"Unfulfilled Promise": Old State House exhibit explores Boston busing history

Yes, but: That nuance is often lost on Greater Boston students growing up decades later, says Lou Rocco, assistant director of visitor experience and accessibility coordinator.

• "When I was a kid and even through college, I didn't learn anything about this, and it was not ancient history at that point," says Rocco, who grew up in Medford.
• "Most of what you see here in the exhibit was stuff that I didn't previously know."
• He and his colleagues relied on a mix of sources, from Common Ground to information shared by the Boston Desegregation and Busing Initiative.

Zoom in: The one-room exhibit takes visitors through the history of desegregation in public schools, which in Massachusetts dates back to the 19th century.

• But it focuses on the height of the desegregation fight, which took place a century later, led by NAACP Boston members like Ruth Batson and Thomas Atkins.
• It runs through the federal case, Judge Arthur Garrity's order to mandate busing, various reasons parents on both sides of the matter opposed busing and connections to the Old State House.

One tie to the building is a March 5, 1975 demonstration by the anti-busing group Restore Our Alienated Rights (ROAR).

• ROAR held a mock funeral procession for Miss Liberty from City Hall to the Old State House.
• Hundreds of protesters stayed out and disrupted the annual reenactment of the Boston Massacre outside the building.
• One sign read, "You Think This is a Massacre, Just Wait."

The exhibit runs through summer 2025, Rocco says.