The Board of Education surveyed the nationalities of public school students in the 1930s and 1940s for statistical purposes. Officials determined national origins based on the father’s place of birth. This card lists that information for students at P.S. 42 on the Lower East Side for 1937. More than two dozen countries are listed. Board of Education records, NYC Municipal Archives.
- Page 1: Typed index card titled Nationality of Pupils. The card shows a list of countries and a tally of students from those countries as of March 31,1940. The card list some independent countries such as Lithuania and Czeckoslovakia but also includes territories and regions such as the Irish Free State and Central America. There is a date of May 1940 listed in bottom of card.
- Page 2: Image shows back of index card titled Nationality of Pupils. The list includes several countries and notably includes separate counts for “United States: Whites” and “United States: Negro.” It also includes type write ins such as China, Albania, Phillipine Island, Hawaiian, United States Yellow, French Morocco, Egypt and Palestine. There is a separate listing for “percentage of Negroes in school” and the total register as of March 31,1940.