The motorcycle police were a coat of armor as they escorted buses bringing black students home from South Boston High School. This was the second day of a court-ordered school integration program requiring the busing of 18 percent of public school students in 1974. Some buses were stoned, and several arrests were made.

How does the metaphor "coat of armor" affect the writer's message?

It creates a tone of fear, representing what minority students felt.

It describes the typical uniform worn by officers of the time period.

It highlights the protection black students needed during school integration.

It supports the argument that more money should be spent on police escorts.

A metaphor typically is used as a figure of speech to pass expression in a statement. Such expressions when considered on the surface do not speak to the issue on ground but do have implied meanings and can be easily interpreted.

An example used alot by teenagers in school is "the test was a breeze". Breeze and test obviously don't go hand in hand, but breeze in this instance gives expression to '"ease, simple, not a problem" about the test.

And in this question, we see the 70s and periods before then was a tense one for black integration. The opposition against the integration of the Blacks was obvious thus the court demanded some level of protection. The Police being drafted in to take on that responsibility was a great confidence booster that minimized the fear faced by Black students; hence that protective layer from the police can be described as a coat of armor. Remember a coat of armor is steel and Iron, it repels pellets, sword attacks and rocks hauled at it.