News & Events
For Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., the 1954 ‘Brown’ Decision and 1964 Civil Rights Act Were a Beginning, Not an End
From left, Social Science Professors Howard Sisco and Julie Tyson, Student Psychology Club Vice President Stephanie Brown, club Secretary Loraine Cuadrado, EEOC New York District Director Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., club President Gareth George, and Social Science Professor Jerome Blue, who is also City Tech’s interim vice president for research, governmental and corporate affairs.
From left, Department of Social Science Chair Steven Alden, Psychology Club President Gareth George and EEOC New York District Director Spencer H. Lewis, Jr.
The Psychology Club/Public Service & Service Learning Committee of City Tech’s Department of Social Science hosted a presentation in May by Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., director of the New York District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The presentation was part of the College’s larger observance of Law Day and the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision, which declared “separate but equal” unconstitutional and called for the desegregation of public schools across the country.
Lewis reviewed the progress made in the area of civil rights following such historic events as the 1954 Brown decision and passage of the landmark federal Civil Rights Act ten years later. For Lewis and many other speakers nationwide, the occasion was cause for commemoration but not for celebration, because discrimination in its many forms remains a disruptive force in our national life.
An audience of 150 social science, legal assistant studies and other students, faculty and staff heard Lewis discuss the various types of discriminatory practices that continue to confront individuals and groups across the spectrum of American society. Despite more than a half-century of increased public dialogue and passage of protective legislation at the federal, state and local levels, discrimination based on age, disability, equal pay, gender, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation and other distinctions continues to plague the nation. Lewis outlined what currently is being done and what additional steps need to be taken to further reduce the adverse effects that stem from bias in all of its forms. Growing resistance to the protections accorded selected “classes” today threatens some of the progress made in recent years.
“We really benefited by having someone of Mr. Lewis’ stature make the time to come and talk with us about discrimination in our country today,” said Psychology Club Treasurer Loraine Cuadrado. “As a member of a minority, I got so much good advice on my rights and on what I can and cannot do to protect them,” she added, “and on how to effectively go about doing the things I can do.”
For Stephanie Brown, the student club’s vice president, the Lewis presentation was a similarly invaluable experience. “I’m proud of what the Psychology Club is doing by bringing speakers like Mr. Lewis to campus to talk about matters of importance to all students. Confronting issues like discrimination is a critical part of the maturing process in an open and enlightened society, and hearing from those working on the front lines in the war against bias is in many ways more valuable than reading books on the subject.”
As director of EEOC’s New York District Office, Spencer Lewis is responsible for the enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws in New York, the New England States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Among other duties, he also serves on numerous agency-wide committees that review EEOC’s goals, mission and structure.
The mission of the Psychology Club is to facilitate students’ preparation for leadership roles in the public and private sectors, and directly exposing them to effective leaders like Lewis is an important part of making that happen. City Tech is currently working to establish a student internship program with EEOC’s New York office and to bring other speakers to campus to talk about leadership in a broad range of fields.
Other speakers at the May presentation included Professor Steven Alden, social science department chair, and Gareth George, president of the Psychology Club. Those instrumental in planning and coordinating the event included Professors Alden, Jerome Blue, Howard Sisco and Julie Tison, faculty advisors to the club.
The College’s Departments of Law & Paralegal Studies,
African-American Studies and Social Science also co-sponsored a
multidisciplinary panel discussion in May on the struggle for racial
equality and the impact of Brown vs. Board of Education on that
ongoing effort. The Brown decision gave birth to the civil rights
movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and sparked similar movements
for women and other groups. Panelists included African-American
Studies Professors Steven Panford and Peter Catapano, as well as
Social Science Professor Costas Panayotakis. Attorney Joseph Connel
joined them.
Photos courtesy Joe Alvarado, EEOC
