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Based on your reading in the webtext, select and respond to one of the following thesis statements. Your response should be two to three paragraphs long, include your position on the issue, and cite at least three specific pieces of historical evidence:<\/p>\n

In the long run, busing helped Boston because it desegregated the school system, providing equal educational opportunity for minority students, and set the stage for racial healing and an improved racial climate in the twenty-first century.<\/em><\/p>\n

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In the long run, busing hurt Boston because it led to violent racial strife, contributed to white flight, and damaged the quality of the public school system.<\/em><\/p>\n
No formal response posts are required, but you are encouraged to engage with your peers. Remember to be respectful in posting and responding to others.<\/p>\n
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Boston, Busing, and Backlash<\/h3>\n
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THE STRUGGLE FOR VOTING RIGHTS, WHICH WE LOOKED AT IN THEME 3, LEARNING BLOCK 3, WAS A STRUGGLE AGAINST DE JURE<\/em> SEGREGATION*<\/span><\/a> THAT EXISTED IN JUST ONE PART OF THE COUNTRY: THE STATES OF THE OLD SOUTH. BUT THE PROBLEM OF DE FACTO<\/em> SEGREGATION*<\/span><\/a> WAS ONE THAT EXISTED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AND ITS EFFECTS WERE PERHAPS SEEN MOST CLEARLY IN THE NATION’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS.<\/p>\n
A SERIES OF SUPREME COURT CASES IN THE EARLY 1960S MADE IT CLEAR THAT DE FACTO<\/em> SCHOOL SEGREGATION WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND THAT SEGREGATED SCHOOLS WOULD BE INTEGRATED BY COURT ORDER IF NECESSARY. BEGINNING IN THE EARLY 1970S, THE COURT BEGAN REQUIRING SCHOOL BUSING*<\/span><\/a> PLANS, WHICH WOULD SEND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS TO LARGELY WHITE SCHOOLS AND SEND WHITE STUDENTS TO LARGELY AFRICAN-AMERICAN SCHOOLS, AS A MEANS OF ACHIEVING GREATER RACIAL BALANCE.<\/p>\n
IN BOSTON, THE CITY’S SMALL BUT GROWING AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY BEGAN PROTESTING THE QUALITY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN LARGELY BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE EARLY 1960S. IN 1965, IN RESPONSE TO A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBLE SEGREGATION IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE PASSED THE RACIAL IMBALANCE ACT. THE NEW LAW OUTLAWED SEGREGATION IN MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOLS AND THREATENED TO CUT OFF STATE FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT DID NOT COMPLY. (LEVY, 1971)<\/p>\n
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A R.O.A.R BUTTON OPPOSING BOSTON’S DESEGREGATION. (CLICK BUTTON FOR CITATION) $\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n
OF THE 55 MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOLS IDENTIFIED AS RACIALLY IMBALANCED, 45 WERE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. BUT THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE, AN ALL-WHITE ELECTED BODY LED BY LOUISE DAY HICKS, REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SEGREGATION AND BALKED AT ANY PLAN TO REMEDY THE SITUATION. HICKS’S OPPOSITION TO SCHOOL DESEGREGATION BOOSTED HER POPULARITY, PARTICULARLY IN THE CITY’S WORKING-CLASS, HEAVILY IRISH-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOODS; IN 1967, SHE NARROWLY MISSED BEING ELECTED MAYOR, BUT IN 1969, SHE WAS ELECTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL, AND IN 1970, SHE WAS ELECTED TO CONGRESS TO REPRESENT HER HOME NEIGHBORHOOD, THE IRISH-AMERICAN ENCLAVE OF SOUTH BOSTON. (LUKAS, 1985)<\/p>\n
THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE CONTINUED TO STONEWALL DEMANDS TO IMPLEMENT A MEANINGFUL DESEGREGATION PLAN. BUT IN JUNE 1974, FEDERAL JUDGE W. ARTHUR GARRITY, DECIDING A LAWSUIT BROUGHT AGAINST THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE BY THE NAACP*<\/span><\/a>, RULED THAT BOSTON’S SCHOOLS WERE UNCONSTITUTIONALLY SEGREGATED. HE ORDERED THAT ANY SCHOOL WHOSE ENROLLMENT WAS MORE THAN 50 PERCENT NONWHITE MUST BE BALANCED ACCORDING TO RACE.<\/p>\n
TO ACHIEVE THAT BALANCE, GARRITY ORDERED THE SCHOOLS TO ADOPT A WIDESPREAD BUSING PLAN BY THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER. THAT ANNOUNCEMENT TRIGGERED A POWERFUL BACKLASH AMONG WHITE PARENTS AND STUDENTS. HICKS FORMED AN ANTI-BUSING GROUP CALLED RESTORE OUR ALIENATED RIGHTS (ROAR) THAT SPEARHEADED MUCH OF THE OPPOSITION TO GARRITY’S DESEGREGATION ORDER.<\/p>\n
WHILE THE PLAN INVOLVED THE BUSING OF THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE CITY, THE GREATEST ATTENTION WAS FOCUSED ON THE HIGH SCHOOLS IN SOUTH BOSTON\u2014A HEAVILY WORKING-CLASS AND OVERWHELMINGLY IRISH-AMERICAN PART OF TOWN\u2014AND ROXBURY, AN OVERWHELMINGLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD. GARRITY’S ORDER EFFECTIVELY PAIRED THE TWO SCHOOLS, BY REQUIRING THAT THEY ESSENTIALLY SWAP HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS.<\/p>\n
$\"Video$ <\/p>\n
DECADES AFTER THE FACT, GARRITY’S BUSING ORDER IS STILL HOTLY DEBATED IN BOSTON. SUPPORTERS SAY THAT HIS UNYIELDING APPROACH WAS THE ONLY WAY TO OVERCOME WHITE RESISTANCE AND ACHIEVE RACIAL BALANCE IN BOSTON’S SCHOOLS. CRITICS SAY GARRITY FOCUSED TOO MUCH ON THE GOAL OF ACHIEVING MATHEMATICAL<\/em> BALANCE, RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON A PLAN TO IMPROVE SCHOOL QUALITY FOR BOTH AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WHITE CHILDREN. (GELLERMAN, 2014)<\/p>\n
ROBERT J. ALLISON, CHAIR OF THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT OF SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY IN BOSTON AND AUTHOR OF A SHORT HISTORY OF BOSTON<\/em>, DESCRIBES THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE BOSTON BUSING CRISIS IN THIS VIDEO:<\/p>\n
UP NEXT IS A MEDIA ELEMENT.<\/p>\n
BUTTONS FOR PLAYBACK AND VOLUME CONTROL ARE PROVIDED FOLLOWING THIS MESSAGE BECAUSE SOME SCREEN READERS WILL NOT RESPECT THESE CONTROLS WITHIN THE PLAYER.<\/p>\n