Albert Vann

We last walked with Mr Vann on Fulton Street while talking about the historic moment of Fulton Street being an all Black commercial strip. We hoped we would interview him later, but it would not be. The beloved father and community leader transitioned last year and left a legacy of important work and a blueprint for self determination for the Bedford Stuyvesant community.

While researching the Restoration archives, we found out about Albert Vann as a relentless educator and co-founder of the African-American Teachers Association (ATA). He was key in the historic fight over local school control in the late 1960s. There was a strong belief that the Black community would create the school curriculum, hire teachers and staff, and have control over the budget. It was a long fight, but his work led to a special program that placed 60 Black and Puerto Rican educators in leadership positions.

Vann would never stop fighting for equality and Black lives. Our Time press reports that in 1977, Vann aligned with Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Jitu Weusi, and Sam Pinn to found the Black United Front, a social justice movement that was launched to secure justice for Randolph Evans and other youth who had been killed as a result of police violence.

He led a successful legal fight against racial gerrymandering in the City Council that helped shape Black political power in Bedford Stuyvesant for years to come. Vann also served as a mentor to a generation of politicians, including state Attorney General Letitia James.

ALBERT VANN

Shirley Chisholm

Hattie Carthan