<Tr> <Td> 1849--1850 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Sarah Roberts unsuccessfully challenged segregation in Boston public schools . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1850 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> The Fugitive Slave Act required states (even free ones) enforce the return of fugitive slaves to their owners . Antislavery protests followed passage of this law, and black and white Bostonians joined in direct actions to protect and some times rescue fugitives seeking shelter in the city . The slavery trial of Anthony Burns in Boston galvanized Northern opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law . After the trial, U.S. marshals and a company of marines were required to escort Burns to a ship to take him back to Virginia and slavery . See also Shadrach Minkins . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1855 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Boston integrated public schools; Abiel Smith School closed . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1861 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Civil War started . </Td> </Tr>

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