Description: Interview with Boston School Committee Chairman John Kerrigan. Kerrigan expresses his views against busing. He discusses the states racial imbalance law. He comments on the public conflict between Commissioner Sullivan and Secretary Finch, over their views on busing.
Collection: WHDH
Date Created: 03/12/1969
Description: Air piece on a program, called Operation Discovery, which will bus African American students from Roxbury to a school in Sharon for summer school classes. Reporter standup in Post Office Square in Sharon. Interview with Reverend Donald Al Wasserman of the Unitarian Church, who originated the program.
Collection: WHDH
Date Created: 05/21/1965
Description: Mike Levitt interviews a couple of parents on whether they would send their kids to school if they were assigned to be bussed. Mother says she would send them to help integrate the schools. Reporter standup on children attended schools they weren't assigned to because their parents refuse to bus the.
Collection: WHDH
Date Created: 09/13/1971
Description: Marcus Jones reports on tension over school desegregation in Lowell. Jones reports that Robert Kennedy (Mayor of Lowell) called on supporters of school desegregation to show support by riding buses with students in Lowell today. Jones' report includes footage of Kennedy addressing supporters, including Evelyn Murphy (Lieutenant governor of Massachusetts), Luis Tiant (former Red Sox pitcher) and Grace Corrigan (mother of astronaut Christa McAuliffe). Jones reports that George Kouloheras (Lowell School Committee) is a leader of the anti-busing movement in Lowell. Jones reports that Kuoloheras is campaigning to elect anti-busing candidates to the Lowell School Committee in order to overturn the present school desegregation plan. Jones interviews Kouloheras. Kouloheras says that he hopes that new school committee will reject busing and find another way to integrate schools. Jones also interviews Michael Kennedy (Regional Manager, National School Bus Service, Inc.) and Donna Senior (Lowell parent) about the bus routes in Lowell. Jones notes that the coming elections will decide how school desegregation is implemented in Lowell. Jones' report is accompanied by footage of students and school buses in Lowell. This tape includes additional footage of school buses on the streets in Lowell. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following item: Christy George reports on student enrollment plans in the cities of Cambridge and Lowell
0:59:06: Visual: Footage of Robert Kennedy (Mayor of Lowell) addressing an audience. Supporters of the mayor stand behind him, including Evelyn Murphy (Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts), Luis Tiant (former Red Sox pitcher), and Grace Corrigan (mother of astronaut Christa McAuliffe). Kennedy says that he is glad to be with so many of "Lowell's friends." Marcus Jones reports that many supporters of school desegregation voluntarily rode school buses in Lowell today. V: Shots of Murphy, Tiant and Corrigan. Footage of Corrigan saying that she is happy to spend time with the schoolchildren of Lowell. Footage of Kennedy urges citizens to put aside their political differences and to ride the buses with Lowell schoolchildren. Jones reports that Kennedy called in supporters to build faith in the Lowell busing program. V: Shots of busing supporters walking on a sidewalk; of school buses on the street. Footage of Michael Kennedy (Regional Manager, National School Bus Service. Inc.) saying that he will need a few more weeks to finalize the bus routes in Lowell; that he will need to recruit bus drivers for the bus routes. Shot of a school bus pulling up to a school; of schoolchildren exiting the bus. Footage of Donna Senior (Lowell parent) saying that the bus routes are chaotic in Lowell; that there is a risk of someone getting hurt in the winter; that parents are waiting at bus stops until 4:00 or 5:00pm for their children to arrive home from school. Footage of George Kouloheras (Lowell School Committee) saying that the issue is political; that he is disappointed in the situation. Jones reports that Kouloheras opposes the city's busing plan; that Kouloheras is campaigning to elect anti-busing candidates to the Lowell City Council and to the Lowell School Committee; that these candidates may alter the state-mandated central enrollment plan. V: Shot of Kouloheras speaking to two white women on the street. Footage of Kouloheras saying that he hopes that four new members of the School Committee will be elected. Kouloheras says that he hopes that the new School Committee will reject busing and find another way to integrate schools. Jones notes that Robert Kennedy cast the swing vote which approved the city busing plan last spring. V: Footage of Robert Kennedy saying that the city can choose between taking control of desegregation or having the court make desegregation decisions. Jones stands in front of a school bus. Children board the bus. Jones reports that next Tuesday's elections are viewed as a referendum on the busing plan; that the election results will decide how the desegregation plan is implemented.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 10/26/1987
Description: 11 B+W wire service photos of South Boston residents opposing busing. Helmet bearing legend "Southie is my home town." Man with loudspeaker in car. Van with sign flipped upside down "Boston Under Siege." "Forced busing? Never!" under three-leaf clover. South Boston Information Center and Home School Association storefront.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 05/17/1979
Description: Meg Vaillancourt reports that South Boston residents are opposed to the city's plans to integrate public housing projects. Residents are hostile to Mayor Ray Flynn when he attends a community meeting in South Boston to discuss plans for integration, with Doris Bunte of the Boston Housing Authority. Vaillancourt notes that South Boston residents have not changed their attitudes in the face of evidence that the BHA practices discrimination against African American tenants of public housing. Interviews with South Boston public housing residents about public housing integration. Many residents are opposed to integration. Some fear that the quality of life in the projects will decline after the housing projects are integrated. Others say that racial violence will be a result of integration. A few residents are not bothered by the prospect of integration. Vaillancourt notes that the controversy over public housing integration evokes memories of the busing crisis in the 1970s. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following item: Officials attempt to explain the new rules for the Boston Housing Authority's revised public housing tenant selection policy.
1:00:02: Visual: Footage of a white female South Boston resident looking out of the window of a housing project apartment. The woman says that she would like her neighborhood to remain white. Meg Vaillancourt reports that South Boston residents remain hostile to the idea of integration of public housing projects. V: Shots of white residents outside of a housing project in South Boston. Footage of a white female resident saying that South Boston should stay white; that there will be trouble if the housing projects are integrated. Footage of another white female South Boston resident saying that white residents have not received fair warning about the placement of African American families in white housing projects. Shots of white children playing with a hose outside of a housing project in South Boston. Vaillancourt reports that Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) announced plans to integrate South Boston housing projects in October; that Flynn tried to explain the policy at a community meeting in South Boston in January. V: Footage of Flynn and Doris Bunte (Boston Housing Authority) the community meeting in January of 1988. Flynn addresses the crowd. A white woman shouts out a comment. Footage of Flynn approaching the stage as the crowd jeers at him. Vaillancourt notes that the audience at the community meeting was hostile to Flynn. Vaillancourt stands in front of a housing project building in South Boston. Vaillancourt reports that there is mounting evidence of discrimination against African American families requesting apartments in public housing projects. Vaillancourt notes that the mounting evidence has not changed the attitudes of white South Boston residents. V: Footage of Vaillancourt interviewing a white male South Boston resident. The man says that there will be trouble if African Americans move into the South Boston housing projects. Footage of another white male South Boston resident saying that the residents want their neighborhood to remain as it is. Footage of a white female South Boston resident saying that she will not be bothered if an African American family moves into her building. She says that African American families need housing as much as white families do. The woman says that some people do not feel the same way as she does; that she hopes no one will bother the African American families who move into the project. Shots of white residents outside of a project building; of a white baby playing in a wading pool outside of a project building. Vaillancourt reports that the city's housing policy has kept the housing projects segregated for fifty years; that the city is now changing its policy. Vaillancourt reports that some residents feel that the new policy will be biased. V: Footage of a white female South Boston resident sitting in a wading pool. The woman says that the city should not make tenants identify their race; that the city should place tenants in an apartment without knowing their race. Shots of the woman and two children in the wading pool. Vaillancourt notes that talk of integration in South Boston raises memories of the busing crisis in the 1970s. V: Footage of a white male South Boston resident saying that school desegregation caused the decline of the Boston School System; that most South Boston residents send their children to private schools. The man says that he will move out of public housing if African American families move in to the projects. Shots of female parochial school students walking toward a housing project building. Vaillancourt reports that the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) has not announced when the first African American family will move into the projects.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 06/16/1988
Description: Man addresses Massachusetts state government arguing against the Racial Imbalance Law. He notes that it will be impossible to adhere to that law without compulsory busing, and therefore the law should be amended or abolished.
Collection: WHDH
Date Created: 12/08/1970
Description: Judy Stoia interviews Gloria Conway (Editor, Charlestown Patriot), Dennis Kearney (State Representative) and Mon O'Shea (Associate Dean, Bunker Hill Community College) on the steps of the Bunker Hill Monument. They talk about youth violence, racism and the anti-busing movement in Charlestown. Conway says that racist graffiti in the neighborhood represents the actions of only a few people. Kearney recounts seeing a crowd of people, of which a few taunted a bus of African American students, while they others in the crowd were abhorred. Conway says that the Charlestown anti-busing movement is committed to non-violence. Sound cuts out at the very end. Tape 2 of 3.
0:00:55: Visual: Shot of police officers and residents lined up beside an ice cream truck. Judy Stoia sets up an interview with Dennis Kearney (State Representative), Gloria Conway (Editor, Charlestown Patriot) and Mon O'Shea (Associate Dean, Bunker Hill Community College) on the steps of the Bunker Hill Monument. 0:01:10: V: O'Shea and Conway speak about youth violence and gangs in Charlestown. O'Shea talks about younger kids being caught up in the aggression. Stoia asks about racism in Charlestown. Conway says that racist graffiti is the work of a few people and does not represent the community. Kearney says that many residents are disgusted by racial slurs directed at schoolchildren. Conway says that local anti-busing protestors have condemned violence and that marches in Charlestown have been peaceful. 0:04:19: V: Stoia talks about the perception of Charlestown as a violent community. O'Shea responds that violence is a problem in many cities. Audio cuts out.
Collection: Evening Compass, The
Date Created: 09/10/1975
Description: Judy Stoia interviews Dennis Kearney (State Representative), Gloria Conway (Editor, Charlestown Patriot) and Mon O'Shea (Associate Dean, Bunker Hill Community College) on the steps of the Bunker Hill Monument. They talk about the anti-busing movement in Charlestown. O'Shea says that the media have portrayed Charlestown as a violent community; that the Charlestown anti-busing movement is working for public safety and rumor control. Conway discusses the damage the media can cause by reporting unverified rumors. Paul deGive interviews Conway on police presence in Charlestown and about violent youth in Charlestown. Conway says that police officers in Charlestown allowed a peaceful demonstration to proceed today; that residents need to vent their frustrations. Conway discusses the ways local and national media interact with the people involved in the busing situation, while they shoot cutaways. Tape 3 of 3
1:00:01: Visual: Judy Stoia interviews Dennis Kearney (State Representative), Gloria Conway (Editor, Charlestown Patriot) and Mon O'Shea (Associate Dean, Bunker Hill Community College) on the steps of the Bunker Hill Monument. 1:00:34: V: Stoia asks about the image of Charlestown as a violent community. O'Shea says that Charlestown's image is created by the media; that he does not condone violence; that anti-busing leaders in Charlestown have worked for public safety and the establishment of a rumor control center. Conway talks about the importance of the rumor control center. 1:03:16: V: Stoia winds up the interview. Two police officers descend steps beside them. The group talks informally. Stoia explains the editing process. Stoia compares anti-busing resistance in South Boston to resistance in Charlestown. The crew takes extra cutaway shots of the group. Conway talks about her work at The Patriot. Shots of area around Bunker Hill Monument. 1:07:39: V: The crew sets up Paul deGive's interview with Conway. DeGive asks about possible removal of TPF from Charlestown. Conway says that some police presence is necessary; that she will not speculate on numbers; that tension in the community has diminished; that the police were effective today because they allowed a peaceful demonstration to proceed; that peaceful demonstrations allow residents to vent their frustration; that many police deployed on Bunker Hill Street today were local officers known to the community; that the MDC Police officers have tried to work with the community. DeGive asks about violent youth gangs. Conway says that it is not unusual for youth to be out in the streets in Charlestown; that she cannot identify the element that needs to be controlled by the police. DeGive rephrases his question about potential violence of Charlestown youth. Conway says that there are a few leaders making trouble, but many kids are caught up in the events. 1:14:33: V: The crew sets up cutaway shots of Conway and deGive. DeGive and Conway talk informally. Conway comments on local and national media coverage of busing. Conway comments on TPF action against female residents of Charlestown. The crew wraps up the shoot.
Collection: Evening Compass, The
Date Created: 09/10/1975
Description: Police lined up outside Charlestown High. Teachers gathered at the front of the school. Black students get off bus. Person on the street interviews with students boycotting school in busing protest. They discuss the purpose of their boycott. Some fiercely defend sovereignty of sports teams, make racist comments.
1:00:04: Visual: Police are lined up in the street in front of Charlestown High School on the first day of school. Graffiti on the front of the school is painted over. The media is gathered behind a fence across the street from the school. 1:01:30: V: A police car approaches slowly, escorting a school bus. The school bus pulls up to the front of the school. African American students exit the bus and enter the school. White students watch the action on the street from an upper window of the school. Police officers on motorcycles wait alongside the bus. The bus pulls away, followed by motorcycles. Shot of the bus circling Monument Square; of two police motorcycles circling Monument Square; of police stationed in Monument Square. 1:05:48: V: Crowds of people, including school-aged kids, are assembled outside of the Bunker Hill Housing Project on Bunker Hill Street. Cars pass by slowly. Shots of the top of the Bunker Hill Monument, visible over a building. 1:08:14: V: A group of white youth are gathered near a fence on Bunker Hill Street. A voice yells, "No busing." The group waves at the camera. Judy Stoia approaches the group and brings some members over to the camera for an interview. Two males convince a girl named Patty to join the interview. She is reluctant. They are joined by an older man. The older man says that he has six grandchildren who are being bused out of Charlestown. One of the males (Mike) says he plans to boycott school all year; that Charlestown has been quiet "because we are not racists." The older man says that he has spoken to some African American residents of the Dudley Street Housing Project; that they were "good people." Members of the group say that crowds of anti-busers will stay in the street until the end of the schoolday. Mike says that a total boycott of the school could stop busing; that anti-busing demonstrations in Charlestown may turn violent. Another male says that demonstrators in Charlestown will be peaceful. The group is reluctant to talk further and begins to move away from the camera. Stoia asks them how they feel about dropping out of sports programs because of the boycott. Members of the group say that they can play sports among themselves; that they do not mind African American students being bused into Charlestown; that they resent Charlestown students being bused out; that "townies" must stick together. 1:13:20: V: A group of young white male students are gathered in the street. A reporter asks them about sports in Charlestown. One student says that you can't go to sports practice if you have missed school. A second student says that Charlestown sports teams should not have to admit players from outside of Charlestown; that players from outside of Charlestown will be given a hard time in practice until they quit. Members of the group say that Charlestown students who are assigned to schools outside of Charlestown are boycotting school; that buses leaving Charlestown are empty. Another student says that there are no cops on the field for sports practices; that Charlestown players will be rough on outsiders during sports practices. Members of the group say that Charlestown sports teams do not need players from outside of Charlestown. The group says that Charlestown students were turned away from Charlestown High School this morning because they were late. Several members of the group use racist language. One student says that tardy students were turned away unless they had a note from their parents; that African American students on buses were let in to school. Several of the group say that they had been planning to take over the school this morning. One student shows his Charlestown High School identity card to the reporter.
Collection: Evening Compass, The
Date Created: 09/08/1975