1-3 Writing Plan Progress Check 1
Aaliyah Scrivens
29 October 2023
HIS-200
Rebecca Stallworth
Event/Topic: School Desegregation in Boston
Historic Lens:
The historical lens being applied social history lens.
This lens focuses on the
struggle for civil rights, social justice, and racial equality. The passage highlights the civil rights
movement's central goal of securing equal educational opportunity and its early victory in the
landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
The text then discusses the difficulties in translating legal victories into practical improvements
in public schools, which is a central theme in the civil rights and social justice perspective. It
goes on to describe the controversial issue of school desegregation, particularly the forced busing
of students in Boston in 1974, as ordered by federal judge W. Arthur Garrity. This event exposed
the racial and class divisions in Boston society and prompted debates about the wisdom and
efficacy of school busing, which are key elements of the social history lens.
Research Questions:
How did the Boston busing crisis of the 1970s impact the long-term pursuit of racial
desegregation in American public schools and the broader civil rights movement?
To what extent did the Boston forced busing case set legal and political precedents that
influenced subsequent desegregation efforts and legal decisions in the United States?
