Truth, Learning, and Change

Can We Talk? Learning from Boston’s Busing/Desegregation Crisis  was commissioned by Union of Minority Neighborhoods (UMN) to capture some of the voices that motivated UMN to begin the Boston Busing/Desegregation Project.  Initially, the film was used to introduce BBDP, to greater Boston, to ask a wider population what they saw as the relevance of that era for public education and for Boston, and to invite people to be a part of BBDP.

After presenting the film to and learning from hundreds throughout the city, BBDP chose three themes that participants identified as being relevant during and leading up to the crisis then and in Boston and public education in general now: racial and class equity, democratic access to resources and decision making and demanding excellence of public institutions.

In the remaining phases of the project, BBDP will collect stories and build leadership to make meaning of these themes for today and to determine how to collectively address them. Clips from Can We Talk? continue to be used as a prompt for BBDP’s story circles and story collection.  We now offer the film in its entirety for your personal viewing. While the film is offered free of charge, as a small organization we welcome and appreciate your financial donations. BBDP also appreciate invitations to present story circles and share our learning from this work.

We ask that UMN be credited when you show the film and that you share your learning from your use of the film with BBDP and UMN. Especially if you feel your experience is not reflected—don’t just complain, please tell us and share it!!

About Can We Talk?:

Can We Talk? was produced, written and directed  by media producer Scott Mercer and filmed by Justin Shannahan.  The film offers powerful stories of the 1970’s busing/desegregation crisis that changed Boston forever. Most of those in the film have never publicly shared their stories. It documents how this crisis is still felt today. It aspires to prompt a long-overdue honest conversation about public education and racism, classism, and social injustices that have plagued not only the Boston public schools, but the city of Boston as a community. Personal and intimate testimonials fill the screen. They include a bus driver who delivered children to neighborhoods and schools that didn’t want them. A resident of the projects whose admittedly racist family refused to let her be bused to a school with children of color talks about how she was shunned and stigmatized for being poor in the school she attended instead. We also learn from a parent who got involved in politics by accident because of the forces of systemic racism that denied quality of education and simple respect. These individuals express their feelings, thoughts, and opinions in a candid, honest and, at times, raw way. The film offers powerful stories of the 1970’s busing/desegregation crisis that changed Boston forever. Most of those in the film have never publicly shared their stories. It documents how this crisis is still felt today. It aspires to prompt a long-overdue honest conversation about public education and racism, classism, and social injustices that have plagued not only the Boston public schools, but the city of Boston as a community.

Personal and intimate testimonials fill the screen. They include a bus driver who delivered children to neighborhoods and schools that didn’t want them. A resident of the projects whose admittedly racist family refused to let her be bused to a school with children of color talks about how she was shunned and stigmatized for being poor in the school she attended instead+. We also learn from a parent who got involved in politics by accident because of the forces of systemic racism that denied quality of education and simple respect. These individuals express their feelings, thoughts, and opinions in a candid, honest and, at times, raw way.

While these stories are powerful, there are many, many more stories is to be told if this period is to be understood. The film is an invitation to a process of truth, learning and change and a much larger discussion of what everyone can learn from this iconic period in Boston. The film is a vehicle to help spark honest reflections, dialogues and conversations across the city that would help lead to truth telling about and learning from this era and ultimately to deepen engagement in and commitment to strengthening Boston’s public school system for all its residents.

For the AP story about the film’s premiere, please click here.