From Common Ground:

Though the South End struggle was frequently framed as "white" vs. "black," "majority" vs. "minority," "New South Enders" vs. "Old South Enders..." it was principally a class conflict, a battle between the "haves" and the "have-nots."

Think about the city as a whole (not just the South End) in the era of the busing crisis. How true is this statement? Who were the "haves" in Common Ground? Should they, or could they have done more to address the problems of education?

Last Monday we talked about the "Grammar of Graphics." Assuming data like that we looked at on Monday about the racial breakdown of schools, sketch on paper what a plot (or two) might look like that would address the question of how segregated schools in the Boston are in the post-busing era. Don't plot the actual data, just imagine what some might look like.

  • What are the axes? (time? racial breakdown?)
  • What are the aesthetics (Will you use color? shape?)
  • What are the geometries? (Lines? Rectangles? Maps?)