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In this interview, James W. Hennigan, Jr., a Suffolk University Law School alumnus (JD 1958), Massachusetts state representative (1953-1954), state senator (1955-1964), and Boston School Committee member (1970-1974), discusses the impact of the 1974 Garrity decision, which required some students to be bused between Boston neighborhoods with the intention of creating racial balance in the public schools. Mr. Hennigan reflects on the issue of busing in the Boston Public School system, recalling the Boston School Committee’s work in the years prior to the Garrity decision and the roles which various politicians and city leaders played in the debate. He reminisces about Boston’s great politicians. Additionally, he recalls his memories of Joe Moakley’s successful run as an Independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1972. Mr. Hennigan also shares a bit of his political career and that of his family.
