Mark D. Naison facts for kids

Mark Naison (born 1946) is an American professor of history at Fordham University in New York. Before becoming a professor, he was a young political activist in the 1960s. This means he worked to bring about political or social change.

Naison was a member of two important groups during the Civil Rights Movement: the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He earned his Ph.D. in American history from Columbia University.

Early Life and Education

Mark D. Naison was born in 1946 in Crown Heights, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were both schoolteachers who valued intelligence very highly.

As a child, Naison sometimes felt different from other kids. To fit in and make friends, he became very interested in sports.

In 1962, Naison started college at Columbia University. He soon felt a strong need to stand up against racial segregation, which was the unfair separation of people based on their race.

Joining the Civil Rights Movement

In the fall of 1963, Naison joined his university's chapter of CORE. CORE was a major civil rights group in the United States. It was open to anyone who believed that all people are created equal.

Through CORE, Naison began tutoring children and helping families in the neighborhood of East Harlem. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in American History from Columbia. He later received his Ph.D. from the same university in 1976.

Protesting with Students for a Democratic Society

By 1967, Naison began to protest against the Vietnam War. He joined activities organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), another student activist group.

Naison had his own ideas about how to protest. At one demonstration, he wore his sports jacket and carried a sign that said "jocks for peace." He wanted to show that people from all walks of life were against the war.

The Columbia University Protests of 1968

In 1968, Naison took part in major protests at Columbia University. Students were angry about the university's plan to build a new gym in a public park in Harlem. Naison was arrested for civil disobedience, which is a peaceful form of protest.

A short time later, Naison's father and the famous civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. both passed away. These events made Naison feel he needed to become even more involved in activism.

During another protest against the gym, student leaders decided to occupy a university building called Hamilton Hall. This meant they refused to leave until their demands were heard. Naison gave a speech encouraging the students to stay until the university agreed to make changes. Because of the protest's success, he decided to officially join SDS.

A New Direction

After joining SDS, Naison became a leader in the group. He used his knowledge of history to help shape the group's ideas. However, he soon found himself disagreeing with a new, more extreme faction that formed within SDS.

This new group held ideas that Naison could not support. After an incident that led to his arrest, he realized he did not want to be part of their dangerous plans. He had a serious disagreement with some members and decided to leave the group for good.

For a short time, the FBI investigated Naison to make sure he was no longer involved with the extreme group. Once they saw he had left, they stopped watching him.

Sadly, Naison's close friend, Ted Gold, died in an accidental explosion. The accident happened when some group members were trying to build a bomb. In his sadness, Naison wrote a poem for his friend.

Life as a Professor

Since 1970, Mark Naison has been a professor at Fordham University. He teaches African American Studies and History. He also started the Bronx African American History Project, which records the stories of people in the Bronx.

One of his most popular classes is called "From Rock & Roll to Hip Hop." This class looks at the history of music and youth culture in American cities. He has appeared on TV shows like Chappelle's Show to share his knowledge.

Naison has written over 100 articles and three books about history. He is also a co-founder of the ... Teachers Association, a group that works to improve American education.

When asked if he regrets being arrested during the Columbia protests, Naison said he was proud of it then and is still proud of it now.