Desegregation in the "Cradle of Liberty"

Many Americans believe education can promote equality, inspire citizenship, and impart a lasting good for society. On the surface, Boston has exemplified this tradition: Puritan settlers established Boston Latin School in 1635 and Harvard College in 1636. However, the question of access to quality education complicates early 19th century education. Though no law or policy in Boston explicitly barred children of color from attending school, impacting Black Bostonians education

While the African American community of Boston had first supported educating their children within a Black school, they soon saw the significant discrepancies due to segregated education. In response to this inequality, community members launched a campaign to integrate schools. Sarah Roberts v. City of Boston played a significant role in this movement, as Benjamin Roberts filed a suit against the Boston Primary School Committee on behalf of his daughter.

As one of Boston's most influential leaders, William Cooper Nell served the community as an organizer, abolitionist, and historian.

In the late 1800s as Boston grew both in population and industrialization, Boston annexed the Dorchester Peninsula, which would rapidly develop into a neighborhood known as South Boston. It would primarily be made up of Irish Catholic immigrants who quickly found the need for new resources from the city, including a new high school.

In the mid-1900s, Boston officials embarked upon a series of Urban Renewal projects attempting to revive and transform what they considered “unsatisfactory” parts of the city. Both nationwide and locally, these efforts often included demolishing older neighborhoods to make way for newer housing complexes, commercial and public buildings, and public spaces. These projects dramatically affected long-term residents, displaced communities, and altered the physical landscape.

In the 1800s, the Black community of Boston succeeding in integrating the Boston Public Schools. Decades of petitions, protests, speeches, a court case, and other demonstrations culminated with the Massachusetts legislature outlawing public school segregation in 1855. Despite this law and initial success, however, by the mid-1900s, the schools had once again become segregated by race.

After years of activism, advocacy, and legislative action, in 1974, Morgan v. Hennigan, a court case brought by the NAACP against Boston Public Schools, determined that unconstitutional segregation occurred in Boston. A culmination of over a decade of work by Boston’s Black community.

During the struggle to desegregate Boston Public schools in the 1970s, activists rallied and protested throughout the city, including at many historic sites that now compromise the National Parks of Boston. Activists on both sides of the desegregation issue seized upon the power of place and the upcoming bicentennial of the country in 1976 to assert their voices and claim America's revolutionary legacy as their own.

During the struggle to desegregate Boston public schools in the 1970s, activists rallied and protested throughout the city, including at many historic sites that now comprise the National Parks of Boston. In 1975, busing arrived in Charlestown, and with its arrival Bunker Hill Monument became center stage to the fight against forced busing.

During the struggle to desegregate Boston public schools in the 1970s, activists rallied and protested throughout the city, including at many historic sites that now comprise the National Parks of Boston. Historic Dorchester Heights, known for its role during the 1775-1776 Siege of Boston, has long served as a space for commemorations and community gatherings. This tradition carried on during the fight against busing due to its location next to South Boston High School.