A Mighty River of People (May 2021)

Acrylic on Canvas

30” x 48”

For 20 years, David was a teacher for the New York City Board of Education in a G.E.D. program for students aged 18 to 25. He also led political education and organizing of students and teachers.  

In 1995, 30,000 students and teachers in New York City protested budget cuts to CUNY, the city’s university system.  Participating with other teachers, David took fifty of his G.E.D. students to the rally.  They were amazed when they saw the ‘Mighty River of People,’ converging on City Hall.  

“When I attended CUNY’s Brooklyn College in the 1960s, my education was free, as it should be for all,” David says. “This demonstration and many others pressured the city and Mayor Giuliani to limit the planned cuts.”