Boston has long been known for its racial tensions, often simmering barely below the surface of the city’s political decisions.
Famously, Boston Public Schools were subject to court-mandate desegregation via bussing processes from 1974-1988, leading to extensive white flight to the suburbs in the area, further altering the city’s landscape (and creating racial striations in the process).
Like it or not, racially-motivated vitriol has a history in the city’s vaunted sports scene, too. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey was instrumental in keeping his team segregated long after Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier, famously turning down opportunities to sign both Robinson and Willie Mays.