The Massachusetts legislature passes the “Bill for school desegregation by the Board of Aldermen and the Committee of Public Instruction.” Passed after a decade-long effort by black parents and their white allies, the bill states that “in determining the qualifications of scholars to be admitted into any public school, or any district school in this Commonwealth, no distinction shall be made on account of race, color, or religious opinions of the applicant or scholar.” The bill is signed into law.