The other Boston busing story : what's won and lost across the boundary line
Entry/Object ID
2017.7.1
Description
METCO, America's longest-running voluntary school desegregation program, has for 34 years bused black children from Boston's city neighborhoods to predominantly white suburban schools. In contrast to the infamous violence and rage of forced school busing within the city in the 1970s, METCO has quietly and calmly promoted school integration. How has this program affected the lives of its graduates? Would they choose to participate if they had it to do over again? Would they place their own children on the bus to suburbia? Sixty-five METCO graduates vividly recall their own stories in this revealing book. Susan E. Eaton interviewed program participants who are now adults, asking them to assess the benefits and hardships of crossing racial and class lines on their way to school. Their answers poignantly show that this type of racial integration is not easy--they struggled to negotiate both black and white worlds, often feeling fully accepted in neither. Even so, nearly all the participants believe the long-term gains outweighed the costs and would choose a similar program for their own children--though not without conditions and apprehensions. Even as courts and policymakers today are forcing the abandonment of desegregation, educators warn that students are better prepared in schools that reflect our national diversity. This book offers an accessible and moving account of a rare program that, despite serious challenges, provides a practical remedy for the persistent inequalities in American.
Physical Description: x, 293 p. ; 22 cm.
Acquisition
Accession
2017.7
Source or Donor
Mainer, Robert
Acquisition Method
Gift
Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
Book
Nomenclature Sub-Class
Other Documents
Nomenclature Class
Documentary Objects
Nomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects
Search Terms
Busing, Race relations, Busing for school integration -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- History., Boston (Mass.) -- Race relations.
Book Details
Author
Eaton, Susan E.
Publisher
Yale University Press
Place Published
Location
New Haven, CT
Date Published
2001
Publication Language
English
ISBN
0300087659
Condition
Overall Condition
Excellent
Date Examined
Apr 10, 2021
Examined By
Gardner-Westcott, Kay
Notes
Original book jacket; other than the notes the book is pristine physical condition
Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Eaton, Susan E.
General Notes
Note
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-286) and index.
Notes in the book.
Status: OK
Status By: Wescott, Kay
Status Date: 2021-04-10