US History

Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)

African Americans

This collection uses primary sources to explore busing and school desegregation in Boston.

An excerpt from the opening arguments by Charles Sumner, an attorney, in the *Roberts v. City of Boston* case in 1849.

A 1980 map showing Boston census tracts labeled by neighborhood. 

For further information about Boston’s neighborhoods, please visit: [http://www.cityofboston.gov/neighborhoods/](http://www.cityofboston.gov/neighborhoods/)

A 1935 redlining map of Miami, Florida.

An excerpt from an oral recording of Dorchester resident Lewis Finfer’s recollections of the Garrity decision and busing implementation. 

A 1974 letter from the Massachusetts Black Caucus of the Massachusetts House of Representatives to Judge W. Arthur Garrity.

A 1974 booklet from Freedom House Institute printing questions and answers about Boston’s school desegregation.

A broken school bus window from a Boston school bus, 1974. The window was broken during desegregation violence.

A 1974 photo of black teens attending school in South Boston.

A photo of an anti-busing rally in South Boston in 1975 showing people holding a sign saying “Whites Have Rights.”

A collection of FBI correspondence regarding two attacks on black men, in 1974 and 1976, related to Boston desegregation. 

An excerpt from the transcript of a 2006 oral history interview with Charlestown resident Moe Gillen.

A 1975 letter from an anti-busing leader and local politician, Louise Day Hicks, to Congressman Joe Moakley.

An excerpt from the 1985 report to the US District Court on the status of school desegregation in Boston.

Questions

1. In his [opening arguments](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/876), what specific arguments did Charles Sumner make on behalf of Sarah Roberts’ request to attend a white school nearer to her home?
2. “Redlining” and restricting mortgage insurance was a practice used in cities all over the United States to prevent black access to predominantly white neighborhoods. Look at the [map of redlining in Miami](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/878) and the [census map of Boston](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/877). How do you think the practice of redlining affected a city with distinct neighborhoods like Boston?
3. Review the oral histories conducted with [Lew Finfer](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/879) and [Moe Gillen](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/886). How did their age, family circumstances, and neighborhoods affect their perspectives on busing and desegregation?
4. Consider the [broken window](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/882), the [photo of black teens](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/883), and the [photo of the anti-busing rally](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/884). Read the [FBI correspondence](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/885) and search for the famous “Soiling of Old Glory” photograph that depicts the assault on Ted Landsmark. What emotions do these sources convey?
5. The [1974 booklet](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/881) outlines the plan for busing in Boston. The [1974 letter](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/880) contains criticism of this plan by an outspoken anti-busing advocate. After reading the conclusions on the [1985 report](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/busing-beyond-school-desegregation-in-boston/sources/888), discuss the challenges that still impeded equality in Boston schools ten years after the implementation of court-ordered busing.

Activity

Although history textbooks pay almost most attention to Little Rock, Arkansas when covering the topic of school desegregation, almost every major American city has its own contentious history of school assignment, segregation, and desegregation. Ask students to find one source or article about school segregation and/or racial inequality in education in a major city in your state, and have them write a short summary to share with the class. Following this, conduct a whole class discussion asking students to compare and contrast the history of school desegregation in their own state to what they learned about Boston’s history of school desegregation.


Teaching Guide: Exploring Busing and School Desegregation in Boston

Resources

1. [The History of Boston Busing & Desegregation](https://sites.google.com/a/bostonpublicschools.org/desegregation/home), Boston Public Schools History Department. 
2. [Boston Desegregation](http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/iml04.soc.ush.civil.boston/boston-desegregation/), PBS Learning Media. 
3. [Boston School Desegregation and Busing: A Timeline of Events](http://learninglab.wbur.org/2014/09/05/boston-school-desegregation-and-busing-a-timeline-of-events/), WBUR. 
4. Eyes on the Prize Episode 13, “[The Keys to the Kingdom, 1974-1980](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psPEOo78CGk)” and [companion website](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/21_boston.html), American Experience, PBS.  
5. “[Brown v. Board: Timeline of School Integration in the U.S.](http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-25-spring-2004/feature/brown-v-board-timeline-school-integration-us)” Teaching Tolerance. 

Overview

The story of busing and desegregation in Boston begins much earlier than most people imagine. In 1847, a young black girl named Sarah Roberts sued the city of Boston for having to walk past five schools in order to attend an inferior black-only school in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of the city. The courts found against her in the landmark *Roberts v. Boston* case, but it turned the tide of public opinion sufficiently to have the state legislature outlaw school assignment by race in 1855. Massachusetts thus became one of the first states with legally mandated school integration, long before the 1954 *Brown v. Board of Education* decision.

However, the schools of the City of Boston gradually resegregated during the mid 1930s through the early 1970s. The reasons for this are many, but center on the city itself becoming far more racially segregated by neighborhood due to redlining (racially biased mortgage lending), discriminatory homeowners insurance practices, and, most notably, the construction of public housing that was allocated by race in the post-World-War-II era. Community and judicial efforts to push the City of Boston to voluntarily desegregate its schools failed, and in 1974, a federal judge imposed court-ordered desegregation via busing between neighborhoods in the landmark *Morgan v. Hennigan* decision. The court-ordered busing was implemented during the 1974-1975 school year, and assigned many students to schools in neighborhoods far from where they lived in an effort to racially balance school assignment. There was a hostile backlash by many white residents of Boston, and many city residents of all races had questions about the busing method for implementing desegregation as well as the efficacy of desegregation. The topic remains an issue in Boston, where despite the 1974 decision and continuing efforts to integrate its schools, many schools remain racially imbalanced today. 

English

Busing & Beyond: School Desegregation in Boston

busing-beyond-school-desegregation-boston_02_aa1676ce92df70d4ccc87b810c0f34ba.jpg

Courtesy of Boston Public Library via Internet Archive.

“Boston areas 1980 census tracts,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/aa1676ce92df70d4ccc87b810c0f34ba.

A 1980 map showing Boston census tracts labeled by neighborhood.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 2 of 13 in the Primary Source Set Busing & Beyond: School Desegregation in Boston