Prompt Cast
The Impact of Milliken v. Bradley on School Segregation in the US
TLDR The case of Milliken v. Bradley sparked debates about school segregation in the US, leading to the ruling that a metropolitan-wide remedy for segregation in Detroit schools could not be implemented without evidence of discriminatory policies in suburban districts, effectively ending efforts to desegregate schools in non-southern parts of the country.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The case of Milliken v. Bradley sparked heated debates about using bussing as a way to integrate schools and forever changed the conversation about school segregation in the US.
04:03
The housing segregation that developed in Detroit in the 1950s and 60s created school segregation, perpetuated by gerrymandered school zones and school transfer policies that allowed white students to leave schools that were becoming majority black.
07:57
The Detroit School Board, with a slight majority in favor, encourages the superintendent to come up with a plan for desegregation, which includes two-way integration and bussing, leading to intense opposition from white parents.
12:22
The NAACP files a lawsuit against the state of Michigan, arguing that housing segregation and school segregation are interconnected, and presents evidence of housing and school segregation in Detroit over several decades.
17:39
As the trial comes to an end, tensions rise in suburban Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan, with anti-busing and anti-school desegregation groups holding rallies and a local KKK group blowing up 10 school buses in Pontiac.
21:50
Judge Roth rules that the Detroit public school system was unconstitutionally segregated and calls for a metropolitan-wide remedy, leading to a hostile public reaction and death threats against him, while the state and school board appeal to the Supreme Court arguing that the suburban school districts should not be involved in the remedy.
26:04
The Supreme Court rules that there was unconstitutional segregation in the Detroit public schools, but a metropolitan-wide remedy cannot be implemented without evidence of racially discriminatory policies in suburban school districts.
31:18
The Milliken v. Bradley case effectively ended meaningful efforts to desegregate schools in non-southern parts of the country, perpetuating the problem of segregation due to the linkage between housing segregation and school segregation.
Categories:
History
Society & Culture
