“Operation Quarterback”: Police and Protection in Phase II

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These armbands adorned the uniforms of members of the United States Marshal Service involved in "Operation Quarterback" and the resistance against unrest in Phase II

Local news teams conducted on-site interviews on the first day of school at several of the newly incorporated campuses such as English High School in Jamaica Plain. Reporters interviewed students about their outlook for the year and initial experiences. None of the rioting and violence from the first day the buses rolled into South Boston the previous year w, yet behind the scenes, scores of law enforcement were stationed throughout the city prepared for any measure of uprising. While the first few days of Phase II’s implementation seemed generally quiet, perhaps due to this effort by Boston’s police and the U.S. Marshals, violence and conflict within neighborhoods and classrooms continued.

 


[1] United States Marshals Service, “Operations Plan 76-2, Phase II, Boston School Desegregation, Operation Quarterback,” August 1975, Pg. 2.

[2] Ibid., 4.

“Operation Quarterback”: Police and Protection in Phase II