1.

In the long run, busing hurt Boston because it led to violent racial strife, contributed to
white flight, and damaged the quality of the public school system.

There are many ways Boston was negatively affected because of the busing system. First The
Busing system caused white flight, In 1970, Boston's population was 641,071, and
approximately 82% of residents were white” (U.S. Civil Rights Commission, 1975). Then when
they counted the population again in 1990, Boston’s population was 574,283 and approximately
59% of residents were white (Melnik, 2011) You can see that not only did the percent of white
people drop by 23% but the population of people in Boston dropped by 66,788. In 2010 we could
still see the effects of white flight as Boston's population was 617,594; approximately 47% of
residents were white (Melnik, 2011). While the population went back up significantly there were
even less white people living there anymore.

The busing hurt Boston’s education as well, “On average, SAT test takers in the city's high
schools scored 845 (out of 1600) in 1996” Boston had the second lowest SAT scores in
Massachusetts. “On the statewide Iowa Reading Test, the Boston Public Schools ranked 275 out
of the 279 cities and towns in Massachusetts.” (Richer, M. 1998) These low test scores paired
with the fact that the total children in school had dropped, “public-school enrollment dropped
from 93,000 to 57,000” (Richer, M. 1998) shows how Boston’s education was so negatively
impacted.

The Boston busing crisis caused even more racial strife, black children were not safe going to
school in the white neighborhoods, “ Police had to escort and unload buses at several Boston
high schools every morning and afternoon while snipers stood guard on the surrounding
rooftops. Metal detectors were installed and troopers patrolled the cafeterias, hallways, and
stairwells, and still racial brawls broke out daily.” (Richer, M. 1998) With children being forced
into a place they where they were considered unwelcome they were hardly worried about doing
good in school and more focused on if they would get there and back alive, “As newspapers
reported at the time, these concerned parents complained about the injustice of "asking children
to get up at 6 A.M. to ride a bus to a hostile environment where they are not going to get a good
education."(Richer, M. 1998)