Under the Radar with Callie Crossley looks to alternative presses and community news for stories that are often overlooked by big media outlets. In our roundtable conversation, we aim to examine the small stories before they become the big headlines with contributors in Boston and New England. For more information, visit our website: wgbhnews.org/utr
Under the Radar with Callie Crossley looks to alternative presses and community news for stories that are often overlooked by big media outlets. In our roundtable conversation, we aim to examine the small stories before they become the big headlines with contributors in Boston and New England. For more information, visit our website: wgbhnews.org/utr
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court overturned legal segregation in America’s public schools in the landmark ruling, Brown v. Board of Education. The decision dissolved the “separate but equal” doctrine, effectively ending legal segregation in American education.
The ruling 70 years ago was a defining moment for the country’s racial progress — it also marked the beginning of what turned out to be a slow and arduous process of integrating Black students into majority white schools.
In 1974, Boston drew national headlines for the violent response to the busing of Black students. And it wasn’t until 1988, more than 30 years after the Brown decision, before close to half of Black students were in desegregated schools. Since then the numbers have significantly decreased.
On this 70th anniversary, Under the Radar considers the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education in Boston and nationwide.
GUESTS
Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School and professor of history at Harvard University
Michaele N. Turnage Young, senior counsel and co-manager of the Equal Protection Initiative at the Legal Defense Fund
Alisa R. Drayton, executive director of the Yawkey Club of Roxbury