Busing the Buffer Zone: Chinatown Mothers Boycott Forced Busing During Boston's Desegregation Crisis
Exhibition & Staged Reading
by Christina R. Chan
On view: February 25 – March 28, 2026
Open Rehearsal: Friday, March 20
Staged Reading: Saturday, March 28
Pao Arts Center (99 Albany St, Boston, MA 02111)
In September 1975, Chinatown children were to be bused to Charlestown as part of Phase II of desegregation for Boston Public Schools. The previous year, Phase I, had protests that turned violent between the white and Black communities. Young Chinese students were at risk and would destabilize a residential immigrant neighborhood already under threat. In response, Chinatown mothers—garment workers who did not speak English—refused to remain silent. They planned a boycott if their demands to ensure safety and education for their elementary-aged children were not met.
Created by playwright Christina R. Chan and creatively produced by CHUANG Stage, Busing the Buffer Zone brings this forgotten, painful, and powerful history into the present through oral histories, archival research, and community interviews. The project unfolds as a new theatrical play, paired with a temporary exhibition at the Pao Arts Center gallery, both inspired by and honoring the Chinatown mothers whose resistance activated the neighborhood’s fights for justice and belonging.
About the Venue
Located at 99 Albany Street in downtown Boston, Pao Arts Center is Chinatown’s first arts and cultural center. Pao Arts Center represents the belief that investing in arts, culture, and creativity are vital to the health and well-being of individuals, families, and vibrant communities. Through its innovative approach, Pao Arts Center empowers creativity, connection, learning, and support.
Pao Arts Center sits on a historically significant piece of land, Parcel 24, where hundreds of Chinatown residents were displaced in the 1960s in order to build a highway on ramp. The redevelopment of this land as a place to celebrate and explore Asian culture represents a powerful shift towards community oriented development in the face of rapid change
Project Collaborators
Pao Arts Center was established in 2017 as a visionary program collaboration between Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) and Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) as Chinatown’s first arts and cultural center. The mission is to celebrate and strengthen the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community of Chinatown and Greater Boston through access to culturally relevant art, education, and creative programs.
Mass Humanities is a private non-profit foundation that serves as the statewide affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through grant-making to small nonprofits throughout the state, partnerships with educational institutions, and community engagement programs, we create opportunities for the people of Massachusetts to transform their lives and build a more equitable commonwealth. We believe in promoting an equitable and inclusive society that recognizes all people’s perspectives, especially those who have been historically excluded. At this critical juncture of our state and the nation, we believe the humanities must be part of decision making from the street corner to the classroom to the town meeting and the state house.
