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 and should include your position on the issue. Cite at least three specific pieces of historical evidence.

1. In the long run, busing helped Boston because it desegregated the school system, provided equal educational opportunity for minority students, and set the stage for racial healing and an improved racial climate in the twenty-first century.

OR

2. 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.

In response to your peers, explain what you learned from reading their post and how their thesis statement compares to your own. You may respond to peers who selected either of the two thesis statements.

To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric document.

peer 1: Hello everybody,

The thesis that I chose to support is, “In the long run, busing helped Boston because it desegregated the school system, provided equal educational opportunity for minority students, and set the stage for racial healing and an improved racial climate in the twenty-first century”. There are many historical factors that support this thesis to include this fact, “In 1971-72, Boston public schools had one of the highest dropout rates in the country.” (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1975). Also, the change later in time after the implementation of busing, “In 1990, the dropout rate had dropped below the national average” (Boston Studies Group, 2010; National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). This shows how busing improved the public school system as a whole by lowering the dropout rate which is a crucial statistic for understanding the social changes that had occurred during this time period.

Another important aspect of understanding the influences on public schools is the secondary education rates in which students attend and graduate college, “In 1970, 10 percent of Boston public school students went on to graduate from college; in 1990, 30 percent did so”, (Boston Studies Group, 2010). This shows how a slow steady rise in college graduation demonstrates the importance that busing possibly had on the public school system. Although it may not seem like a large and substantial increase it indeed shows the importance and growth the Boston has gained in that time period.

The last example is how busing shaped a more diverse equal school system, “In 1971-72, three years before busing began, there were 93,000 students in the Boston public schools; 61% were white; 32% were African-American; and 7% were other racial minorities”, (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1975). This demonstrates the climate that the Boston school system was in before busing began. However after busing changes began to take hold of the system, “In 1990, three years after the schools were declared desegregated, there were 60,000 students in the Boston public schools; 22% were white; 48% were African-American; and 30% were other racial minorities”, (Boston Studies Group, 2010). This shows how the changes brought out by introducing busing paved the way for desegregation and more equal schooling for all.

Boston Studies Group. (2010). Boston public schools: Trends in enrollment, drop-out, and Boston’s citywide educational attainment. Boston Pubic Schools. http://www.bostonstudies.com/assets/pdf/profile_gallery/bps-profile1.pdf

National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). Fast facts: Dropout rates. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1975). School desegregation in Boston. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED178647.pdf

peer 2: “In the long run, busing helped Boston because it desegregated the school system, provided equal educational opportunity for minority students, and set the stage for racial healing and an improved racial climate in the twenty-first century.”

I chose this thesis because it is very true. It seemed like a long and excruciating process from the 1950’s through the 70’s however, the outcome benefited and made the civil rights movement strong. I agree that everyone should have equal education under desegregation. Busing created racial balance and equality to the education system. Thanks to the Brown vs. The Board of Education, the supreme court deemed segregation in public schools were unconstitutional. This led to may opportunities to the African American community such as, Mel King was the first African American to run for mayor in Boston. “Although Flynn won the mayoralty with 65 percent of the vote in 1983, King’s emergence as a strong and credible candidate was seen as evidence that Boston was at least beginning to move past the racial animus that marked the busing era. And Flynn, as mayor, devoted a great deal of time and effort to cooling racial tensions and promoting housing and economic development in largely African-American neighborhoods” (Walker, 2015).

“Boston voters approved, a referendum to abolish the elected school committee and replace it with a panel appointed by, and directly answerable to, the mayor. The old School Committee that was, throughout the busing era, a defiant symbol of opposition to school desegregation, is now a long-gone relic of the distant past.” Also, it paved a way to suburbanization, which increased businesses such as the automobile industry. So the “whites” didn’t get their way and decided to move out of town. No matter how you slice it, there will always be minorities in this country. I will never understand the concept of racism or what made it exist, but in time all of this will be history. All these civil movements made things clearer for the future of this country and shows that there are more minorities than majorities (whites). In-a-nut-shell, this event created understanding and equality that was needed. It is about the acceptance of everyone, not only for race, but as a human being. Events like busing showed that…

Hobbs, F., & Stoops, N. (2002). Demographic trends in the 20th century. U.S. Census Bureau.

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1975). School desegregation in Boston.

Walker, A. (2015, May 28). How should Boston honor Ray Flynn’s legacy? The Boston Globe.