Press, Media, and Latest News
Book Signing at local bookstore in New York City featured in Magazine | March 27, 2025
As written in Harlem World Magazine:
“On March 27th, 2025, Harlem’s storied past and vibrant present came together under one warm and welcoming roof as Harlem Prep alumni joined author and historian Barry M. Goldenberg. They all came together for a heartfelt book signing event at Grandma’s Place, a beloved neighborhood institution located at 84 West 120th Street.
The event, held on March 27th, 2025, was a celebration of the enduring legacy of Harlem Prep and the values of education, equity, and empowerment that it represents. Dr. Goldenberg, a passionate scholar and friend to the Harlem Prep community, signed copies of his new book, Strength through Diversity, a timely and resonant work that explores how diverse perspectives and backgrounds can drive collective progress. The book emphasizes the idea that groups and institutions thrive not in spite of diversity, but because of it—because diverse voices foster better problem-solving, innovation, and more just outcomes.”
To read the rest of the article on my book signing, please click here.
New book published by rutgers university press now available worldwide | January 14, 2025
After more than twelve years of research and writing, my book that stems from my dissertation work at Columbia University on Harlem Prep is now available worldwide! The book is entitled Strength through Diversity: Harlem Prep and the Rise of Multiculturalism and is humbly published by Rutgers University Press. This book details the powerful and fascinating story of an independent school in Harlem from 1967 to 1974, in which I document the school’s rise, all elements of its educational program — the heart of the book — and its untimely decline. This book has been a true labor of love, and it is a dream to come true to finally see this long project completed. I believe that there are many lessons we can learn from this school’s history.
For more information about the book, please click here. I hope you consider purchasing a copy!
Asked to Give Keynote Speech at Teachers College, Columbia University | March 27, 2024
It with great humility that I was asked to give the keynote speech at the (formerly) Institute for Urban and Minority Education’s (IUME) 50th Anniversary celebration at Teachers College, Columbia University. IUME has been one of the premier research institutes in the country on scholarship related to marginalized youth and educational equity since its founding in 1973. IUME flew me out to New York City to give the keynote speech in front of the president of the college, faculty, and other stakeholders in a giant day-long event honoring the past five decades of work from the institute. I was so deeply honored to give this keynote and shared the rich history of IUME. At the end of the event, IUME was renamed the Gordon Institute for Advanced Study.
Click here to watch the keynote at Teachers College, Columbia University, in which I am first introduced by the institute’s director.
Begin 2022-2023 DTEI Faculty Fellowship for Digital Learning Excellence | August 1, 2022
I am very excited to share that I have been offered to serve as a Faculty Fellow for Digital Learning Excellence through the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI) at the University of California, Irvine for the 2022-2023 academic year. DTEI is an separate division at the university that works with faculty dedicated to teaching and pedagogy, and each year, select faculty are nominated for this fellowship. In this capacity, I will work with two other colleagues as well as the DTEI team to provide guidance to other faculty, lead workshops, and lead community initiatives among UCI faculty and the broader academic community. This is a wonderful opportunity and I am excited to work with great colleagues dedicated to powerful teaching.
For more information about this Faculty Fellow program, please click here.
Awarded 2022 Lecturer of the Year at the University of California, Irvine | April 21, 2022
I was deeply humbled to be awarded the 2022 Lecturer of the Year at the University of California, Irvine, and honored to have been selected across the entire university and hundreds of lecturers. I was nominated, unknowingly, by multiple students and upon submission of various materials in which I described my teaching, was selected by the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning, and the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation.
I was then presented with this award at the annual “Celebration of Teaching” in front of my colleagues and administrators from the School of Education and across the university (as well as students who came to celebrate!). In addition, the video to the left — with commentary by the vice provost, one of my student nominators, and a clip of me answering “what I learned from teaching” — was created on my behalf and sent to the entire university.
For more about this honor, please click here to read the UCI School of Education news article.
Awarded the 2021 Harlem Spotlight Award from Community organization | October 10, 2021
I was very humbled to be awarded the 2021 Harlem Spotlight Award from Sound Business, Inc., a long-running community organization in Harlem committed to pubic schools and uplifting marginalized students. SBI has a long track record of innovative after-schools programs and, in particular, supporting Harlem public school students through the arts. I was extremely honored to receive this award for my work on Harlem Prep.
Hired as Lecturer at the University of California, Irvine | September 8, 2021
Starting in Fall 2021, I have begun teaching upper- and lower-division courses at the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, a top 10 public university in the country and ranked #2 in social mobility for students. As a lecturer in the Education Sciences program, courses that I am teaching include Poverty, Education, and Social Change, and Multicultural Education in K-12 Schools, the latter a 125-student class that is a core part of the program’s curriculum.
signed to advance Book contract with Rutgers University Press | May 7, 2020
I am thrilled to announce that I have signed an advance book contract with Rutgers University Press for my book Strength through Diversity: Harlem Prep and the Rise of Multiculturalism. My book will be a part of the in-progress series New Directions in the History of Education that features cutting-edge scholarship on the history of education.
Featured as Guest on Have You Heard Podcast, Speaking about Harlem Prep | OCTOBER 17, 2019
I was honored to be a guest on the Have You Heard Podcast, a bi-weekly education focused with journalist Jennifer Berkshire and professor Jack Schneider, where I spoke about my research on Harlem Prep. We discussed what we can learn from a school like Harlem Prep today, Harlem Prep’s relation to the charter school movement today, and what powerful education looks like in practice. This derived from a graduate student contest last spring.
To listen to the podcast, click the orange play button to the left. And, for more about the contest and the podcast, click here.
Youth Historians and Doctoral Journey Featured in Teachers College News | June 21, 2019
As I recently completed my doctoral journey, the Teachers College, Columbia University Newsroom kindly wrote about my story, focusing on the Youth Historians in Harlem (YHH) program that I founded and directed from 2012-2016. This article describes my upbringing in St. Louis, MO, and how my time at UCLA inspired my graduate work and development of the program, which continues through the college’s Harlem Education History Project. Click here to read the article.
Receives Ph.D. from Columbia University; Honored by President at Commencement | May 22, 2019
After a six-year journey pursuing my Ph.D. at Teachers College, Columbia University, my doctoral degree was officially conferred at the school’s commencement ceremony. In front of family and friends — and as a first generation student — it was very a joyous moment to have my degree conferred. Moreover, Teachers College, Columbia University President Thomas Bailey, in his prepared remarks, shared my story to the audience. Out of all the 175 students graduating, it was overwhelming and extremely humbling that he chose to discuss my journey. Click here to watch President Bailey’s remarks about my story.
Hired as an Adjunct Professor of History at El Camino College | August 1, 2018
Starting in the Fall 2018 semester, I have been hired as a part-time faculty member at El Camino College in Torrance, CA. El Camino College, which serves more than 25,000 students each year in the South Bay and larger Los Angeles County -- a majority of them first-generation college students -- is the second leading transfer school to UCLA in the state of California and one the leading institutions for serving Latino/a students. I am very proud to teach at this wonderful institution and join a group of faculty members who are extremely committed to student well-being and success. My course syllabi and other information can be viewed here.
New book on Dodge FAmily Philanthropy Released in New York | September 16, 2017
After almost two years of researching and writing, my book, entitled Generations of Giving: The History of the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, humbly published by Teachers College Press, was released at the Foundation's Centennial Celebration at the University Club in Manhattan, NY. In front of almost 200 people, including President Susan Fuhrman of Teachers College, Columbia University, I hand-signed each book and spoke to the audience about my writing process and the main components of the book's narrative about the Dodge family's philanthropy and the Foundation throughout the twentieth century. It was an honor to have been a part of this event.
Awarded Teachers College Research Dissertation Fellowship | May 1, 2017
In support of my dissertation work, I was awarded a year-long fellowship, starting in Fall 2017 and extending until Spring 2018. According to Teachers College's Office of Student Affairs wrote, they "received a record number of applications this year" and I am appreciative of this opportunity to represent Teachers College as one of few students who received one of these awards.
Invited as Keynote Speaker at Montclair Art museum Event | February 16, 2017
Organized by the African-American Cultural Committee at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM) in New Jersey, I was the keynote speaker and panelist at their event, entitled "Step by Step - The Story of Harlem Prep: A Conversation with Students and Faculty Fifty Years Later." At this event, organizers filmed a rarely seen documentary on Harlem Prep, and I introduced the film and how it inspired me to undertake my (now dissertation) research. Click here to watch the keynote address and panel conversation. Click here to watch the keynote. [video starts at introduction to keynote; panel discussion begins at 1:01:40]
Interviewed on Voices from the Middle Podcast | September 1, 2015
To accompany my co-written article entitled "Middle School Harlem Historians" in Voices from the Middle journal, I was interviewed in podcast format to discuss how the article took shape, how the discussed program motivates students, and other key concepts of the Middle School Harlem Historians project. Click here to listen to the podcast.
Article Featured in TC Today Magazine | December 1, 2014
In the bi-annually printed TC Today Magazine, the official magazine of the Teachers College, Columbia University, my article entitled, "Talking Inclusion? Include Our Students" discusses the importance of including students in policy decisions. Click here to read the short article.
Selected for 2014 Teagle Summer Institute | April 25, 2014
I was selected to participate in the 2014 Teagle Summer Institute at Columbia University. The Teagle Summer Institute is an "intensive, multi-day series of workshops, discussions, and posted reflections all centered on the use of emerging tools to support effective teaching," where participants will interact with graduate students across the University to design innovative teaching projects.
Awarded ING Unsung Heroes Grant | October 8, 2013
I have recently been awarded, in partnership with colleague Andrew Wintner, an ING Unsung Heroes Grant for $2,000 to conduct their "Middle School Harlem Historians" (MSHH) program. This program will be an after-school intervention program that seeks to improve middle school students' literacy skills through engaging in history. Andrew and I were generously awarded plaques and a commemorative check from ING. (Andrew is a 8th grade English teacher.) Only three projects in the entire state of New York received funding.
Featured in Teachers College Magazine | July 1, 2013
In an article from Teachers College Media Center, I was featured in regards to my journey from St. Louis all the way to New York City and Columbia University. In addition, the article was featured on Teachers College's main website and in its online magazine section.
Return to Harlem World Radio Show | February 23, 2013
I was interviewed on the Harlem World Radio Show with host Danny Tisdale, talking for 30 minutes about the Youth Historians in Harlem and the history of Harlem in general. It was a great, engaging interview that discussed the Youth Historians project from a variety angles.