Transcript of Oral History Interview with Rush Walsh

Transcript of Oral History Interview with Rush Walsh

Boston (Mass.)
Boston Public Schools
Busing for school integration

In this interview, Ruth Walsh, who grew up in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston in the 1960s and '70s, reflects on the impact of Judge W. Arthur Garrity's 1974 decision in the case of Morgan v. Hennigan, which required some students to be bused between Boston neighborhoods with the goal of creating racial balance in the public schools. She discusses her education in the Boston Public Schools; the effects of Garrity's decision on her family and neighborhood; the experiences of her own children in the Cambridge Public Schools; and her feelings about the decision and the importance of diversity.

John Joseph Moakley Archive & Institute at Suffolk University, Boston, Mass.

Moakley Oral History Project

John Joseph Moakley Archive & Institute at Suffolk University, Boston, Mass.

March 10, 2005

Kintz, Laura

Copyright Suffolk University. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the John Joseph Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.

Moakley Oral History Project: http://moakleyarchive.omeka.net/collections/show/1

PDF (Computer file format)

English

Oral history interview transcript

OH-047

MP3 audio file
Note: Original audio recording is available for listening at the John Joseph Moakley Archive & Institute at Suffolk University, Boston, Mass.

48:08

See PDF transcript

Tamilio, Stephanie

Walsh, Ruth

Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Mass.

Introduction p. 3 (00:00)
Ms. Walsh’s experiences being bused and how it affected
her family and neighborhood p. 3 (00:34)
Why busing didn’t work p. 12 (10:40)
Busing in Cambridge and her children’s experiences p. 14 (13:47)
The effects of busing on Boston p. 16 (15:33)
More about Cambridge and her children’s experiences,
specifically those of her adopted biracial daughter p. 18 (19:40)
The benefits of exposure to diversity p. 23 (28:30)
Neighborhood dynamics p. 23 (29:48)
Educational experiences p. 27 (35:47)
Final thoughts p. 33 (46:08)