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Young, Lester, Jr., 2008 January 31, inclusive

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Dr. Lester Young, Jr. discusses his current connection and involvement with Restoration and its role in the African-American civil rights movement. Young talks about housing affordability, gentrification, and his concerns for the future of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. He looks at the role of arts education in young peoples' lives. Young recalls his own public school education and his training as a young educator in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Young also speaks about school violence and solutions. He focuses on Restoration's roles in shutting down the "prison pipeline" for young Black men and enabling "total" human development; spanning jobs, arts, housing, education, and emotional maturity. He remembers the role his father, the famous jazz musician Lester Young, had on his life. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

Biographical / Historical

Dr. Lester Young, Jr., EdD, was a career educator born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. His professional experience includes time served as a teacher, guidance counselor, supervisor of special education, elementary school principal, and the Associate Commissioner with the New York State Education Department. At the time of the 2008 interview, Dr. Young was a visiting professor at Long Island University's Graduate School of Education and a contributor to Restoration.

Conditions Governing Access and Use

Access to the interview is available onsite at the Brooklyn Historical Society's Othmer Library and online on the Oral History Portal. Use of the oral histories other than for private study, scholarship, or research requires permission from BHS by contacting library@brooklynhistory.org.

Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201