AP+2016+National+Boycott+Day

Scott Hearn


 * Aim: The purpose of the National Boycott Day in 1974 was to show that white people in America were incredibly uncomfortable with desegregation. Instead of accepting that blacks were now becoming part of the white lifestyle, many white Americans refused to do so and instead did not send their children to school on the bus, claiming it violated the Clean Air Act. Instead of obeying the desegregation laws, white parents believed that this was catering to blacks and worried that their schools would become “overrun” with blacks. The purpose of the boycott would likely be an attempt to remind black families that the whites were still in control; instead of going calm and complacent, it remained that people were still sorely hateful about blacks “intruding” upon American lifestyles. Instead of obeying, the whites lashed out by refusing to mix their children with blacks, even protesting when buses pulled up to school with black students riding. They attacked with words and stones, furious at the desegregation, and white youths are even arrested. The aim of such a large and outrageous display of violence would be to show the control the whites had of America back even in 1974 and create such a scene that their wants would be catered to. It was an issue of oppression, and whites used their rioting as an example to blacks not to “infringe” upon their privileges.


 * Audience: The intentions of the school busing boycotts in Boston were to convince the government to stop the integration programs that were being enacted. According an Observer Reporter Newspaper article on the events, in response to the ruling of desegregation, “White parents plan a large-scale boycott reminiscent of resistance in the South” (Ryan 2). The parents and students showed their strong disapproval of the court order through the boycotts in order to send a message to the school districts and local government that they were upset. The idea of representing their disapproval through boycotting was to mock and mimic the famous bus boycotts by the black community a decade before.
 * Historical: After the freedom of slaves in 1865, African-Americans were treated with extreme disrespect, hatred, and inequality. In 1890, the Jim Crow laws were enacted which enforced national racial segregation and coined the expression “separate but equal.” From then on, people within the black community have been fighting for their freedom and equal treatment. On September 10 1974, United States Federal “Judge Garrity issues strict orders on police duties in ensuring an orderly desegregation. The order direct police to arrest anyone blocking the entrance of a school building, or any parents and students who attempt to attend the wrong school” (Wolff 36). In response to this order, white students and parents in Boston planned to boycott schools and school busing in which black students would be attending; and two days later, the schools in Boston were near empty from the absence of white students participating in the boycotts. As desegregation advance throughout the country, the black community faced grave dangers in attending school from the harassment and violence received from their white peers.
 * Cultural: The Boston boycotts strengthened black culture during the Civil Rights Movement by bringing the black community closer together to fight for their rights and equal treatment. The boycotts also aided in the development and evolution of black culture during the movement in order to create a strengthen the image that they are as human and as equal as the whites by creating a platform for the black community to use for comparing social strategies like boycotting.

Works Cited Ryan, Terry. "Boston School Boycott Expected Over Busing." Observer-Reporter [Washington, PA] 12 Sept. 1974: D2. Google News Archive. Web. 6 Jan. 2016. Wolff, Jeremy. "A Timeline of Boston School Desegregation, 1961-1985: With Emphasis on 1964-1976." Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project(1985): 36. Web. 6 Jan. 2016.