[2] Freedom Day was part of a larger effort by activists to target the New York City Board of Education through acts of civil disobedience for their failure to implement a reasonable integration plan.
[3] Opponents of integration, including a coalition of predominantly white neighborhood groups called Parents and Taxpayers, emphasized the importance of children attending schools closest to their homes and expressed concerns over busing.
[3] A few days before the planned event, The New York Times printed an editorial titled “A Boycott Solves Nothing” condemning the activist leaders and claiming it would be violent, illegal, unreasonable and unjustified.
[2] An estimated 90,000 to 100,000 boycotting students attended alternative classes in makeshift "Freedom Schools" where community educators taught lessons in religious institutions, recreational spaces, and private homes.
[7] New York's newspapers expressed astonishment at the number of predominantly black and Puerto Rican students who participated — and the complete absence of violence or disorder from the demonstrators.