SC+2016+National+Boycott+Day

(Tyler Anderson) Audience - Nearly two decades after the official desegregation of schools across America, Boston and its childrens’ schools are still segregated across unofficial community lines. Many black parents with the NAACP take the issue to court with the ruling being, “Justice Garrity orders students to be bused city-wide to integrate the schools”(PBS). The white communities and their parents themselves started a boycott known as the “National Boycott Day” in which white parents refused to send their kids to school due to the new busing rules forcing a city-wide integration. At one point nearly a third of white kids were absent from school. This was an attempt for members of the school boards to overturn the ruling as the boycott was appealing to other white people not yet partaking in it and local officials. The boycott was a major issue during this time but did not have the results its creators intended.

"Boston School Desegregation And Busing: A Timeline Of Events." //Timeline//. Learninglab. 05 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 Jan 2016.

"School Desegregation in Boston 1974." //American Experience.// PBS//. 23// October 23 2006. Web. 05 Jan 2016.

(Sam Lehman) Historical: National Boycott Day took place on October 4th, 1974 and represented the persistence of the white South Boston students who did not want their schools desegregated. For multiple decades before the school boycott, African American schools in South Boston learned without books, permanent teachers, and necessary supplies, while white students were placed in rich and clean learning environments. Complaints made to the South Boston School Committee Chair, Louise Hicks were nearly ignored, with Hicks claiming that “the [African American] school is not inferior” (School Desegregation in). However, after struggle from the parents, the issue was sent to the federal district court, where Judge W. Garrity “ruled in the parents favor” and “ordered city-wide busing throughout all neighborhood to desegregate the schools” (School Desegregation in). Just over a week later, National Boycott Day occurred, where violent protests broke out in the streets of South Boston in an effort to keep the schools segregate. The white community in South Boston wanted their values unchanged by the racial unification taking place in other parts of the United States.

"Boston School Desegregation And Busing: A Timeline Of Events." // Timeline //. Learninglab. 05 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 Jan 2016.

"School Desegregation in Boston 1974." //American Experience.// PBS//. 23// October 23 2006. Web. 05 Jan 2016.