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Discrimination suit against BHA

Description: Christy George reports that a lawsuit has been filed against the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to protest its discriminatory housing policies. It charges that the BHA has discouraged minorities from moving into all-white housing projects. The city is planning to voluntarily integrate its housing projects by next year. Interview with Tanya Boman and Annie Hailey, who are among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Boman and Hailey talk about their experience with the BHA. Both women were told that their families would be unsafe in white housing projects and that the BHA would not provide them with protection. Interview with Doris Bunte of the BHA, who denies any discriminatory practices on the part of BHA employees. Interview with City Councilor James Kelly, who defends the BHA and denounces public housing integration. Kelly has proposed an alternative public housing integration plan that eliminates preferences for minority families applying for apartments in white housing projects. Interview with Dianne Wilkerson of the NAACP. Wilkerson criticizes the city's record on public housing integration and the slow pace of change. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following item: David Boeri reports that midwives at Boston City Hospital have been locked out by the hospital administration in a dispute over hospital policy
1:00:19: Visual: Footage of Tanya Boman (plaintiff) sitting with her children. Boman says that people should have the right to live wherever they want to live. Christy George reports that Boman applied for public housing in 1985; that she was told to apply for an apartment in Charlestown or South Boston because the city would give preference to minorities requesting apartments in white housing projects. V: Shots of parochial school students walking toward a public housing project; of white residents in front of a housing project in South Boston. Footage of Boman saying that she asked the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) if they would provide protection for her family if they moved to a white housing project. Boman says that she was told that she would need to call the Boston Police Department if she ran into any problems. Boman says that she was told that she would be moved to the bottom of the waiting list if she moved out of the apartment for a "racial reason." George reports that a discrimination suit has been filed against the BHA on behalf of Boman, Annie Hailey (plaintiff), and unnamed parties. V: Footage of Hailey saying that she applied for an apartment in the McCormack Housing Development in 1987. Hailey says that the BHA told her that she would need to see the Civil Rights Board before she could move into the project. Hailey says that the BHA told her that the project would be unsafe for her teenage son. Footage of Doris Bunte (BHA) saying that the situation needs to be examined. Bunte says that she will not tolerate employees of the BHA who discourage minorities from living in white housing developments. George reports that the city is planning to voluntarily integrate its public housing projects. V: Shots of a broken-down wall near a housing project in South Boston; of parochial school students walking toward the housing project. George reports that African Americans may be the victims of harassment and violence when they move into white housing projects. V: Footage of Bunte saying that BHA employees can tell the truth; that BHA employees cannot use tactics designed to discourage African American families from moving to white housing projects. Footage of James Kelly (Boston City Council) in his office. Kelly says that people in private housing call the police for protection; that the BHA did not discriminate by telling an African American family to call the police for protection. George reports that Kelly has proposed a plan to integrate public housing in Boston very slowly; that Kelly's proposal eliminates minority preference. George says that Kelly believes that reverse discrimination causes racial hostility. V: Shots of a white woman looking out of a window of a project apartment; of a white woman and children in front of a project building in South Boston. Footage of Kelly being interviewed by George. Kelly says that there are South Boston residents who have been on the waiting list for years; that those residents are not being treated fairly. George reports that the suit suggests that many of Boston's housing projects are still segregated. George notes that Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) has been praised for his efforts to integrate the public housing projects in Charlestown. V: Footage of Dianne Wilkerson (NAACP) saying that there were 200 vacancies open in Charlestown; that over 600 African American families had requested apartments in Charlestown; that the BHA actively recruited white families to fill the vacancies in the Charlestown projects. Shot of housing project buildings in Charlestown. George reports that there are only six African American families in Charlestown; that Flynn has announced plans to integrate the housing projects in South Boston. V: Shots of signs for the Old Colony Housing Project and the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing Development. Shots of a white female resident standing at the entrance to a housing project in South Boston. Footage of Bunte saying that the mayor and the BHA want to move forward with integration. Bunte says that she hopes that the lawsuit does not hold back plans for integration.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 05/17/1988

Allston tenants protest

Description: Hope Kelly reports on a dispute between the tenants and the landlords of a building in Allston on Parkvale St. Kelly notes that the tenants have brought suit against the landlords for discriminatory practices. Kelly reports that a fire damaged the building in February. She notes that the landlords have aided white tenants with temporary relocation and have assured them an eventual return to their apartments. Kelly reports that African American tenants have been ignored. Kelly reports that the tenants have been barred from the building altogether. Kelly's report includes footage of a protest outside the apartment building by tenants and city officials. Brian McLoughlin (Boston City Council), Mel King (community activist), Domenic Bozzotto (Hotel Workers Union), and David Scondras (Boston City Council) are among those present. Tenants and city officials condemn the owners of the building and demand the return of tenants to the building. Kelly reviews the status of the lawsuit and gives the names of the owners of the building. She attempts to interview David Spada (owner) when he arrives at the building. Spada refuses to be interviewed.
1:00:16: Visual: Footage of Thomas Gallagher (New England Equity Institute) addressing a group of protesters under the awning of an apartment building at 56 Parkvale Avenue in Allston. Gallagher says, "It's a sorry state of affairs." Shots of protesters standing under the awning to get out of the rain. Hope Kelly reports that workmen are working on the interior of the apartment building; that tenants cannot enter the building. V: Footage of Etta Anderson (tenant) addressing the gathered protesters. Anderson says that the building looks habitable; that the building is empty. Shot of a street sign for Parkvale Avenue in Allston. Shots of the exterior of the building on Parkvale Avenue. Kelly reports that a fire damaged parts of the sixteen-unit building on January 15. V: Footage of Brian McLoughlin (Boston City Council) addressing the gathered protesters. McLoughlin criticizes the property owners for not allowing the tenants to return to their homes. Shots of the protesters under the awning. Several protesters hold signs. One of the signs reads, "Evict racist landlords, not tenants of color." Shots of Mel King (community activist) and Domenic Bozzotto (President, Hotel Workers Union) standing among the protesters. Kelly reports that the tenants say that the landlords are racist; that the tenants say that the landlords do not want the tenants to return to the building. Kelly reports that Pat Roberts (tenant) said that the landlords told her that they didn't want "colored people" in their building. V: Footage of Roberts addressing the gathering. Roberts says that she is living with her sister and her three children in a one-room apartment. Kelly reports that white tenants have testified that the landlords have helped them find temporary housing; that white tenants say that the landlords have assured them of an eventual return to their apartments. V: Shots of the protesters under the awning. Shots of signs reading, "Burned out" and "Real people, not real estate." Kelly reports that the tenants have brought suit against the landlords. V: Footage of Marian Glaser (Greater Boston Legal Services) saying that the tenants were first in court in February. Glaser says that the landlords said in February that the tenants could return to the building. Glaser says that the landlords changed their story at a second hearing. Glaser says that the landlords told the tenants that they could return to the building only if they dropped their legal claims against the landlords. Shots of the protesters. Kelly reports that the tenants have brought suit against the landlords for racial discrimination, retaliation, code violations from before the fire, and property loss since the fire. V: Shot of a man addressing the protesters. Shots through a window of a construction worker inside of the building. A sign in the window of the building reads, "Private Property." Footage of David Scondras (Boston City Council) addressing the gathering. Scondras accuses the landlords of suspicious behavior. Scondras wonders if the landlords wanted the fire to happen. Footage of King addressing the protesters. King says that the issue is of larger importance to the city of Boston. On-screen text details specifics of the building's ownership. Kelly reports that the property is owned by the Lightfoot Realty Trust and Bay State Property Management; that the owners are identified as Robert Kingman, Roman Zar, Charles M. Bernstein, and David Spada. V: Footage of David Spada (owner) saying that he will not comment on the case. Shots of protesters standing beneath the awning; of Spada passing by the protesters as he enters the building. Kelly reports that the case returns to housing court on Monday morning.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 05/19/1988

Kelly opposes interracial service

Description: Christy George reports that City Councilor James Kelly objects to an interfaith, interracial prayer service to be held in South Boston because he fears that the meeting could be seen as an endorsement of the city's plan to integrate South Boston housing projects. Kelly has called for the meeting to be moved to another location. Interview with Father Thomas McDonnell of St. Augustine's Church in South Boston and Reverend John Borders of the Morningstar Baptist Church. McDonnell and Borders say that South Boston is not a racist neighborhood. Interview with Jim Kelly. George quotes Kelly as saying that he opposes forced busing, racial quotas, and forced housing. Community leaders have met with Mayor Ray Flynn to discuss the peaceful integration of public housing projects, and hold a press conference. Doris Bunte of the Boston Housing Authority, Charles Stith of the Union United Methodist Church, John O'Bryant of the Boston School Committee, and Don Muhammad of the Nation of Islam, Roxbury speak at the press conference. George reports that Bernard Cardinal Law (Archdiocese of Boston) endorses the meeting. George notes that Flynn is pushing for housing integration over the objections of South Boston residents. Footage of Flynn at a community meeting in South Boston and footage of anti-busing activity in South Boston in 1977.
1:00:05: Visual: Footage of Father Thomas McDonnell (St. Augustine's Church in South Boston) and Reverend John M. Borders, III (Morningstar Baptist Church in Mattapan) sitting together for an interview in South Boston. McDonnell says that both men believe in the power of prayer. Christy George reports that religious leaders want to hold an interfaith, interracial prayer meeting at St. Monica's Church in South Boston; that James Kelly (Boston City Council) has taken out a half-page advertisement in the South Boston Tribune; that the ad calls on the Catholic Church to move the prayer meeting to another location. George reports that Kelly fears that the prayer meeting could be seen as an endorsement of the city's plan to desegregate public housing projects in South Boston. V: Shot of the exterior of St. Monica's Church; of Kelly's advertisement in the South Boston Tribune; of a statue in front of the church. Footage of McDonnell saying that racism is a moral issue. Borders says that prayer is a means to change the people's hearts. Footage of police arresting two women on G Street in South Boston on May 12, 1977. Shots of police cruisers escorting school buses along a city street; of a housing project in South Boston. Shots of a sign for the Old Colony Housing Project; of a white woman and children in front of a housing project building. George notes that South Boston became a battleground during school desegregation. George reports that Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) has announced that the public housing projects in South Boston will be integrated; that Flynn alienated many South Boston voters by pushing for public housing integration. V: Shot of Flynn approaching the stage at a community meeting in South Boston on January 12, 1988. The crowd jeers and boos as Flynn walks on to the stage. Shot of audience members seated at long tables. Footage of Kelly at the community meeting. Kelly says that South Boston residents will serve time for civil rights violations if the public housing projects are integrated. The crowd applauds Kelly. George reports that community leaders met with Flynn today to talk about peaceful desegregation of the projects; that attendees at the meeting expressed thinly disguised scorn for Kelly. V: Shot of Doris Bunte (Boston Housing Authority) speaking at a press conference. Charles Stith (Union United Methodist Church) and two other African American community leaders stand behind her. Footage of John O'Bryant (Boston School Committee) at a press conference. A reporter asks him if Kelly's name was mentioned in the meeting with Flynn. O'Bryant replies, "Who's he?" George reports that Kelly believes that affirmative action is reverse racism. George quotes Kelly as saying that "assigning the needy to public housing based on race is morally and legally wrong." V: Shot of Kelly at his desk. A quote from Kelly is written out in text on-screen. Footage of Kelly saying that supporters of equal opportunity must oppose forced busing, racial quotas, and forced housing. Footage of Stith saying that there are some elected officials who insist on keeping the city divided; that religious leaders are making an effort to unite the city. Footage of Minister Don Muhammad (Nation of Islam, Roxbury) saying that not all Irish residents are racist; that African Americans in Roxbury are not all drug addicts. George reports that Bernard Cardinal Law (Archdiocese of Boston) endorsed the prayer meeting. George quotes Law as saying that publicity "could lead to the erroneous impression that racial discrimination is a problem of geography, which it is not. . . . Racial discrimination is a problem of the human heart." V: Shot of Law addressing an audience. A quote from Law is written out in text on-screen. George reports that one of the goals of the prayer meeting is to debunk the myth of South Boston as a racist neighborhood. V: Shot of a white family walking in front of St. Monica's Church. Footage of Borders saying that Kelly does not represent the views of all South Bostonians. Borders says that he had no problems in South Boston when he drove to today's interview at the church. George reports that religious leaders say that the prayer meeting is not about politics; that the controversy surrounding the meeting has become political despite the efforts of religious leaders.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 05/20/1988

BHA tenant selection policy

Description: David Boeri reports from a press conference with Mayor Ray Flynn, Doris Bunte, of the Boston Housing Authority, Neil Sullivan, the Policy Advisor to Flynn, and Robert Laplante, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The officials attempt to explain the new rules for the Boston Housing Authority's revised public housing tenant selection policy. The policy is intended to end discrimination in the selection process, but will not result in the removal of current tenants from their apartments. Boeri reports that the explanation of the policy is very confusing, but two tenants in attendance are able to do understand the policy. Interviews with public housing tenants Jean Deaver and Marcia Langford. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following item: Reporter Meg Vaillancourt at the Old Colony housing project
1:00:15: Visual: Footage of Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) and Doris Bunte (Boston Housing Authority) entering a press conference. Flynn approaches the podium and addresses the audience. Shots of the audience. Flynn says that he is asking for the goodwill and help of city residents. Shot of Bunte. David Boeri reports that Flynn has alienated some city residents on the issue of integration of public housing; that some white residents oppose integration; that some African American residents have been the victims of discrimination. V: Footage of Flynn addressing the audience. Flynn says that tenants will not be asked to vacate apartments in order to achieve housing integration. Shot of an African American woman in the audience. Boeri notes that Bunte and Flynn has some problems explaining the rules of the new public housing policy. V: Footage of Flynn at the press conference. Flynn shuffles through papers at the podium. Neil Sullivan (Policy Advisor to Flynn) approaches the podium to help Flynn. Sullivan addresses the audience. Sullivan tries to explain how tenants will be placed under the new policy. Shots of Flynn; of reporters at the press conference. Boeri notes that Sullivan's explanation was not very clear; that reporters at the press conference looked bored. V: Footage of Robert LaPlante (Department of Housing and Urban Development) addressing the audience. Laplante talks about the fine points of the new housing agreement. Shots of Flynn slipping out of the press conference; of Bunte. Sullivan looks for the mayor. Footage of Boeri at the press conference looking at a video monitor showing a speech by Flynn. Boeri looks at the camera and says, "I still don't understand this." Shots of audience members at the press conference. Boeri reports that several housing project tenants were at the conference; that the tenants were able to make sense of the rules of the new policy. V: Footage of Jean Deaver (tenant) saying that potential tenants will be put on one waiting list; that potential tenants will now be given equal treatment. Footage of Marcia Langford (tenant) saying that the rules are being put in place to assure South Boston white residents that they will not be moved out of their apartments for the purposes of integration.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 06/16/1988

South Boston attitudes on integration

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

Barbara Arnwine

Description: Hope Kelly reports that Barbara Arnwine, the Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, is filing a lawsuit against the city of Boston, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), and the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on behalf of public housing tenants in Boston. Mayor Ray Flynn has announced an agreement aimed at eradicating discriminatory housing practices, but Arnwine considers the agreement inadequate because it does not acknowledge that African American families were "victims" of discrimination. Arnwine says that the city of Boston and the BHA lied to African American families and that the BHA worked to keep housing projects segregated. Press conference held by Flynn, Doris Bunte (BHA), and Robert LaPlante (HUD). Interview with Arnwine in her office at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. She says that the city of Boston, the BHA, and HUD do not want to accept responsibility for the harm done to African American tenants and that, despite the difficulty of the struggle, racial equality is worth fighting for. Kelly reviews Arnwine's career as an activist and lawyer. Kelly's report also features footage of African American and white children playing outside of public housing projects and footage of African American students entering a Boston high school. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following item: Carmen Fields reports on nomination papers for Bill Owens and Royal Bolling, Sr.
1:00:16: Visual: Shot of the exterior of the offices of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. An African American woman sits at a desk at the front of the offices. The woman answers the phone. Footage of Barbara Arnwine (Executive Director, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights) being interviewed by Hope Kelly. Arnwine says that the city of Boston, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) do not want to face up to the harm they have caused to African American residents of public housing in Boston. Shot of Arnwine signing a business letter. Kelly reports that Arnwine is bringing a lawsuit against the city of Boston, the BHA, and HUD on behalf of tenants of public housing in Boston. Kelly reports that Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) has announced an agreement aimed at correcting the discriminatory housing practices of the past; that Arnwine believes the agreement to be inadequate. V: Shot of Flynn, Doris Bunte (BHA), and Robert LaPlante (HUD) entering a press conference in June of 1988. Footage of Arnwine in her office, being interviewed by Kelly. Arnwine says that the agreement does not acknowledge that African American families were the "victims" of discrimination; that the agreement calls the families "disadvantaged." Arnwine says that the African American families were injured by the discriminatory housing policy. Arnwine says that African American families were misled and lied to by the city and the BHA. Arnwine says that African American families were not placed in white housing projects because of their race. Shots of African American children outside of a housing project building; of white children playing with a garden hose outside of a housing project building in South Boston. Footage of Arnwine saying that some white families were also victims of discrimination; that white families were discouraged from living in primarily African American housing projects. Arnwine says that the BHA was engaged in an effort to keep public housing projects segregated. Shot of the name plaque on the door of Arnwine's office. Shots of Arnwine working in her office. Kelly reports that Arnwine grew up in a segregated housing project in Detroit. Kelly reports that the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights was involved in the struggles to desegregate the fire department, the police department, and the schools in Boston. V: Shots of a poster in the Lawyers' Committee offices. The poster has a caption reading, "I have a dream. . . ." Shots of Arnwine talking on the telephone in her office. Kelly notes that the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights filed the original school desegregation suit against the Boston School Committee in 1972. V: Shots of African American students entering a high school in Boston. Footage of Arnwine being interviewed by Kelly. Kelly asks if the housing discrimination suit can be compared to the school desegregation suit. Arnwine says that housing integration means that people of different races become neighbors. Arnwine says that housing integration represents change; that change is often met by resistance; that some people might get hurt in the resulting struggle. Arnwine says that it was difficult for the African Americans who first integrated the police department and the schools; that integration has a price. Arnwine says that racial equality is worth fighting for. Shots of Boston police officer taking an oath; of African American students entering Charlestown High School.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 06/21/1988

NAACP and public housing integration

Description: Marcus Jones reports that two African American families moved into a South Boston housing project today; he notes that the families are the first African Americans to live in the project in ten years. Jones reports that the two families were on the emergency placement list and had no other housing alternatives. Jones notes that there is increasing opposition to the mayor's housing desegregation plan by both African Americans and whites. He adds that the NAACP has filed suit to block the plan, contending that it unfairly ignores families discriminated against prior to 1983. Jones reports that the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) claims to have lost records for applicants before 1983, but will try to investigate claims of discrimination prior to that date. Jones interviews Carl Haith (President, Boston chapter of the NAACP) about the NAACP lawsuit. Haith says that the city needs to identify residents who were discriminated against prior to 1983. Jones' report includes footage of African American movers at a South Boston housing project and footage of white residents outside of the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing Development. Jones interviews one of the African American movers, who says that he has encountered no problems at the housing development. This tape includes additional footage of movers at the McCormack Housing Development. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following item: cThe campaigns of Jesse Jackson and Michael Dukakis have different agendas for the upcoming Democratic convention
1:00:03: Visual: Footage of an African American man moving a large box from a moving truck into a housing project building in South Boston. Marcus Jones reports that two African American families moved into a South Boston housing project today. V: Shots of white residents outside of the McCormack Housing Development; of a sign for the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing Development. Jones reports that an African American family last lived in the development ten years ago; that the family left because they claim to have been harassed by white residents. V: Shots of a moving truck outside of a project building. Police and movers stand near the truck. Jones reports that police officers in uniform and in plain clothes were present at the housing project today. V: Footage of an African American mover saying that he has had no trouble at the housing project today; that white residents have offered him refreshments while he did his work. Shots of the movers moving a couch from the moving truck into the project building. Two green shamrocks are posted above the entrance. Jones reports that the two African American families were on the emergency placement list; that they were placed at the project because they had no other place to go. Jones notes that opposition to the mayor's desegregation plan for public housing is growing among whites and African Americans. V: Shot of Jones and Carl Haith (President, Boston chapter of the NAACP) entering an office from a dark hallway. Footage of Haith saying that the city should not have to identify African Americans to enter an-all white housing project. Shot of the exterior of the NAACP offices in Roxbury. Jones reports that the NAACP has filed a lawsuit to block the city's desegregation plan. Jones notes that the NAACP believes the plan to be unfair because it ignores groups which may have been discriminated against before 1983. V: Shots of NAACP employees and volunteers in the NAACP offices. Footage of Haith saying that the city claims to be unable to identify victims of discrimination before 1983. Haith says that the city should try to identify those victims and compensate them. Jones reports that the Boston Housing Authority claims that many applications filed before 1983 were lost when the city switched to a new computer system. V: Shots of white residents standing at the entrance to a housing project building in South Boston; of a white woman looking out of the window of a project apartment; of a housing project in South Boston. Jones reports that the BHA says that it will investigate the claims of those who claim to have been discriminated against before 1983. V: Shots of African American movers at the McCormack Housing development. Jones stands in front of the NAACP offices in Roxbury. Jones reports that the NAACP led the fight to desegregate public schools in Boston; that the city had probably expected the NAACP to support its plan to desegregate public housing. Jones reports that the NAACP does not think the city's plan does enough.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 07/11/1988

Kelly sues BHA

Description: David Boeri reports that Boston City Councilor James Kelly along with City Councilor Dapper O'Neil, and white public housing tenants walks to the courthouse to file a suit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to stop the federal plan aimed at ending the city of Boston's discriminatory public housing policies. The federal plan mandates a citywide waiting list for public housing, on which the position of white tenants has now dropped. Boeri reports on the housing situations of Pamela Walsh (plaintiff) and William Katramados. Boeri notes that both are on the waiting list for public housing and their positions on the waiting list have dropped. Interview with Walsh and Katramados. Boeri's report is accompanied by footage of Walsh with her two children in temporary housing and by footage of the Katramados family's overcrowded apartment. Kelly, at a press conference, says that the federal plan gives minority applicants preference. He adds that white tenants are being denied housing on the basis of their race. Boeri reports that Kelly has been unable to find a law firm to take the case.
1:00:16: Visual: Footage of James Kelly (Boston City Council), Dapper O'Neil (Boston City Council), and a small group of people exiting City Hall. Kelly, O'Neil and the group walk across City Hall Plaza. The group with Kelly and O'Neil includes white applicants for public housing. David Boeri reports that Kelly will file suit to stop the federal plan aimed at remedying discrimination in Boston's public housing policy. Boeri notes that Kelly's fellow plaintiffs are white housing applicants. Boeri adds that Kelly says that white housing applicants are the real victims of discrimination. Boeri reports that Pamela Walsh (plaintiff) is living with her parents in Cambridge while she is on the waiting list to get into public housing in South Boston. V: Shots of Walsh walking through a small park; of Walsh with her children in the basement of a house. Footage of Walsh pointing out where her children sleep. Shots of Walsh and her children in a kitchen. Boeri reports that Walsh had been sixth on the waiting list to get into the Old Colony Housing Project in South Boston; that Walsh is now 483rd on a city-wide waiting list under the new federal housing plan. V: Footage of Walsh saying that she had been on the waiting list for five years; that she will now have to wait another two or three years. Boeri reports that William Katramados (plaintiff) is married; that there is no room for him to live in his family's apartment. V: Shot of Katramados walking into a housing project building. Footage of Boeri in the Katramados' apartment with William Katramados and his family. A family member says that eight people live in the apartment. Shots of family members in the crowded apartment. Boeri reports that Katramados's wife lives with her mother, her brother, her sister and her children in the apartment. V: Footage of the family members indicating the bed where one of the children sleeps. Katramados' daughter says that she sleeps in her mother's room. Footage of Boeri being shown a bedroom by William Katramados and Sandra Katramados (wife of William). Shot of an infant in a cradle. Boeri reports that Sandra Katramados shares a room with her five-week-old babies and her daughter; that William Katramados lives in Brighton. Boeri notes that the Katramados family was third on a waiting list for a larger apartment until the federal housing plan took effect. V: Footage of William Katramados saying that the family is now around number 2,000 on the waiting list. Boeri walks outside of the Maverick Street Housing Project. A group of children cool off in a spray of water from a fire hydrant. Boeri reports that the Katramados requested another apartment in the Maverick Street Housing Project; that the Katramados were willing to wait for an apartment to open up in the project. Boeri reports that the new federal housing plan consoidates waiting lists for individual housing projects into a city-wide waiting list. V: Footage of Kelly and O'Neil walking down a street with Katramados and other plaintiffs. Shot of Katramados. Boeri reports that Kelly accuses the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of victimizing the plaintiffs; that Kelly wants HUD to target the metropolitan area for public housing integration. V: Footage of Kelly speaking from a podium. The plaintiffs are seated behind him. Kelly says that the federal plan gives minority applicants preference on the city-wide waiting list; that other applicants are denied housing on the basis of race under the federal plan. Boeri reports that Kelly was unable to find a law firm to take the case; that Kelly may have to argue the case himself in court.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 08/03/1988

NAACP and BHA discrimination

Description: Meg Vaillancourt reports on negotiations in court between the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and the NAACP over compensation for minority families who were victims of the BHA's discriminatory housing policies. Vaillancourt notes that the BHA and the NAACP disagree on the number of families to be compensated and the amount of compensation due to them. Vaillancourt interviews Dianne Wilkerson (NAACP) and Albert Willis (Attorney, City of Boston) about the negotiation. Vaillancourt adds that negotiations will continue until the next court date. Vaillancourt reports that the first African American families moved into a South Boston housing project last month as part of the court-ordered plan to integrate public housing. Vaillancourt's report is accompanied by footage of African American movers at the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing Development and by footage of white residents of South Boston housing projects.
1:00:07: Visual: Footage of white children outside of a housing project building in South Boston. The children are keeping cool with a garden hose and a wading pool. Shots of two white women outside of the housing project building; of a baby playing in a wading pool. Meg Vaillancourt reports on the court case concerning the Boston Housing Authority's public housing placement policy. Vaillancourt reports that federal authorities have charged the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) with discriminatory practices; that the BHA has agreed to reorganize its policy of assigning tenants to public housing. Vaillancourt reports that the first African American families moved into a South Boston Housing Project last month; that the BHA has not decided how to compensate African American families who had been passed over in favor of whites on the waiting list. V: Shots of African American movers moving furniture and boxes from a moving truck into the McCormack Housing Development in South Boston. Vaillancourt reports that the city calls the African American families "disadvantaged." Vaillancourt notes that the city estimates that about 100 families have been "disadvantaged" by the policy. V: Shots of African American adults and children outside of a public housing project building. Vaillancourt reports that the NAACP has estimated that more than 2,000 African American families were passed over on the BHA waiting list; that the NAACP has brought a lawsuit against the city to gain compensation for those families. V: Footage of Dianne Wilkerson (attorney for the NAACP) speaking to reporters. Wilkerson says that the NAACP has always believed that the number of victims is approximately 2,000 families; that the BHA will end up finding that the NAACP's estimate is correct. Footage of Albert Willis (Attorney, City of Boston) being interviewed by Vaillancourt. Willis says that he does not know where the NAACP has gotten its numbers. Willis says that the BHA will discuss compensation beyond 100 families if the NAACP can provide evidence to back up its estimate. Shots of African American children playing outside of a public housing project. Vaillancourt reports that the NAACP and the city of Boston disagree on the amount of compensation for the "disadvantaged" families. V: Shot of a Boston Globe newspaper article with a headline reading, "1,200 said to be victims of BHA racial practices." Vaillancourt notes that the Boston Globe newspaper reported that the BHA would pay $750 to each family. Vaillancourt adds that the NAACP wants each family to receive between $3,000 and $5,000. V: Shots of the exterior of the NAACP offices in Roxbury; of NAACP employees and volunteers in the NAACP offices. Footage of Willis saying that the money issue has been discusses by the city and the NAACP; that the discussions were productive. Vaillancourt reports that both sides said that the negotiations were productive. Vaillancourt notes that no issues were actually resolved; that the negotiations will continue until the next court date on Wednesday. Vaillancourt adds that the court will decide if the integration plan can continue if the two sides fail to reach an agreement.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 08/09/1988

Racism in the campaign

Description: Christy George reports that critics have charged George Bush's presidential campaign with exploiting racial fears among white voters. George notes that there is controversy over the Bush campaign's Willie Horton advertisement, which criticizes Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis's furlough program in Massachusetts. George's report includes footage of the Horton advertisement and footage of Jesse Jackson criticizing the advertisement. George interviews Dr. Alvin Poussaint (psychiatrist) about racism in the campaign and in Bush's political advertisements. Poussaint says that white voters see Horton as the "universal" African American criminal and that African Americans are associated with crime in the minds of whites. George reports that the Bush campaign advertisement does not use the face of William Horton (furloughed prisioner), but that campaign advertising by Bush supporters has used Horton's face. George notes that Bush has disassociated himself from the groups producing these ads. George's report includes footage from a political advertisement produced by "Americans for Bush." Poussaint says that the "Americans for Bush" advertisement is racist. He adds that Dukakis may lose white votes if he complains too much about racism because Americans do not like to be called racist. George notes that Poussaint believes that Horton's face triggers associations with other negative images of African Americans. Poussaint goes on to analyze race in US pop culture and in US politics. George's report is accompanied by images of African American figures in US politics, sports, and culture and by footage from Saturday Night Live of a satirical campaign advertisement. George's report is also accompanied by footage of Dukakis at a campaign rally.
1:00:12: Visual: Footage from WBZ-TV of Jesse Jackson (African American political leader) speaking from a podium. Jackson says that the Willie Horton advertisement has been used to conjure up "psycho-sexual fears" of African American men among whites voters. Shot of a black and white photo of William Horton (furloughed prisoner). Christy George reports that critics have charged George Bush's presidential campaign with exploiting racial fears among white voters. V: Footage of Dr. Alvin Poussaint (psychiatrist) being interviewed by George. Poussaint says that white voters see Horton as the "universal" African American criminal. George reports that Poussaint had supported Jackson for president; that Poussaint now supports Michael Dukakis (Democratic US presidential nominee). V: Footage of Poussaint saying that African Americans have long been associated with crime in the minds of whites. Poussaint notes that the rape of white women by African American men has always been a sensitive issue. Footage of the Bush campaign's Willie Horton advertisement. George notes that Horton's face is not shown in the Bush campaign advertisement about Dukakis's furlough program in Massachusetts. George notes that many of the prisoners shown in the Bush campaign ad are white. George adds that the Bush campaign is asking a legitimate questions about the Massachusetts' furlough program. V: Footage of Poussaint saying that Bush would have raised the issue of the furlough program even if Horton were white. Shots of George Bush (Republican US presidential nominee) speaking from a podium. George reports that Bush supporters have not been cautious about using Horton's face in their campaign literature. V: Footage of Dukakis addressing a crowd at a campaign rally on October 19, 1988. Dukakis holds up a piece of Bush campaign literature. Dukakis says that the campaign literature is "garbage." The crowd applauds for Dukakis. George reports that Dukakis has attacked the race-baiting campaign literature of a group of Bush supporters from Illinois. George notes that Bush has disassociated himself from the group's literature. V: Footage of Poussaint being interviewed by George. Poussaint says that Dukakis may gain minority votes by complaining about the subliminal racism of the Bush campaign; that Dukakis may lose white votes if he complains. Poussaint says that Americans do not like to be called racist. George talks about a campaign ad paid for by a group called "Americans for Bush." George notes that many have called the advertisement racist; that the advertisement has been running for months in key states. V: Footage of the "Americans for Bush" campaign advertisement. Footage of Poussaint saying that the Horton case can be used to exploit the association of African Americans with crime and drugs. George notes that the campaign's subliminal racial messages have become the subject of satire. V: Footage of a satirical campaign advertisement from Saturday Night Live. George reports that Poussaint believes that Horton's face triggers other negative associations with African Americans. V: Shot of a black and white photo of an African-American man in the custody of white police officers. Shots of the Reverend Louis Farrakhan (leader of the Nation of Islam) and Tawana Brawley (New York State resident); of the Reverend Al Sharpton (African American community figure); of a group of white people moving through a crowd; of Bernard Goetz (New York City resident) walking down a street. George reports that Poussaint is a consultant to the Cosby Show; that Poussaint advocates positive images of African Americans. V: Footage from The Cosby Show. George reports that The Cosby Show is the most popular show among white South Africans. George adds that Poussaint does not believe that an abundance of positive African American role models will change white attitudes. V: Shots of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrating a win; of Stevie Wonder (pop singer); of Colin Powell (National Security Advisor to Ronald Reagan); of Magic Johnson (basketball player); of Bishop Desmond Tutu (Black South African leader) with Dukakis. Shot of the floor of the Republican Political Convention. George reports that Poussaint believes that whites do not find African American heroes and leaders threatening. George adds that Poussaint believes that whites transfer their fears to African Americans in their proximity. V: Footage of Poussaint saying that white women react to the color of his skin when they meet him on the street at night.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 10/25/1988