I moved from Atlanta to just outside Boston in 1973 in the middle of their "Bus Riots" ....
I remember scratching my head as I grew up in the middle of the civil rights era, and I was shocked to learn Yankees were this bent out of shape about the bussing situation.
jetblasted wrote:
You're a parent in Boston, in the early 70's.
You move to a decent neighborhood that has a decent school system for your kids.
You probably have to sacrifice somewhat just to live there, but it's the right thing to do.
There are no buses. Everyone walks. Because that school is for that neighborhood.
Then you learn that half the kids will be bused out to a school further away. A school that is known to be poor academically. And half the kids at that school will be bused in to your neighborhood school where you thought your kid would attend, and is the reason you sacrificed to move there.
Take away race, and you see concerned parents fighting the bureaucracy of a short sighted ruling.
The Roxbury school system is underfunded. No books. Few permanent teachers. Lack of desks and basic supplies. The problem might have been solved by removing the racially motivated school committee and channeling funds into the poorer schools. Instead, the students at both schools are forced into a racial storm front and education takes a back seat to politics.
I make no apologies for the bigotry that ensued. It's shameful and worthy of scorn and contempt. But it only became a racial issue because that was where the socioeconomic dividing line was drawn. The lowest common denominator. And it grew into real racism. But beneath this ugly moniker it began as a group of parents trying to do what was best for their kids.
Put yourself in the place of those parents.
There is more to this slice of history than just color.
