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On May 14, 2014, three white Boston city councilors refused to vote to approve a resolution honoring the sixtieth anniversary of Brown v. the Board of Education because, as one remarked, "I didn't want to get into a debate regarding forced busing in Boston." Against the recent national proliferation of celebrations of civil rights milestones and legislation, the controversy surrounding the fortieth anniversary of the court decision that mandated busing to desegregate Boston public schools speaks volumes about the historical memory of Boston's civil rights movement. Two highly acclaimed contemporary works of children's literature set during or inspired by Boston's desegregation busing plan reflect and respond to the ongoing battle over the history and memory of Boston's civil rights movement and its enduring racial legacy: Busing Brewster, an illustrated children's book for young readers, written by Richard Michelson and illustrated by R. G. Roth; and Gold Dust, a middle-grade novel for adolescents by Chris Lynch. Both works offer representations of an overtly racist past, produced in a historical moment when prevailing ideologies of color blindness and postracialism suggest not only that racism is passe, but that any attempt to redress past racism that takes race into account is itself racist and unjust. Busing Brewster and Gold Dust offer equivocal reflections on urban decline and racial transformations at the turn of the twenty-first century. Both works have as much to tell us about the historical memory of Boston's desegregation efforts as they do about contemporary understandings of race and social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a student exchange program between Massachusetts' Concord Carlisle High School and Turkmenistan's Balkanabat School #17. The students' experiences learning English and Spanish, making cultural presentations, and living with host families are examined. The author comments on collaboration with various people and organizations, including the U.S. State Department's International Relations Exchange Board (IREX), the American Councils for International Education and their FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) program. The author also examines Concord Carlisle's sister school in Hokkaido, Japan. Diplomatic, economic, and demographic aspects of Turkmenistan are discussed.

Presents a lesson plan that emphasizes the use of primary source documents in the analysis of 17th century court records of the witch trials and the use of artists impressions in the interpretation of witchcraft episodes by later generations. Matching of lesson plan with National Standards; Attention to what was said at the court trials; Tips on key questions which may arise in the analysis; Comparative analysis of images of the trial; Aim of lesson as stimulation of critical thinking.

Discusses literature and a motion picture about the environmental disasters in Woburn, Massachusetts. 'A Civil Action,' a book by Jonathan Harr; Overview of the film 'A Civil Action' from Touchstone Pictures; 'Can There Be Environmental Justice For All?' a talk given by Jan Schlichtmann at Wheaton College in Norton in November 1999; Background history on the disaster and the subsequent legal case against two firms.

Discusses how newspaper reading developed the political interest of women in the antebellum era in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Focus on letters and journals of Mary Pierce, Hannah Lowell Jackson Cabot and other women; Participation in political events.