Atkins Sees Need for Troops To Enforce Busing This Fall

The Boston president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said last night it is "very likely" that Boston will see state, federal and national guard troops on its streets when the city's schools re-open in September.

"By September 1975. I confidently expect every level of school in Boston to be involved in a court-ordered desegregation plan," NAACP leader Tom Atkins told eight students in Burr Hall.

Troops will be necessary to guarantee equal protection under the law for black students, Arkins said.

"The problem which presently confronts this community is the question of how the burdens involved with busing students are to be equitably distributed between black and white students," he explained.

Pam Bullard, news reporter for station WHBH in Boston, also spoke last night on the issue of racial integration in Boston.

Bullard said she is concerned about the "amazing amount of support" the anti-busing movement is receiving from the white community.

The leaders of anti-busing movements "succeeded in convincing these people that the white community is getting the shaft, and suffering the injustices associated with busing," Bullard said.

The busing controversy has "finally brought to many parents' attention the sorry state of public education in Boston public schools," she said.

Atkins said he believes busing advocates are "protesting on the basis of inferior schools." Racial prejudice, fear and resentment are the "three motivating factors" underlying anti-busing sentiment, he said.