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.. ~\.. n/())~ CITY-WIDE '-:')~EDUCATIONAL ' COALITION ~2 Chuuncy St • Rrr. . 305 · Bo~ton, Mass .. 02111 • 54~ · 2835
May 17, 1976
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Honorable Kevin H. White .. Mayor of Boston City Hall Boston, Massachusetts 02201
Dear Mr. ~1ayor: I began this letter intending to send it to Speaker McGee and Judge Nelson, the co-chairmen of your Committee on Violence. I quickly realized, however, - that I would simply be asking them to deliver a message to you that I could I deliver myself. I feel compelled to write to you at this time to try to share with you some ideas which I have been unable to get across to you either directly or through your staff for the last 2 years. let me say at the outset that I am grateful for the assistance that your
administration has given to the City-Hide· Educational Coalition over the last 3 years. Through the efforts of Bob Kiley, Rich Kelliher, Bob Schwartz, Peter 11eade, Mark Weddelton, David Ros enbloom, Bob Hanson, Paul McCaffrey, and many . . others our work has be~n made easier and has indeed grown and expanded. -That ·work has been and continues to be vital to the life of this city and it is· because of the results of this work that I write to you today.
I ~sk that you keep this letter as contidential as you possibly can as I intend to say .. some things which will not be well received in some quarters and I,
'~Cili::. cus \f!url: i1~g ,Tu::;,diJCr Fur Beller Scbuuls''.· .; . ' • • I -2-
I ' . my staff, and our con.stituents have been subjected to enough violence, threats·, and harassment to fill .several lifetimes. We are not looking for any more,
but we also will not be sjlenced by it~
I write to you today in the belief that now is the time for you to move to take over the leadership of this city once again. There· is a prevailing view in many areas .of thi_s city that you have abdicated your office, are often not here,- • and when here, you .are .not really on top of what is going on. I spea~ for my-
self but my comments are tempered by the daily accounts of the 30 members of ~y s,taff who live and work in every neighborhood of this city and who deal with its people day-and night a·round the issue which tears this city apart. Boston and its people have been through 2 years of hell. We have paid an enormous price,
and people \'lander v1hen this agony is going to end. I will try in the next few pages to help answer this question from my perspective, but ultimately, Hr.
Mayor, only~ can ansv1er it a~d to do this you must begin seeking help from the people of this .city who want the turmoil to end, not those in whose interest it is to continue it •. Louise Day Hicks has crea.ted a monster which even she cannot control. You have got to stop looking to her to solve the problem \"'hich she played a major role in creating.
Background In the fall of 1974, there were very few citizens of this city prepared to
implement the Garrity Phase I order. Despite this, Neighborhood Safety Tea.ms, • ~organized by your administration, did a remarkable job of keeping peace in . ~ost ·neighborhoods of the city. Through the efforts of these teams and the efforts of . . my staff, hundreds of volunte~r citizens were .on the streets, at bus stops, and • in schools to assist children and parents. ·Nevertheless, Southie blew up and we began our ordeaJ. At a meeting in .your of.fke--2-weeks· after school opened ·in
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•. 1974 a noted ROAR leader, who at that time had adopted a moderate position, told you that if Southie and the violence there were not isolated and made to be the enemy, then she could not hold out and we would ultimately have a race war on our hands in this city. Those were prophetic v10rds, unfortunately. Why?
I would submit that Southie blew and Charlestown followed a year later (although to a lesser degree) because community leadership in those areas chose to resist the court order. Oth.er neighborhoods did not react tha f way because . people in those neighborhoods worked to prevent it. Violence or threats of it
will dissipate in communities only ~1hen the'people Hho live there refuse to tolerate it any longer. In most neighborhoods of this--city,· people have· ·doiie this. Has anyone noticed -- does anyone care?
I would venture a guess, based on my experience, that if a referendum on busing were held today, the people of this city would be oven1helmingly opposed ·, to it •. I would also contend, hoHever, that if a referendum on ROAR were held, - the opposition to ROAR would also be 'oventhelming. The people of this city know where the violence stems from, Hr. Mayor, and so do you. let me try to show you in graphic political terms what I mean.
last year, in the midst of significant turmoil around Hyde Park High School, the Home and School Association held its election among chapter presidents for Regional Representative. Fran Johnnene, a noted ROAR leader and the incumbent,
was defeated by a moderate candidate by a vote of 12 to 3~ This year.,"when __those s~me. elections were held, Richard laws, another noted ROAR leader, Has defeated • by a moderate candidate ·by a vote of 18- 1! Why? Because a coalition of moderate whites (th_ere are very few blacks in the Home and School Association) ·and militant anti-busing whites {aff1liated with the Hyde Park Information Center) . . came together to _repudiate ROAR. In .the midst-of this· year·•s- election in Hyde • .. ' -4-
Park one of the ROAR leaders, in an attempt to garner votes, commented that Judy Com't'ay, a member. of my staff who is presently hospita 1i zed fo~ b~ck surgery
after a fall at our offic~, was responsible for all the problems in Hyde Park
and that she had gotten exactly what she deserved. He.. further stated that the real story of her :injury was "that she had been beaten up by five niggers in Roxbury and they should have split her head open ... This is what we've come to.
Hr. Hayor! But _this ·hatred lost again this time because no · one-~ moderates or anti-busers -- wants it any more. Hatred is a cancer which is destroying our
city and ~must cu~ it_out so that the good and decent people of this city. who can and will live with one another's differences, can begin the process of healing • . Where are these people?
The Neighborhoods Hoderates live in every neighborhood of this city and I could give you 50
names from every neighborhood, if you~d ask.
In Dorchester -- there are people like Kit Clark, Paul Quirk, Jane Margulis, Rep. Richard Finnigan, Delores Mitchell, Rita Tomasini, and do zens of others who walked the streets of Savin Hill in the fall of 1974 to assure that their neighborhood didn't become another Sbuthie - that's neighborhood pride, Mr.
Mayor~·
. They are folks like Olive Costello, Ed Farrell, and Michael Traft and ·others ·in D.U.N.A. who~ although strongly opposed to busing, have worked all yea~.to try to develop a workable desegregation plan for Dorchester.
In ·the North Erid -- there are the anti-busing parents at the Michaelangelo ·school
who welco~ed black and Chinese children into their school and worked to make it a model for the city.
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•. In Jamaica Plain there are the hundreds of volunteers who manned _every bus stop in that corrimunity in both th.e fall of· 1974 a·nd 1975 · and . we have seen the results -- Jamaica Plain hasn't had the problems of other communities even though the ingredients are there. last year's Agassiz Community School election. must have shown you something.
In Brighton-~ there are the hundreds of people who stood.up to ROAR in
Oece~ber of 1974 and told _th em to go home at a meeting in which Msgr. Stapelton o·f St.Colwmkii .le's parish characterized ROAR's tactics as . sickenly reminiscent, of the Nazi Germany he had seen in the 1930's. In South Boston.-_- _t_h_e_r_e_ _(!.re the 50 South Boston High School parents . (black and white) who travelled all over this city last year to find secret places to meet so that their kids could go to school and they could try to begip to deal with the problems.
I could go on and on Mr. MayorL-through Roslindales West Roxburys East Bostons Roxbury, Mattapan, Charlestown, the South. End, etc.--but the message is the same-- people don't love busing but they can, will and have accepted it be- • cause it ·is the 1aw and the thing that they f e_ar the mast is the absence of 1aw and the fear, violence and anarchy which that· brings.
' leadership The real leadership of this city is in the neighborhoods mentioned above. . - . • White parents from Dorchester know that Hhen Southie erupts and black children
· are targets, it isn't ROAR's kids v1ho will pay the price, it is theirs. When a white student from the Jeremiah Burke, who has gone to school for 2 years with .·
no eroblems, goes to night school at Engli~h High and gets beaten up ~s he waits for a bus on ·Huntington Avenue .. because some black. kids must avenge .. a·· wrong-,- he- ·· ----·· . .
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and his parents get the message.
The people of your city .:. :. .and it is your cfty_ -- are tired and angry, Hr. Mayor, because they want to be left alone to walk the streets, drive through the . neighborhoods, and ride its public ~ransportation system free from the fear of
random violence to which they may be subjected because of"the color of thei~ skin: Violence begets violence -- c?urage and reason beget peace.
Moderate leadership-in this city must be nurtured ~- it cannot be expected to surface on its bwn. It never has and it cannot be expected to now. Those in the middle cannot be expected to outshout the extremes. People of courage and
good will must be recognized, supported, spoken to and for and led in a ~ourse of action. All of us in this city ·who have worked to keep peace have been put on the defensive by ROAR. He are constantly trying to protect and defend ourselves • . _ From what? When is someone going to take the offensive against hatred, bigotry and violence? Unfortunately, a marchI for peace for one day doesn't serve that purpose. I had real problems getting my staff to participate in the march.
Although half of us marched and brought m~ny with us, the other half of our staff refused-- not out of lack of support, but out of a feeling that it was too little and .too iate. They and many like them, Mr. Mayor, are bruised and • beaten and they are bitter. · They are tired of having to defend themselves they don't like busing and all they are trying to do is keep peace in this • city, improve its school system, and · bring to both some rays of hope. And for . all of this they are labeled pro-busing freaks -- alone, leaderless, and in creasingly bitter. Mr. Mayor, if you don't recognize, support and build. up the middle ground-
the voices of reason in this city - - you force ~veryone to th~ extremes. If you ignore them you implicitly support their tormentors.
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Conclusions Mr. r-1ayor, when CWEC received some CETA slots from your administration, we· immediately ·were threatened with the loss of a few of them because ·louise Day Hicks snapped her fingers. We got the message--that in order to survive we had
to be able to outshout ROAR. \~e can't and ·won't do it, Mr. Mayor, and anyway why should we have to? Do you really believe that ROAR represents the majority of dtizens in this city? What have Mrs. Hicks and other ROAR leaders given
. you, Mr. Mayor, _that you continue to coddle _them. Your political fut~re and the life of our -city is at stake here and people are going to blame you if · things don't improve. _- You -have to dec-ide if you are going to continue to let -· the forces of terror hold you and your city hostage?
The people of this city know that you have done everything you can within the law to oppose busing. They also appreciate the difficulty of your position in trying to keep peace. What they don't understand is who is running the city? No one seems to be in control and tpey e 1ected ~ to be their leader. ROAR is
calling the shots, Mr. Mayor, and everyone kno~s it. People assume that your
office· has some pow~r and that you are either unable to use it to get control of your city or that you are using it and what we presently have in Boston is what you want:.
I don't believe that you can possibly like what is happening to this city,
Mr. Mayor. In fue pa~t when we have called upon you, you always stated that if ·we just kept vvorking, things would eventually work ot.it and we would see a..·· new . day dawn. We can't go on, much longer, Mr. Mayor, with only a hope and a prayer for support. We must have some action to lead us toward peace in this
city and~ are the~· Your political future and, more importantly, the
future of the city -we ·1 ove· ·depend on .l'Q!!_.- -can you rea rly ·afford to· 1et ·the- - • future of this city rest in the hands of those people who played a major role
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in creating our ~resent problems and who must keep the fires burning because they have nowhere else to go?
Put the fires out, Mr~ Mayor. There are thousands of people in this city
ready and.~illing to try to help you do this. Give them a chance for a change,
let them take the offensive-- they can do it in every neighborhood-- if ~ wi 11 he 1p them. •
Recommendations Acknowledge· acceptance and support of court orders -- even though you \ may not agree with them. Once they ar~ ordet:'ed they become 1aw and lQ.!!_ must commit yourself as Mayor to implement them. You must state this publicly and often.
Take the offensive and condemn loudly and c~early violence, bigotry", racism and hatred. Condemn the forces that preach it and spawn it. It is now
fashionabl~ in some areas of this city to utter racial epithets and cry for I violence. Turn this.around by condemning all such behavior and demand that the
peopl~who organiz~ marches and d~mbnstrations be held accountable for the re- sults of same. • Acknowledge and encourage the voices of moderation and reason in this city. Publicly praise-and encourage efforts at promoting racial harmony. In vite moderate leaders into your office-- seek them out.and listen to them·. It • is ironic and tragic that when you suggested people to testify before your . Commfttee of Violence you included only ROAR leaders and black communitY: leaders (with the exception of Evelyn Morash, who by your Committee's own definition.was .
and is not considered to be a moderate.) T~ere are other people in the city, Mr. Mayor, who have something to say and they represent the majority. You and your Committee on Violence could find them if·you wanted to. . . . -9-
Put someone -in charg~ of Public Safety and Desegregation at the Department H~ad level ·at City Hal_l a~d give him/her open acces~ to you~ · -
Reinstitute the Neighborhood Safety Teams through your little City Hall Managers and have them_meet monthly to deal with community tensions and problems. Have them seek out moderate community leaders for participation • . Coordfnate these effo_rts through the· position mentioned above.
Use the power of your office to get tough with those promoting and provoking violence and tension. You control enormous amounts of money, jobs, . . etc. and you can exercise some· con.trol by using that power judiciously.
Meet with media representatives and urge them to acknowledge and re cognize moderate leaders and their efforts. Insist on balanced media coverage of
all school desegregation ne\~S - - desegregation is working well in many areas and - you should urge the media to tell that story.
• Continue and strengthen your commitment to sound fiscal management of the School Department and pledge your support to improving the quality of services
. in the city's school system. There is more ''\~hite flight" because of the poor _quality of our schools than there is. because of "busing."
Finally, show by y~ur actions that you are not af~aid of Louise Day Hicks and ROAR and that you don't intend to let your city be destroyed by the few
• who would terrorize the many. Take them on, get out in the str~ets of the neigh- borhoods -- your city is ready for it.
Mr. Mayor, the future of the city is in your hands, not Judge Garrity's~
Although>some of his orders have been ill -advised and certainly contrib~ted to the problem, -this city will survive base·d on the ·extent to which those of us who live and work in it are able to implement these orders.
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If all.of Judge Gardty's orders were overturned on appeal tomorrow,
Boston ~1ould still have to deal with violence, racial tension, fear, hatred and an inadequate school system. The people of this city know that louise Day Hicks,
John Kerrigan, et al are not going to see us through to a brighter future--~ • are, along with Kathleen Sullivan, John McDonough, David Finnigan, and other
politicians ~o will come along to provide some creative, new lea~ership.
People need some hope, some reason to believe that .tnings can and will get better and you must begin showing them the way.
We at CWEC- have ·worked ·-hard over · the last two years to bring some -sanity and ······· reason to this-city and we -have the scars to pr.ove it. - We are finding it in- - • creasingly di~ficult to continue that task. We can't do it alone and quietly any longer unless you act to help us. We find our constituents becoming more polarized every day.
Bring ·us together, Hr. Mayor - ~Ne believe that you · can and we will do every
thing · w~ can to assist you. Sincerely,
IJ~ ~-· ---J'JI//•• £it (~y 11 en Smith Executive Director City-Wide Educational Coalition
• t~ES/js - .. cc: Judge David Nelson Speaker Thomas McGee Edward McCormack