Boston Desegregation and Busing Initiative Forums

Exhibits, and the Boston Desegregation Mobile

Bus Museum

The Boston Desegregation and Busing Initiative was formed in 2023 to organize

forums, exhibits partnerships to commemorate and discuss lessons learned from

the events of Boston Desegregation and Busing from 1960-1978.

A Committee of over 40 community leaders from this period, teachers who taught

then, officials has guided this initiative. See further below the names of the

Committee members.

I. Forums

1. “Organizing for better schools and desegregation 1960-1973, largely led by

the Black community”, September 26, 2023, held at Roxbury Community

College.

2. “The Tallulah Morgan vs. James Hennigan, the Boston Desegregation Case “

held June 20, 2024 at the Moakley Federal Courthouse on the day before the

50 th anniversary of Judge Garrity’s decision.

3. Boston Premier of the American Experience WGBH documentary, “The Busing

Battleground,” held September 7, 2024 at the Community Academy of Science

and Health School. Mayor Wu, Superintendent Skipper, and the filmmakers

were amongst the speakers.

4. Walking Tour with Commentary of the Key Events in Boston Desegregation

and Busing” held September 14, 2024

5. “What happened in the Schools and Neighborhoods when Busing began,” held

September 28, 2024 at the Boston Public Library.

6. “The Legacy of Desegregation and Busing: Success or Failure”, held September

28, 2024 at the Boston Public Library.

7. “How Redlining and Blockbusting in Dorchester-Mattapan Victimized African-

Americans and Jews 1968-1972,” held as a Walking Tour with Commentary,

October 19, 2024.

8. “Disrupting the Narrative: Latino Voice Before, During, and Since

Desegregation,” held January 30, 2025 at LaSala in Roxbury.

9. “Boston Busing in Chinatown 50 Years Later,” held Saturday September

13, 2025 at Quincy Elementary School in Chinatown. Organized by the

Chinatown Community Land Trust and co-sponsored by the Boston

Desegregation and Busing Initiative.

II. Exhibits

1. Exhibit on Boston Desegregation and Busing History at J Gallery at the

Boston Public Library, September 10, 2024-January 7, 2025. The

Boston Desegregation and Busing Initiative co-sponsored the this

exhibit of photographs, time lines, narratives with the Archives of

Northeastern University, UMass Boston, Suffolk University, Boston

College, City of Boston Archives, and Boston historian Jim Vrabel.

2. Traveling Exhibit displayed at forums of 45 photographs of events and

150 handwritten essays from the February 27, 1964 Freedom Stay-

Outs school boycott of 10,000 students who attended Freedom Schools

held in churches and community centers.

III. Boston School Desegregation Mobile Bus Museum

We bought a school bus!?! It will be outfitted with photographs, narrative,

monitors to show documentary clips. We envision that Boston Public Schools

studying Civil Rights history can call and schedule the Bus Museum to come to

their school and students can go outside and on to the bus for a mini-field trip.

Since the METCO suburban integration program was started also by the key

Boston education equity leader Ruth Batson, we envision also connecting with the

33 METCO suburbs on this history.

IV. Continued Scheduling of Walking Tours with Commentary of Key Events

We continue to offer these and did this at the MA Teachers Association’s Winter

Conference in January and for the Boston Teachers Union on October 25, 2025

Using our descriptions of key events in Boston Desegregation and Busing history,

WGBH designed a kind of app for the Walking Tour...