South Boston

Boston Desegregation and Busing Initiative's walking tour illuminates Boston’s desegregation history 50 years after busing.

On Sept. 12, 1974, Boston Public Schools students faced an uphill battle. After years of protests and lawsuits, Judge William Arthur Garrity had found that the schools in Boston were unconstitutionally segregated. His ruling would have many repercussions throughout the city.

Joe Moakley Park in South Boston sits oceanside. Only a roadway and a stretch of sandy beach separate it from the crash of waves.

According to the plaintiffs suing the Boston City Council over the redistricting map, the body violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by taking race into account in re-drawing district lines. Lining up in support of the lawsuit are a Who’s Who of Irish American elected officials representing South Boston and Dorchester.

A handful of incumbent politicians are seeking to testify in the federal court case challenging the legality of Boston’s voter district maps, including U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, who has served in Congress since 2001.

As 2021 comes to a close, several large-scale projects aimed at economic development in Roxbury, Hyde Park, Dorchester and South Boston were approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board of Directors at its Dec. 16 meeting.