Michigan Roundtable Discusses The Effects of Fair Housing Discrimination in Michigan



Professor Brent Simmons and Abrahm Singer



Cooley Law School , in Auburn Hills, Michigan, was the location of a live reenactment of Milliken v. Bradley.  A case that impacted the Metro-Detroit area from 1970 to 1974 and continues to strain race relations in Michigan.  Fair housing and discrimination in Michigan were in many ways shaped by the judgment of this case.  I attended this event sponsored by Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion along with Cooley Law School.  This dynamic event was titled: "From Redling to White Flight, The History of Housing Segregation and the Importance of Regionalism." 



Milliken v. Bradley was a case that sought to desegregate Detroit Public Schools.  The NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) along with parents of Detroit school children fought to have busing take place within fifty-three metropolitan school districts, thus desegregating a dual school system.  In a 4 to 5 decision the court ruled against this stating segregation was the result of choice and not mandated by the Jim Crow laws of the south. 

This ruling had a devastating effect on fair housing discrimination and inclusion in Michigan.  Redlining and white flight have shaped distinct white and black communities throughout the region.  It is now the mission of Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion to create peaceful diverse communities in Metro Detroit.  The foundational oral histories, like the one I attended on 10/29/2010, is one of the three projects to establish fair housing, diversity and inclusion.  Here are the other two objectives:

1. "The recognition, reconciliation and renewal initiative... starting in the Plymouth-Canton area."
2. "Work with the diverse community of Southwest Detroit to build bridges among the many races, ethnicity and cultures in the area (Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion pamphlet)."

Michigan Roundtable and Cooley Law School coordinated very distinguished trail participants and panel members.  Kurt Metzger, Director of Data Driven Detroit was the Keynote speaker.  Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson, U.S. Judge Page Hood, District Court Judge Joseph Oster, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James L. Ryan and Professor Dan Ray, Attorney Thomas M. Cooley Law School were trail participants. Abraham Singer, Partner Pepper Hamilton LLP and Professor Brent E. Simmons, Attorney, Thomas M. Cooley Law School were Advocates.

Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, Assistant U.S. Attorney Judy Levy, Clifford Schrupp, Executive Director, The Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit and Elliott S. Hall, Partner Dykema Gossett were the panel participants. 

Judy Levy stated "legal remedies cannot make people get to know each other.  Only create a space to buy a home where you want."  This fact is the bitter ingredient that spawns racism and hatred.  Finding Empowered Peace is a spiritual necessity living in a world of troubled truths.

You can learn more about the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion by visiting their website www.miroundtable.org or by phone 1-313-870-1500.

Resources

Miliken v. Bradley, Supreme Court of The United States

Miliken v. Bradley, Full Text 418 U.S. 717 (1974)

New York Times Article Collections on White Flight

Department of Justice, Redling Case

photos via Chaplain Donna