Wilcox, Preston, 1923-2006

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Wilcox, Preston, 1923-2006

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Wilcox, Preston, 1923-2006

Wilcox, Preston.

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Wilcox, Preston.

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1923

1923

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2006

2006

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Biographical History

From 1958 to 1964, Preston Wilcox worked as a tenant organizer and later as director of the East Harlem Project; as a program consultant to the East Harlem Summer Festival, a United Neighborhood Houses initiative designed to prevent juvenile delinquency; and as a consultant and catalyst for the Massive Economic Neighborhood Development (MEND), an anti-poverty program in East Harlem. He also participated as a social researcher in the Princeton University six week summer studies program for junior high school students that led to the nationally-funded Upward Bound Program.

Known as "the father of school decentralization" in New York City, and "the leading theoretician of the community control movement," Wilcox was at the forefront of the campaigns at Intermediate School 201 in Harlem and later in the Ocean-Brownsville school district, for parent participation in curriculum development and in the hiring of school supervisors and teachers. A prolific writer, he authored in the period between 1963 and 1973 some 200 articles, position papers and essays on public education and community empowerment, published in professional journals and as chapters in books. He also taught courses in social work theory and community organization at Columbia University's School of Social Work between 1963 and 1968, and at Atlanta University, Medgar Evers College and other institutions of higher learning in the 1970s.

Wilcox founded Afram Associates in 1968 as a public service agency to provide technical assistance to community groups in the areas of education, economic development and consumer rights. Between 1970 and 1975, Afram operated a parent-implemented program in education, funded by the Follow Through Program Division of Compensatory Education of the U.S. Office of Education, at eight Afram-affiliated sites in Arkansas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. Afram also operated a farm experiment, Afram Farm, in upstate New York, as a campsite and recreational center for urban-bound families and groups, and as a conference and rural educational research and study center. In later years, Afram evolved into a one-person alternative clearinghouse compiling and disseminating information relevant to the Black community. An admirer of Malcolm X, Wilcox kept an informal network of Malcolm X followers and former associates: the Malcolm X Lovers Network.

From the description of Preston Wilcox papers, 1940-2005. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 233594671

Preston R. Wilcox had a multi-faceted career as a social worker, community activist, social analyst, and urban education consultant. Born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1923, he attended Youngstown College, Morehouse College, City University of New York, New York University, and Columbia University.

From 1958 until 1963, Wilcox was employed at the East Harlem Project, joint community service of the James Weldon Johnson Community Center and Union Settlement. Among his other positions he served as Staff Associate, Education Affiliate of the Bedford-Stuyvesant D & S Corporation in Brooklyn, Assistant Professor of Social Work (Community Organization) at Columbia University School of Social Work, and Chief Consultant of I.S. 201 Complex Community Education Center in Harlem, where he planned for the development and operation of four community education centers. Wilcox has authored articles dealing with public education and community organization in the ghetto.

From the description of Preston Wilcox manuscripts, 1965-1968. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122533834

From 1958 to 1964, Preston Wilcox worked as a tenant organizer and later as director of the East Harlem Project; as a program consultant to the East Harlem Summer Festival, a United Neighborhood Houses initiative designed to prevent juvenile delinquency; and as a consultant and catalyst for the Massive Economic Neighborhood Development (MEND), an anti-poverty program in East Harlem. He also participated as a social researcher in the Princeton University six week summer studies program for junior high school students that led to the nationally-funded Upward Bound Program.

Known as "the father of school decentralization" in New York City, and "the leading theoretician of the community control movement," Wilcox was at the forefront of the campaigns at Intermediate School 201 in Harlem and later in the Ocean-Brownsville school district, for parent participation in curriculum development and in the hiring of school supervisors and teachers. A prolific writer, he authored in the period between 1963 and 1973 some 200 articles, position papers and essays on public education and community empowerment, published in professional journals and as chapters in books. He also taught courses in social work theory and community organization at Columbia University's School of Social Work between 1963 and 1968, and at Atlanta University, Medgar Evers College and other institutions of higher learning in the 1970s.

Wilcox founded Afram Associates in 1968 as a public service agency to provide technical assistance to community groups in the areas of education, economic development and consumer rights. Between 1970 and 1975, Afram operated a parent-implemented program in education, funded by the Follow Through Program Division of Compensatory Education of the U.S. Office of Education, at eight Afram-affiliated sites in Arkansas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. Afram also operated a farm experiment, Afram Farm, in upstate New York, as a campsite and recreational center for urban-bound families and groups, and as a conference and rural educational research and study center. In later years, Afram evolved into a one-person alternative clearinghouse compiling and disseminating information relevant to the Black community. An admirer of Malcolm X, Wilcox kept an informal network of Malcolm X followers and former associates: the Malcolm X Lovers Network.

From the guide to the Preston Wilcox papers, 1940-2005, (The New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.)

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External Related CPF

https://viaf.org/viaf/78270089

https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-nb97082080

https://id.loc.gov/authorities/nb97082080

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Education

Education

African American authors

African American educators

African American political activists

African Americans

African Americans

African Americans

African Americans

African American social workers

Black author

Black nationalism

Black power

Children with social disabilities

Community and school

Community and school

Community centers

Community centers

Community development consultants

Community development consultants

Community development, Urban

Community development, Urban

Community organization

Community organization

Education, Urban

Educators

Election monitoring

Election monitoring

Human services

Human services

Inner cities

Inner cities

School children

School children

School management and organization

School management and organization

School management and organization

Schools

Schools

Segregation in education

Segregation in education

Social settlements

Social settlements

Social group work

Social group work

Social service

Social service

Social work education

Urban poor

Urban poor

Urban renewal

Urban renewal

Urban schools

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Nigeria

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AssociatedPlace

Harlem (New York, N.Y.)

as recorded (not vetted)

AssociatedPlace

United States

as recorded (not vetted)

AssociatedPlace

East Harlem (New York, N.Y.)

as recorded (not vetted)

AssociatedPlace

East Harlem (New York, N.Y.)

as recorded (not vetted)

AssociatedPlace

New York (State)--New York

as recorded (not vetted)

AssociatedPlace

New York (State)--New York

as recorded (not vetted)

AssociatedPlace

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<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>

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w6kd4s99

7562733