The U.S. Supreme Court's 1974 Milliken v. Bradley decision limited the courts’ ability to address segregation in schools by halting an “interdistrict busing” plan to tackle Detroit’s increasingly segregated classrooms. Legal scholars say the ruling eroded the progress of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which declared racial segregation in the classroom unconstitutional.

So what would it take to actually integrate metro Detroit’s schools? Legal scholar Michelle Adams, a University of Michigan law professor and author of the new book, "The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North," joined The Metro on Wednesday to share her expertise on the subject.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.

Tomorrow’s question: "What are you doing to reduce waste?"

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