AP+P2+2014-15+Southie+(or+known+as+South+Boston)

Aim - Sam

Southie has a specific goal, or at least had a specific goal, and that was to keep their culture their culture, and not let anyone in who might change that. Keeping the community made of white Irish, most in slight or major poverty was the community of Southie. The community did not keep out a specific race, but they built up their invisible walls and only let those who were like them through. Southie was not discriminating against a specific race, but only seeking one out, and that was White Irish. Without fitting the description the person would never fit in in southie, they would be emotionally starved and probably killed, because southie is only southie because of the walls it puts up, and the type of people it keeps in, and the type of people it keeps out.

MacDonald, Michael Patrick. All Souls: A Family Story from Southie. Boston: Beacon, 1999. Print.

Toppo, Greg. “Young Rioter Recalls Seething in Southie”. USAtoday. 16 May 2004. Web. 4 November 2014.

Audience - Christian There were two audiences that Southie had back in the 1990s; those who lived there and who understood what it was really like to be in the community, and those who did not live there but rather just judged Southie and everyone who lived there by it’s reputation and stereotypes. Outside of the community, Southie was viewed as a white middle class Irish American neighborhood. It got labeled as a racist community when the people from Southie protested federal orders to integrate schools. Inside Southie though, the people knew of the corruption that was withheld from public view. it is described in All Souls as the “proud Irish neighborhood in Boston” (MacDonald) and the people of Southie (first audience) did not want the other audience that perceived Southie, “outsiders” (second audience) to know of the drug trade, killings, and suicides that took place. Hence the “no snitches in Southie” attitude.

MacDonald, Michael Patrick. All Souls: A Family Story from Southie. Boston: Beacon, 1999. Print.

Toppo, Greg. “Young Rioter Recalls Seething in Southie”. USAtoday. 16 May 2004. Web. 4 November 2014.

Culture - Riley



Southie is having a crisis conscious of late, and the roles of religion, politics, and family are complex. The recent elections highlight the complex nature of these relationships. In the recent election for the senate a controversy occurred. The main candidate from Southie was Maureen Dahill, and at first it looked like she was going to succeed, she was rallying all of the forces in Old South Boston but two things happened that ended up costing South Boston a direct candidate and her chances for senate. Part of her platform was already controversial as it attempted to bridge the gap between old and new South Boston. Unfortunately for her there are many on both sides that don’t want a gap and wish either for the reversal or continuation of gentrification. This controversial platform and a discussion with a reporter would cause her and South Boston the election. Maureen Dahill’s brother is a married to a man so when a reporter asked her if gay men should be allowed to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade her answer was a resounding yes, however that is not the same reaction as Old Southie. Everything is a microcosm.

MacDonald, Michael Patrick. All Souls: A Family Story from Southie. Boston: Beacon, 1999. Print. Baker, Billy. "The Battle for Southie, and the Southie Seat - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Historical - Macee



Beginning in 1974, busing in South Boston caused rioting and chaos in the “Southie” community (Gellerman 1). “A predominantly Irish Catholic community” was being forced to integrate their students, after being accused of racial discrimination (“City of Boston” 1). Bruce Gellerman states that, “Some 18,000 black and white students were ordered to take buses to schools outside of their neighborhoods” with the intention of integrating students of different races (1). The people of Southie were greatly affected and riots began to take place throughout the city. Residents of South Boston were accustomed to a predominantly white culture and judge Arthur Garrity’s ruling regarding the South Boston School Committee’s purposeful discrimination caused uproar in the community (Gellerman 1). The hateful rioting caused a large police reaction and there were times when police outnumbered the students at a high school, despite the fact that many of the policemen were Irish and from Southie (Gellerman). What began as an “anti-segregation” movement also evolved into an “anti-police” movement, which caused more rioting and prolonged hatred in the city. After four decades since the court ruling, South Boston has reached an equilibrium due to the incoming business and renovation, however, those involved in the busing and rioting were left deeply affected (Gellerman).

Toppo, Greg. “Young Rioter Recalls Seething in Southie”. USAtoday. 16 May 2004. Web. 4 November 2014. “South Boston”. City of Boston. 2014. Web. 4 November 2014.