ABSTRACT
Black parents in Roxbury alarmed about the noneducation of their children tried to alter the educational structure at the Ryan. Anthony Dobson hustled a living as a pimp yet at the same time sought the betterment of the black community through political action. These were all beginning attempts to move into the mainstream of American political life. The Ryan School had only two guidance counselors for more than 600 children. Two individuals, with all the goodwill in the world, could not have had time to "guide" in any meaningful sense. Instead, they spent their days coping with crises, administering standardized tests, and frantically trying to work out high school placements usually based on inadequate information about both the pupils and the appropriate opportunities available to them. What little time and energy remained was devoted to the few college-bound boys and girls, the ones most likely to reward additional effort.
