Finally, in 1972, the NAACP, Freedom House, and other black community groups filed a federal suit against the Boston School Committee, charging discrimination in school assignments, staffing, and allocation of resources, facilities, and transportation. Recent precedents in San Francisco and Detroit supported their case. In May 1974, nearly 20 years after Brown v. Board of Education, which had ruled de jure desegregation unconstitutional, Judge Arthur Garrity ruled in favor of the NAACP and their discrimination claim and demanded that Boston Public Schools begin a busing program in the next school year. The ruling set off a tumultuous period in Boston history, with effects still felt today.