In the 1940s United States, many states enforced laws mandating separate schools, transportation, and bathrooms based on race. The military remained segregated, laws prohibiting interracial marriage were in effect, and numerous housing projects maintained “whites-only” policies. Parkway Village stood as a testament against the discriminatory practices of this era.
Carlos Figueroa, an early resident of Parkway and later a UN employee, recalled befriending children from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Growing up together, they experienced diverse cuisines, learned about each other’s cultures, and picked up snippets of different languages. By 1952, approximately 500 United Nations families resided in Parkway.
Figueroa remarked, “It was illuminating to see children from countries and cultures that are traditional rivals – Indians and Pakistanis, Arabs and Jews – playing together, going to the same schools, and finding a way to get along in an atmosphere of cooperation and understanding, if not love and trust.”
Amidst Parkway’s charming low-rise homes, winding roads, and open lawns, staff from over 50 countries lived, including Nobel laureate Ralph Bunche.
Rula Hinedi, head of UN tour guides, recently conducted a familiarization trip to Parkway Village. Hinedi stated, “The United Nations, from its inception, has aimed to be a leader in eradicating racial discrimination worldwide. A clearer demonstration of its intent to put this principle into practice was the development of Parkway Village when the UN decided to permanently locate in New York in December 1946.”
New York City Confronts Discrimination
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, New York City faced a severe housing crisis, exacerbated by the return of 900,000 U.S. servicemen from overseas.
New York historian Chris McNickle noted, “It was understood that New York was short 150,000 to 250,000 apartments compared to the housing needs, and at the same time, there were thousands of diplomats preparing to settle in New York City.”
However, the United Nations’ request for the host city to provide housing for its personnel without discrimination would present an even greater challenge. Many housing projects in New York, such as the famed Stuy-Town or Fresh Meadows in Manhattan, practiced racial discrimination.
McNickle knew the organization would need a place to house its incredibly diverse staff at a time when it was “very difficult, sometimes impossible, for Black people to find an apartment.”
Parkway Village, a parcel of land in a quiet corner of Queens at the time, became the solution found by the UN and New York City.
A United Nations Village
Constructed from scratch on 34 undeveloped acres in 1947, Parkway comprised 687 apartments sparsely placed in small clusters, with views in every direction. The Village, described by a current resident and Parkway Village Historical Society President Judith Guttman as “country in the city,” fostered a “communal” atmosphere for its residents.
With buildings occupying only 15 percent of the space and a UN school and nursery on-site until the early 1980s, Guttman added, “it had a very community-oriented and culturally very open atmosphere, so much so that for many years, there were no fences between houses… it was a perfect place to raise children.”
An ‘Atmosphere of Cooperation and Understanding’
Beyond the familial atmosphere, the project also provided a sanctuary for civil rights activists, Nobel laureates, and UN personnel from countless countries who, given the racial laws of the time, would not normally have been able to live together.
One UN employee who benefited from the Village’s integration was Ralph Bunche, the first Black man to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation efforts on behalf of the UN in the Arab-Israeli conflict in the late 1940s.
Moving Beyond Discrimination
While Parkway Village endures as a historic symbol of the UN’s effort to promote racial equality, UN independent human rights expert on contemporary forms of racism, Dr. Ashwini K.P., stated that progress has been made.
Dr. K.P. commented, “Over the last 80 years, the world has moved from overtly codified racism to a global consensus that racial discrimination is unacceptable.”
However, speaking ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, celebrated annually on March 21, Dr. K.P. added that “racism continues to manifest in different forms” and “shapes access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities and political power.”
Dr. K.P. concluded, “Ending racial discrimination requires sustained political will, measurable accountability, and a commitment to equality that is lived, not just declared. Confronting it openly is the way to diminish its power and reclaim our collective humanity.”
