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The late Harriet Gibbons
Harriet Gibbons taught music and African-American history in the Albany
public schools until 1974, when she was tapped to serve as principal at
Street Academy, then Albany’s alternative high school. Gibbons was a
beloved leader who was firmly committed to the concept of alternative
education and its emphasis on small classes and individualized
instruction.
In 1979 she resigned her position to become the first African-American
woman to head a city agency, the Office of Equal Opportunity, where she
was in charge of affirmative action programs. Also that year, she became
the first African-American woman elected to the Albany Board of
Education.
From her city position she went on in 1985 to direct the affirmative
action office at the New York State Department of Health. She retired
from the health department and the school board in 1989.
She suffered a stroke in October 1991 and died the following April from
complications. She was
68. In her honor, Street Academy was renamed Harriet Gibbons High
School, a name it held from 1992 until it closed in 2010.
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