Series: The Ten O'Clock News
Date: 1988-06-21
Duration: 00:03:19

Subject: African American women; African American civil rights; Discrimination
People: Arnwine, Barbara; Bunte, Doris; Flynn, Raymond; Kelly, Hope; LaPlante, Robert;

Clip Description
Hope Kelly reports that Barbara Arnwine (Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights) is filing a lawsuit against the city of Boston, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), and the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on behalf of public housing tenants in Boston. Kelly reports that Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) has announced an agreement aimed at eradicating discriminatory housing practices, but Arnwine considers the agreement inadequate because it does not acknowledge that African American families were "victims" of discrimination. Arnwine says that the city of Boston and the BHA lied to African American families and that the BHA worked to keep housing projects segregated. Kelly's report includes footage of Flynn, Doris Bunte (BHA), and Robert LaPlante (HUD) at a press conference. Kelly interviews Arnwine in her office at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. Arnwine says that the city of Boston, the BHA, and HUD do not want to accept responsibility for the harm done to African American tenants and that, despite the difficulty of the struggle, racial equality is worth fighting for. Kelly reviews Arnwine's career as an activist and lawyer. Kelly's report also features footage of African American and white children playing outside of public housing projects and footage of African American students entering a Boston high school.

This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following item:
Carmen Fields reports on nomination papers for Bill Owens and Royal Bolling, Sr.
Bill Owens vs. Royal Bolling, Sr.

Series Description
A local program aimed at the Boston audience, The Ten O'Clock News debuted on January 15, 1976. Its two immediate predecessors were The Reporters and Evening Compass. A news and public affairs show focusing on neighborhood, local and state issues, The Reporters was produced and broadcast on WGBH from 1970 to 1973. The Reporters was then replaced by Evening Compass, which expanded into a twice-nightly news broadcast during the tense moments of Boston's busing crisis. On the air from 1973 to 1975, Evening Compass found an audience through its in-depth coverage of school desegregation in Boston, which began in 1974. The Ten O'Clock News stood out as an in-depth news program. It strove for a balance between local and national stories, between politics and the Arts. The last The Ten O'Clock News program was broadcast on May 30, 1991.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/ton/programs/5837_01