AP+2014+P3+Busing+of+1974+in+Southie

Aim - Madison

The passing of the Racial Imbalance Act in 1965 had the aim of desegregating public schools in Massachusetts. The purpose of this act was to outlaw “racially imbalanced schools, defined as any school whose student body was more than 50 percent minority” (“Busing’s Boston Massacre”). Following in the footsteps of the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, African Americans were deemed as not being treated equally within the field of education. Judge Arthur Garrity’s goal in ordering “students from designated white neighborhoods to be bused to schools in designated black neighborhoods and vice versa” was to “achieve racial balance in the public schools” (“Busing’s Boston Massacre”). The need for desegregation and integration of public schools was especially important for the African American community because what they were given was very poor quality. The African American form of education “ lack[ed] permanent teachers, basic furniture and supplies, even books” (“School Desegregation in Boston 1974”). Therefore the aim of providing busing across racial lines was to improve the standard of education for African Americans by providing equal opportunity.

Works Cited: "Busing's Boston Massacre." Hoover Institution. Stanford University, 1 Nov. 1998. Web.  06 Jan. 2014.

"School Desegregation in Boston 1974." PBS. PBS, 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

Audience - Genevieve

The violent protests that occurred in response to the forced desegregation of the Boston public schools through mandatory busing were geared toward the black community and public officials. The white mob desired to intimidate the black school children and their families in order to prevent school desegregation. They also desired to influence city leaders in an attempt to reverse the court ordered busing. In response to the desegregation order, “ City politicians make matters worse by promising white residents they will seek to overturn the decision. Senator Edward Kennedy, once a favorite son of the city's Irish community, is threatened by a mob during a demonstration at the federal building” (“School Desegregation”). The protesters clearly intended that those capable of passing legislation to prevent desegregation were amongst their audience. City politicians who voiced support for their demands were behaving as the mob hoped they would. The protests were also an attempt to intimidate black residents of Boston. In September of 1974, “In South Boston, however, protesters "stoned buses, shouted racial epithets, [and] hurled eggs and rotten tomatoes." Nine black South Boston High School students were injured when angry whites shattered the windows on their buses. Even elementary school students were not spared from the violence” (Cozzens). White residents were so determined to maintain racial segregation that they resorted to threatening small children. They acted violently and aggressively to target those whom they felt were a threat to their community. Angry white families completely ignored the fact that the black families that they hoped to intimidate were human too, refusing to believe their audience was anything like themselves.

Works Cited: Cozzens, Lisa. “Busing Protests in Boston.” 23 March 2003. Web. 6 January 2014.

"School Desegregation in Boston 1974." PBS. PBS, 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

Historical - Corey

After the decision of Brown v. Board of Education reversed the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, school districts had difficulty implementing the new Court ruling. For instance, “In 1965, a decade after the desegregation of southern schools, school segregation in Boston is a natural by-product of segregated neighborhoods” (“School Desegregation in Boston 1974"). To account for the complication, Congress passed the Racial Imbalance Act, ordering the desegregation of school buses. Although racism was known for being rampant in the south, it was also apparent in the northern states, as demonstrated by the Southie reaction to the Supreme Court ruling. According to an excerpt from School Integration (1955-1975), “Boston had been regarded as the "cradle of liberty" ever since it played a pivotal role in the American Revolution, but two hundred years later, a court-ordered plan that utilized busing to achieve integration … led to frequent protests, demonstrations, and confrontations between blacks and whites” (Cozzens, Lisa). The hostility between whites and blacks was common during that time period in American history. However, the sort of animosity seen between races in the north, after the Racial Imbalance Act took effect, was significantly less common.

Works Cited: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cozzens, Lisa. “Busing Protests in Boston.” 23 March 2003. Web. 6 January 2014.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"School Desegregation in Boston 1974." PBS. PBS, 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Cultural - Bradley

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although the civil rights movement occurred during the 1960s in order to have equality between blacks, whites, and all races; there were still strong customs and ideals within the white society to discriminate against blacks. In 1965 Congress passed the Racial Imbalance Act, which ordered desegregation of public schools through the use of school buses. Until this point in time, the buses have been segregated into black and white buses, and white and black schools. This segregation happened naturally because of the different communities, especially within Boston but with the passing of the law, “. . .the black community of Roxbury and the white community of South Boston (Louise Day Hicks' stronghold) are slated to integrate their schools” (“School Desegregation in Boston”). Even today natural racial demographics are present in cities. There are areas where many whites live, areas with many Mexicans, and areas with many blacks. Schools located in those areas corresponded with the same racial demographic, “As America moved to integrate its schools in the mid-1900s, Boston, like many Northern cities, struggled with segregated housing patterns. Because students were assigned to schools based on where they lived…” (Cozzens). The white Bostoniens were extremely unhappy about the desegregation order because they did not want their children going to “black” schools. Schools in the black area of town were known to be underfunded, have poor teachers, and were not as good. Riots took part throughout Boston to stop the busing of students across racial lines within the city. The culture of the society was not ready to change to correspond with the changing times.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Works Cited: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cozzens, Lisa. “Busing Protests in Boston.” 23 March 2003. Web. 6 January 2014.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"School Desegregation in Boston 1974." PBS. PBS, 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.