Piece of Chalk

Bostonaas 1970s busing crisis is a critical moment in Americaaas civil rights movement. Championed asA a solution to segregation in northern city schools, forced busing became one of the most divisive andA regrettable episodes in Bostonaas long and distinguished history. What ensued was a firestorm of riots,A heavy-handed police response, political ping-pong, disenfranchised students, and lawsuits. Beginning in 1821, Boston EnglishA High School, theA oldest public high school in America, had a prestigious history as the first public secondary school in America. By the 1970s it was the epicenter ofA desegregation, and crumbling under the pressure. Author Joe Dotoli was in the thick of it as a young science teacher. Today this story isnaat so much one of clear triumph as perseverance in a racial and economic struggle still making American headlines today.