Mary Levy interview video, 2022-06-09
Scope and Contents
D.C. Oral History Collaborative (DCOHC) is a citywide initiative to train community members in oral history skills, fund new and ongoing oral history projects, connect volunteers with oral history projects, and publicize existing oral history collections. DCOHC is a project of DC Public Library, HumanitiesDC, and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. This collection contains oral history interviews, transcripts, and indexes produced by DCOHC grantees.
Dates
- Creation: 2022-06-09
Biographical / Historical
Mary Levy is an attorney and school finance analyst. In 1981, she was among the many school parents alarmed by the disastrous reduction in the DC Public Schools budget. To support Parents United’s advocacy, she wrote a report that documented how poorly funded the DC Public Schools were. This was the first of dozens of consequential reports Mary wrote on building conditions, teacher compensation and training, athletic facilities, and more. For over 15 years she directed the Washington Lawyers’ Committee’s Public Education Reform Project.
Extent
From the Collection: 1.13 Terabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Mary Levy, attorney and budget analyst, summarizes her education from elementary school in Chicago and its suburbs through law school at George Washington University. She describes how she developed her expertise in data and school finance, and how she, as a concerned school parent, became involved in Parents United. She discusses the organization’s continued advocacy for adequate public school budgets and the funding reports she prepared. She also talks about other issues important to Parents United and the reports she developed about those issues, as well as significant litigation initiated by the organization.
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository