2016: No. 2 | Because Even Our Protesters Are Precocious. Read the full article here.
Gloria Steinem Visits Feminism Class
Gloria Steinem, feminist journalist and social political activist, visited Ileana Jiménez’ Feminism class.
LREI Students Protest Constitution Pipeline
LREI students travel to Albany to protest the Constitution Pipeline.
LREI at Women’s March
LREI students and teachers participated in the Women’s March, a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. It was prompted by the fact that several of Trump’s statements were considered by many..Read More
Facing Whiteness
Filmmaker and educator Whitney Dow spoke at LREI as part of the 2017 ideas Speaker Series. His project “Facing Whiteness” examines how Americans who identify as “white,” or “partially white,” process their ethnicity, and pair it with secondary quantitative data..Read More
The Democracy Project
LREI launches a collective, school-wide effort called The Democracy Project to uphold this country’s core democratic values. The Democracy Project is a student-led initiative to help the LREI student community become more knowledgeable on and involved in the democratic process,..Read More