In the United States of that period, laws in many states enforced separate schools, transportation, and bathrooms solely on the basis of race. The military was still segregated, laws prohibiting interracial marriage were in place and many housing developments enforced “whites only” policies.
An early resident and later United Nations staff member, Carlos Figueroa remembers making friends with children from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Growing up together, they tasted cuisine, learned about their cultures, and picked up bits of their languages.
By 1952, approximately 500 United Nations families lived in the Parkway.
“It was enlightening to see children from countries and cultures that are traditional rivals – for example Indians and Pakistanis, Arabs and Jews – playing together, going to the same schools and, if not learning to love and trust each other, at least finding a way to live together in an environment of cooperation and understanding,” Mr Figueroa said.
Parkway Village in New York was the city’s first racially integrated housing estate.
The Parkway’s quaint low-rise homes, winding paths and open lawns were home to employees from more than 50 countries, including Nobel laureate Ralph Bunche.
“From its earliest days, the United Nations has sought to be a leader in eliminating racial discrimination around the world,” said Rula Hinedi, chief of UN tour guides, who recently led a fact-finding mission to Parkway Village.
“There are few clearer intentions to put this principle into practice than the development of Parkway Village when the United Nations first decided to permanently establish New York in December 1946.”
Facing Isolation in NYC
Immediately after World War II, New York City faced a severe housing crisis, and this was exacerbated by the return of 900,000 American troops from overseas.
New York historian Chris McNickle noted, “New York seemed 150,000 to 250,000 apartment units short of the housing needs at the time, and yet thousands of diplomats were lining up to make their homes in New York City.” united nations news.
However, the UN requirement for the host city to provide housing for staff without discrimination would pose an even greater challenge. Many housing developments in New York, such as Manhattan’s famous Stuy-Town or Fresh Meadows, practiced racial segregation.
The organization knew it would need somewhere to accommodate its incredibly diverse staff, especially at a time when “it was very difficult, sometimes even impossible, for black people to secure an apartment,” Mr. McNickle said.
Parkway Village, then a plot of land in a quiet corner of the borough of Queens, was the solution that the United Nations and the City of New York came up with.
A historical map showing Parkway Village, the United States’ racially integrated housing development.
united nations village
Built from scratch in 1947 on 34 acres of undeveloped land, the Parkway consisted of 687 apartments, located in small clusters throughout the property, with views in every direction.
Described by current resident Judith Gutman as “country in the city”, the village fostered a “communal” atmosphere for its residents. By the early 1980s only 15 percent of the site had buildings on it and there was a United Nations school and nursery on the site, Ms. Gutmann said, adding, “It was so community-oriented and had a very open atmosphere culturally, that for many years no fences were built between the houses… It was the perfect place to raise children.”
‘Atmosphere of cooperation and understanding’
Beyond the family environment, the development also provided a haven for civil rights activists, Nobel laureates, and United Nations staff from countless countries who would not normally have been able to live together given the racial laws that existed in that period.
One United Nations staff member who benefited from the village’s integration was Ralph Bunche, the first black person to win the Nobel Peace Prize after his mediation efforts on behalf of the United Nations in the Arab–Israeli conflict in the late 1940s.
moving beyond discrimination
As Parkway Village remains a landmark symbol of the United Nations’ effort to promote racial equality, the United Nations’ independent human rights expert on contemporary forms of racism, Dr. Ashwini K.PSaid that progress has been made.
He said, “Over the past 80 years, the world has moved from openly codified racism to a global consensus that racial discrimination is unacceptable.”
However, let’s talk beyond that International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination“It is celebrated every year on March 21,” he said. “Racism continues to manifest in various forms” and “shaping access to education, health care, economic opportunity, and political power.”
He said, “Ending racial discrimination requires sustained political will, measurable accountability, and a commitment to equality that is not simply declared.” “By confronting it openly we diminish its power and reclaim our collective humanity.”
