On this edition of Your Call, historian Aaron Fountain, Jr. discusses his new book, High School Students Unite!: Teen Activism, Education Reform, and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America.
He argues that activism in the 1960s and 1970s is a critical chapter in US history, but the focus on college campuses has overlooked the equally vital contributions of another group: high school students.
Fountain writes: "During the 1960s and 1970s, teenagers emerged as significant social actors and thought leaders in debates on school reform. Traditionally, and even today, the voices of high schoolers are noticeably absent in discussions about education. Yet, youth activism forced school officials to contend with students' ideas about what schools should be and how they could better promote equality. Although teenagers’ demands for change were often met with resistance or inaction, they left short- and long-term imprints on the American education system."
How did high school activism reshape the US education system? Today, high school students are protesting Trump's violent and deadly ICE raids. What can we learn from high school student activism?
Guests:
Aaron G. Fountain, Jr., historian and author of High School Students Unite!: Teen Activism, Education Reform, and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America
Katharine Harer, organizer of High School Students Against the War in San Francisco in the 1960s
Resources:
Time: The Forgotten History of High School Student Activism
Smithsonian Magazine: Newly Declassified Records Suggest Parents Collaborated With the FBI to Spy on Their Rebellious Teens During the 1960s
