Jacob Morris: Difference between revisions
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'''Jacob Morris''' (born 1947) is a [[New York City]] activist and local historian responsible for many street renamings. He is the head of the Harlem Historical Society and the New York Freedom Trail, an organization which seeks to establish an official government tour of sites connected to the fight against slavery. |
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#REDIRECT [[Jacob Morris (rugby player)]] |
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== Historical activism == |
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{{Redirect category shell| |
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{{R from move}} |
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Since 2006<ref name="guardian"> |
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{{cite news |
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| last = Jerkins |
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| first = Morgan |
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| date = 12 September 2018 |
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| title = Harlem's mission to rename streets after black women before it's too late |
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| url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/12/harlem-street-names-women-new-york-mission |
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| work = The Guardian |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}} |
}} |
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</ref>, Morris has worked diligently to rename and co-name streets after accomplished Black New Yorkers, including [[Paul Robeson]]<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |
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| last = Boyer-Dry |
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| first = Margot |
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| date = 5 March 2021 |
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| title = He Honors Black New Yorkers. Not All Black Activists Are Thrilled. |
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| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/nyregion/Jacob-Morris-street-renaming-nyc.html |
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| work = The New York Times |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}} |
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</ref>, [[Ella Baker]]<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="guardian" />, [[Thurgood Marshall]]<ref name="nyt" />, [[Ida B. Wells]]<ref name="nyt" />, [[W.E.B. DuBois]]<ref name="nyt" />, [[Billie Holiday]]<ref name="nyt" />, [[Count Basie]]<ref name="nyt" />, [[Frederick Douglass]]<ref name="nyt" />, [[Susan Smith McKinney]]<ref name="guardian" />, [[Zora Neale Hurston]]<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="guardian" />, [[A'Lelia Walker]]<ref name="guardian" />, and [[James Brown]]<ref name="nyt" />. He told the [[New York Daily News]], "Basically, you know, blacks have been living on streets named after famous white persons for 400 years, maybe a little more. So, you know, why not have white people live on streets named after famous black people who did so much to contribute to American history?"<ref name="dailynews">{{cite news |
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| last = Lombardi |
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| first = Frank |
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| date = 21 November 2010 |
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| title = Upper West Sider Jacob Morris is takin' it to the streets to honor blacks |
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| url = https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/upper-west-sider-jacob-morris-takin-streets-honor-blacks-article-1.454741 |
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| work = New York Daily News |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}} |
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</ref> |
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The [[New York Times]] wrote that he showed "nonstop zeal" to advance these projects through the local system of [[Community boards of New York City|community boards]].<ref name="nyt" /> Many of naming efforts have been related to Black women.<ref name="guardian" /> He also claimed to have a sense of urgency given gentrification in black neighborhoods such as [[Harlem]].<ref name="guardian" /> |
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He also advocates on other issues related to public history in New York City. Scholar [[David Levering Lewis]] told the New York Times, “Almost every month Jacob finds a reason to be agitated, excited, outraged and militant, and usually he’s quite right in his concerns.”<ref name="nyt" /> A primary task, given an interest in the Underground Railroad, is to establish a "Freedom Trail" that would mark key places related to the fight against slavery -- [[Underground Railroad]] sites and sites links to [[abolitionism|abolitionists]].<ref name="wsj">{{cite news |
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| last = Maloney |
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| first = Jennifer |
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| date = 2 July 2012 |
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| title = A New Freedom Trail |
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| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304211804577503060994387908 |
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| work = Wall Street Journal |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}} |
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</ref><ref name="dnainfo">{{cite news |
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| last = Shapiro |
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| first = Julie |
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| date = 20 March 2012 |
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| title = 'Freedom Trail' Plan Would Link Manhattan's Abolitionist Sites |
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| url = https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120320/downtown/freedom-trail-plan-would-link-manhattans-abolitionist-sites/ |
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| work = |
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| location = |
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| access-date = |
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}}</ref> This effort would be inspired by the successful [[Freedom Trail]] in Boston that is connected to the Revolutionary War.<ref name="dnainfo" /> |
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Many of these proposed sites, such as the home of [[David Ruggles]] at 36 Lispenard Street and the place where [[Elizabeth Jennings Graham]] was thrown off a street car, are in [[Lower Manhattan]].<ref name="wsj2">{{cite news |
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| last = Maloney |
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| first = Jennifer |
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| date = 14 February 2014 |
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| title = Freedom Trail Idea on Move in New York City |
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| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/freedom-trail-idea-on-move-in-new-york-city-1392428923 |
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| work = Wall Street Journal |
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| location = |
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| access-date = |
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}}</ref> |
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Morris said that the trail plan "tells the truth about where we come from and the path we've taken to get to where we are today. We need to know this stuff: the adversity, the things that were surmounted."<ref name="dnainfo" /> Council member [[Ydanis Rodriguez]] introduced City Council legislation for a taskforce to study the matter,<ref name="bandb">{{cite news |
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| last = Venarchik |
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| first = Anna |
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| date = 23 February 2021 |
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| title = Underground Railroad Tours Are a Hot Ticket: Could NYC’s Abolitionist History Get Easier to Access? |
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| url = https://bedfordandbowery.com/2021/02/underground-railroad-tours-are-a-hot-ticket-could-nycs-abolitionist-history-get-easier-to-access-2/ |
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| work = Bedford+Bowery |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}}</ref> and the plan received support from Community Board 1 under [[Julie Menin]].<ref name="dnainfo" /> |
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In 2006, he worked with Roger Green, an activist from [[Crown Heights]], to co-name a stretch of [[Duffield Street]], near where [[Abolitionist Place]].<ref name="dailynews" /> In 2019, while opposing the treatment by [[New York City Economic Development Corporation]] for a memorial to abolitionism, he led efforts to rename the proposed park, Willoughby Square, to Abolitionist Place Park.<ref name="guardian" /><ref name="beagle">{{cite news |
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| last = Croghan |
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| first = Lore |
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| date = 26 September 2019 |
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| title = Planned Willougby Park could be renamed to honor Downtown BK abolitionists |
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| url = https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/09/26/planned-willoughby-park-could-be-renamed-to-honor-downtown-bk-abolitionists/ |
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| work = Brooklyn Eagle |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}}</ref>, and the plan received support from Community Board 1 under [[Julie Menin]].<ref name="dnainfo" /> |
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Morris also opposed some of the projects of the administration of Mayor [[Bill de Blasio]] related to monuments. He opposed public funding for the [[Women's Rights Pioneers Monument]] in [[Central Park]] before it was changed to include [[Sojourner Truth]].<ref name="amny">{{cite news |
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| last = O'Connell-Domenech |
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| first = Alejandra |
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| date = 21 August 2019 |
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| title = Moment of ‘Truth’ for suffragettes statue |
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| url = https://www.amny.com/news/moment-of-truth-for-suffragettes-statue/ |
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| work = amNY |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}}</ref> Even then, he wrote a letter to make sure the addition would be historically accurate and appropriate.<ref name="hyperallergic">{{cite news |
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| last = Small |
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| first = Zachary |
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| date = 21 August 2019 |
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| title = Historians Raise Concerns Over Central Park’s Suffragist Monument |
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| url = https://hyperallergic.com/514079/historians-raise-concerns-over-central-parks-suffragist-monument/ |
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| work = Hyperallergic |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}}</ref> |
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He also criticized the de Blasio administration for the placement of some its announced monuments, including for [[Elizabeth Jennings Graham]], [[Billie Holiday]], and the family of Albro Lyons and Mary Lyons.<ref name="nypost">{{cite news |
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| last = Marsh |
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| first = Julia |
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| date = 22 October 2019 |
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| title = Critics say location of new city statues doesn’t make historical sense |
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| url = https://nypost.com/2019/10/22/critics-say-location-of-new-city-statues-doesnt-make-historical-sense/ |
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| work = New York Post |
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| location = |
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| access-date = 27 January 2022 |
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}}</ref> |
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Another goal of Morris is to name a street after Maya Angelou.<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="guardian" /> |
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== Family history == |
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Morris was born in 1947 in [[Astoria, Queens]].<ref name="nyt" /> His family was Jewish Greek.<ref name="nyt" /> The <i>New York Times</i> reported that almost all of his family was killed in the [[The Holocaust in Greece|Holocaust due to the Nazi occupation of Greece]].<ref name="nyt" /> In the 1970s, Morris worked in real estate and owned different properties in [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo]], including a video rental chain called "Rare Bird."<ref name="nyt" /> His tenants implemented a rent strike, forcing him in the 1990s to declare bankruptcy.<ref name="nyt" /> |
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While his son Lincoln was in school, Morris started to get involved in politics when he learned that New York City public schools did not have to include in their reports the scores of students assigned as learning disabled.<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="guardian" /> |
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==Reference== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[https://nycfreedomtrail.org/ New York City Freedom Trail] |
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[[Category:Activists from New York City]] |
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Revision as of 23:11, 27 January 2022
Jacob Morris (born 1947) is a New York City activist and local historian responsible for many street renamings. He is the head of the Harlem Historical Society and the New York Freedom Trail, an organization which seeks to establish an official government tour of sites connected to the fight against slavery.
Historical activism
Since 2006[1], Morris has worked diligently to rename and co-name streets after accomplished Black New Yorkers, including Paul Robeson[2], Ella Baker[2][1], Thurgood Marshall[2], Ida B. Wells[2], W.E.B. DuBois[2], Billie Holiday[2], Count Basie[2], Frederick Douglass[2], Susan Smith McKinney[1], Zora Neale Hurston[2][1], A'Lelia Walker[1], and James Brown[2]. He told the New York Daily News, "Basically, you know, blacks have been living on streets named after famous white persons for 400 years, maybe a little more. So, you know, why not have white people live on streets named after famous black people who did so much to contribute to American history?"[3]
The New York Times wrote that he showed "nonstop zeal" to advance these projects through the local system of community boards.[2] Many of naming efforts have been related to Black women.[1] He also claimed to have a sense of urgency given gentrification in black neighborhoods such as Harlem.[1]
He also advocates on other issues related to public history in New York City. Scholar David Levering Lewis told the New York Times, “Almost every month Jacob finds a reason to be agitated, excited, outraged and militant, and usually he’s quite right in his concerns.”[2] A primary task, given an interest in the Underground Railroad, is to establish a "Freedom Trail" that would mark key places related to the fight against slavery -- Underground Railroad sites and sites links to abolitionists.[4][5] This effort would be inspired by the successful Freedom Trail in Boston that is connected to the Revolutionary War.[5]
Many of these proposed sites, such as the home of David Ruggles at 36 Lispenard Street and the place where Elizabeth Jennings Graham was thrown off a street car, are in Lower Manhattan.[6]
Morris said that the trail plan "tells the truth about where we come from and the path we've taken to get to where we are today. We need to know this stuff: the adversity, the things that were surmounted."[5] Council member Ydanis Rodriguez introduced City Council legislation for a taskforce to study the matter,[7] and the plan received support from Community Board 1 under Julie Menin.[5]
In 2006, he worked with Roger Green, an activist from Crown Heights, to co-name a stretch of Duffield Street, near where Abolitionist Place.[3] In 2019, while opposing the treatment by New York City Economic Development Corporation for a memorial to abolitionism, he led efforts to rename the proposed park, Willoughby Square, to Abolitionist Place Park.[1][8], and the plan received support from Community Board 1 under Julie Menin.[5]
Morris also opposed some of the projects of the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio related to monuments. He opposed public funding for the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument in Central Park before it was changed to include Sojourner Truth.[9] Even then, he wrote a letter to make sure the addition would be historically accurate and appropriate.[10]
He also criticized the de Blasio administration for the placement of some its announced monuments, including for Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Billie Holiday, and the family of Albro Lyons and Mary Lyons.[11]
Another goal of Morris is to name a street after Maya Angelou.[2][1]
Family history
Morris was born in 1947 in Astoria, Queens.[2] His family was Jewish Greek.[2] The New York Times reported that almost all of his family was killed in the Holocaust due to the Nazi occupation of Greece.[2] In the 1970s, Morris worked in real estate and owned different properties in SoHo, including a video rental chain called "Rare Bird."[2] His tenants implemented a rent strike, forcing him in the 1990s to declare bankruptcy.[2]
While his son Lincoln was in school, Morris started to get involved in politics when he learned that New York City public schools did not have to include in their reports the scores of students assigned as learning disabled.[2][1]
Reference
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jerkins, Morgan (12 September 2018). "Harlem's mission to rename streets after black women before it's too late". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Boyer-Dry, Margot (5 March 2021). "He Honors Black New Yorkers. Not All Black Activists Are Thrilled". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b Lombardi, Frank (21 November 2010). "Upper West Sider Jacob Morris is takin' it to the streets to honor blacks". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Maloney, Jennifer (2 July 2012). "A New Freedom Trail". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Shapiro, Julie (20 March 2012). "'Freedom Trail' Plan Would Link Manhattan's Abolitionist Sites".
- ^ Maloney, Jennifer (14 February 2014). "Freedom Trail Idea on Move in New York City". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Venarchik, Anna (23 February 2021). "Underground Railroad Tours Are a Hot Ticket: Could NYC's Abolitionist History Get Easier to Access?". Bedford+Bowery. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Croghan, Lore (26 September 2019). "Planned Willougby Park could be renamed to honor Downtown BK abolitionists". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ O'Connell-Domenech, Alejandra (21 August 2019). "Moment of 'Truth' for suffragettes statue". amNY. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Small, Zachary (21 August 2019). "Historians Raise Concerns Over Central Park's Suffragist Monument". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Marsh, Julia (22 October 2019). "Critics say location of new city statues doesn't make historical sense". New York Post. Retrieved 27 January 2022.