Final answer:
To integrate schools in Boston, federal courts enforced bussing policies that sent white suburban students to city schools and vice versa, as a response to segregation from "white flight." The Supreme Court had earlier ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional, but implementation faced strong resistance, resulting in actions like bussing to ensure compliance.
Step-by-step explanation:
Court-Ordered School Integration in Boston
To address school integration in Boston, federal courts mandated bussing policies in the late 1960s and 1970s. This court-ordered action required suburban white students to attend inner city schools and vice versa in an effort to achieve racial balance and provide equal educational opportunities. This response was a direct consequence of the Brown v. Board of Education decision of the Supreme Court in 1954, which declared that segregated schools were inherently unequal and violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite the ruling, many areas, particularly in the South, resisted or delayed integration efforts.
Later, in Brown II, the Supreme Court attempted to lay out guidelines for how to proceed with desegregation "with all deliberate speed," which numerous Southern regions interpreted as a means to slow-walk integration. It wasn't until significant federal court action, addressing the phenomenon of "white flight" and consequent urban school segregation, that effective integration measures like bussing were put into place.
The path to school integration often faced immense resistance, known as massive resistance, in Southern states, which included the closing of schools to prevent compliance with integration orders. However, this resistance was met head-on by civil rights activists who demanded federal enforcement of the Supreme Court's mandate.