"In many histories of Boston, African Americans have remained almost invisible. Partly as a result, when the 1972 crisis over school desegregation and busing erupted, many observers professed shock at the overt racism on display in the 'cradle of liberty.' Yet the city has long been divided over matters of race, and it was also home to a far older Black organizing tradition than many realize. A community of Black activists had fought segregated education since the origins of public schooling and racial inequality since the end of northern slavery. Before Busing tells the story of the men and women who struggled and demonstrated to make school desegregation a reality in Boston"-- Provided by publisher.

The origins of slavery, freedom, and Jim Crow in the cradle of liberty, 1638-1896 --Boston confronts a Jim Crow North, 1896-1934 -- Small victories on the way to freedom, 1934-1945 -- Mobilizing for freedom: community-based activism in the post-World War II era, 1949-1965 -- Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm proud, 1967-1970 -- Boston, not Birmingham: busing as Boston's "Reconstruction," 1965-1988.