User:Marta Erin/sandbox

Francesca "Fran' Johnnene (d. 2015) was a leading anti-busing advocate during the desegregation of Boston's Public Schools in the 1970s. She was an executive of the Association of Neighborhood Schools and a national representative and board member of Restore Our Alienated Rights (ROAR), a Boston based anti-busing organization. She worked closely with Louise Day Hicks and Elvira "Pixie" Palladino to organize anti-busing rallies, letter writing campaigns, and prayer meetings.

During the 1970s, Francesca A. Johnnene was involved in Restore Our Alienated Rights (ROAR), a national organization that opposed the racial desegregation of U.S. public schools. Boston City Councilwoman, Louise Day Hicks founded this group in 1974 as a response to a court order from Judge W. Arthur Garrity that required the city of Boston to desegregate public schools. ROAR was short-lived but it reached its peak in 1975 when it organized mass protests to oppose the racial integration of public schools. Johnnene's participation in ROAR is documented by her collection of Hicks' correspondence with supporters of the organziation. With Richard Laws, she also drafted a position statement in 1976 to convey her opposition to busing. In 1978, she was the chairperson of a fashion show for Hyde Park Academy.