Desegregation in Education

Avern L. Cohn Papers

aergas — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 11:21:05 -0400

The materials in this collection represent the scope of Judge Avern Cohn's professional life and his wide-ranging interests and activities, from family matters to philanthropy to leisure travel. The collection includes correspondence, opinions and orders, speeches and writings, scrapbooks, files on a large array of subjects and some audio-visual materials. In his several decades on the federal bench, Cohn was involved in cases involving a variety of issues including tax law, civil rights, school desegregation, and patents and trademarks. Among his most notable decisions are John Doe v. University of Michigan, which held unconstitutional the university's speech code; the Kearns patent infringement suit against Ford Motor Company regarding intermittent windshield wipers; the "Jake Baker case," which involved a student dismissed from the University of Michigan for allegedly putting a pornographic story on the internet; and Bradley v. Milliken, regarding school desegregation. Cohn was a prolific writer of professional articles, as well as of opinion pieces and letters to the editor; his research materials and writings are included here. He was a frequent participant in and speaker at meetings for the legal profession and many other professional groups. His interest in legal education is evidenced from materials reflecting his participation in moot courts, new lawyer seminars and student forums at various law schools including the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Detroit College of Law. The collection includes Cohn's wide-ranging correspondence on the local, national and international level with lawyers and judges; politicians and government officials; journalists and publishers; business leaders; religious leaders; and academics. Active participation and leadership in the Jewish community is reflected in the papers. He served in numerous organizations, notably as president of the Jewish Welfare Federation, wrote extensively on Jewish historical subjects and was awarded some of the highest honors for service to the community. Materials relevant to Cohn's research into family history and genealogy, including correspondence with relatives in France and Israel are included here. Scrapbooks included in this collection were collected and arranged by Judge Cohn and
his staff. They provide an overview of his public life from the 1960s through approximately 2014.

Charles Cheng Papers

dgolodner — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 11:36:18 -0500

Charles Cheng was an activist for education and the civil rights movement whose life was cut short when he died on May 25, 1979 when American Airlines flight 191 crashed after takeoff from O’Hare Airport. He was 42 years old.

He was born on February 23, 1937 raised on the east side of Detroit. After graduating from Eastern Michigan University, Cheng became a teacher in Pontiac, Michigan. He left teaching to become an organizer for the Michigan Federation of Teachers and soon became the assistant to the president of the Washington Teachers Union Local 6 in Washington DC.

Charles attended Antioch Graduate School of Education earning his masters degree in Education, then he attended Harvard Graduate School for Education to receive his Ed.D in 1975. While in Boston, Mr. Cheng was a research associate at the Center for Urban Studies at Harvard as well as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University Joint Center for Urban Studies. Mr. Cheng ended up at the University of California, Los Angeles as an assistant professor in the Department of Education where he became a leading authority on community participation in collective bargaining in public education.

Cheng wrote and spoke constantly about the idea that the community should be involved with the collective bargaining in public education. Cheng was very active as well with desegregation, starting in the 1960s when he attempted to desegregate the Pontiac, MI public schools, he was on a task force in Boston, consulted in Pasadena and was a citizen member for the Los Angeles Unified School District Desegregation Plan. Cheng’s interests also included racial justice, the teaching of the history of Asian-American and Native-Americans.

Kathleen Straus Papers

aorchard — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 15:28:10 -0500

Kathleen Straus is an activist for Michigan education and civil rights. She has been involved in the League of Women Voters, Keep Improving Detroit Schools (KIDS), PRO-Detroit, and the Michigan Association of School Boards. Additionally, Straus co-founded the Michigan Tax Information Council and she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000 for her work in civil rights and education.

Because of Straus’s participation in civil rights and education, this collection contains information on the movement for cross-border busing between Detroit and its surrounding cities, which was proposed by the City of Detroit. Governor Milliken blocked the desegregation plan and the case was then brought to the Supreme Court by the NAACP on behalf of the students affected by the distinct segregation of metropolitan Detroit schools. In1974, however, the Supreme Court ruled against desegregation busing in a 5-4 vote.

Additionally, this collection consists of information about Michigan’s tax proposals in the 1970s and 1980s and their potential effect on schools, as well as pamphlets, correspondence, and memos about the proposals. This collection also holds some information about the finances of Detroit Public Schools, land use, and community-based organizations involved in education activism. Finally, this collection contains meeting minutes, correspondence, newsletters, and memos related to the Michigan Women’s Studies Association.

Annetta Miller Papers

pneirink — Mon, 09 May 2022 14:41:17 -0400

Annetta Miller was a Registered Nurse, peace activist, and three-term member of the Michigan State Board of Education. Her experiences serving in the United States Army Nurse Corps during World War II drove her to join the peace movement during the Vietnam War. A Democrat representing Michigan's 18th congressional district, much of Miller's first two terms on the Board of Education dealt with desegregation of the Detroit Public Schools following the finding in Bradley v. Milliken by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan that the district was guilty of de jure segregation, Judge Stephen J. Roth's order that they desegregate via an inter-district busing plan, and subsequent decisions including the United State Supreme Court overturning Roth's decision in Milliken v. Bradley. Miller opposed the allocation of public funds to private and religious schools, and supported the separation of church and state in public education. The Annetta Miller Papers document the activities of the Board of Education during Miller's 24-year tenure through administrative documentation and supplementary resources on education, as well as Miller's involvement with the peace movement and other political organizing. Of particular interest are materials related to Bradley v. Milliken, desegregation, and busing plans; taxpayer financing of private education and reallocation to public schools; and Miller's son's participation in the 1965 Selective Service Office Sit-In in Ann Arbor.

Tom Mooney Papers

dgolodner — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 10:33:53 -0400

Tom Mooney was born September 12, 1954 in Albany, New York. Mooney attended Guardian Angel’s Catholic School and McNicholas High School in Cincinnati and then Antioch College from 1970-1973 focusing on political science and teaching. In high school, Mooney became involved in the United Farm Workers boycott committee in Cincinnati, becoming one of the lead volunteers. This exposed him to social justice and radical political ideas. At Antioch he set up a boycott office and surrounded himself in radical political thought, especially with Marxist-Leninist ideologies.
During the mid to late 1970s Mooney was involved in Marxist-Leninist organizations, especially with the New American Movement and the Organizing Committee for an Ideological Center. After the OCIC folded in 1981, Mooney aligned himself with the Democratic Party.
Mooney was hired as a full time teacher at Bloom Junior High in late 1974 early 1975. He immediately joined the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers Local 1520 (CFT) and was elected as building representative for the school. He was then transferred to Crest Hill Middle School. Mr. Mooney then was elected as the Area 6 coordinator in 1977-1978. Mooney was elected president of the CFT in 1979 at the age of 24.
As president of the CFT, he led the local into the national spotlight by bargaining education reform programs. Under his leadership the local negotiated the 2nd Peer Assistance and Evaluation Program in the country and the 1985 contract secured more control for teachers over grading and promotion standards. With the next round of bargaining in 1988 the CFT and board of education used a “win-win” style of negotiations in which they achieved unique career ladder system called Career in Teaching Program. In 1991 Mooney helped negotiate a new student discipline code that brought more order to the classroom, protecting teachers and students. Mooney became president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers in 2000.
Mooney began attending AFT conventions siding with the more radical fringes of the AFT political arena, which was the United Action Caucus but by 1981 joined the Progressive Caucus. In 1988, the AFT asked Tom to be apart of the a labor delegation to go to Chile to be an observer of the Plebiscite in which he reflected that it was “one of the most moving experiences of my life.” In 1990 he was elected to the AFT executive council and sat on the human and community relations committee. In 1998 he was asked to serve on the AFT executive committee and chair the AFT K-12 Program and Policy Council. He later resigned the position of chair over the stance that the AFT took on No Child Left Behind.
Tom Mooney died of a heart attack on December 3, 2006 at his apartment in Columbus, Ohio.

Bradley v Milliken Desegregation Collections

srafferty — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 12:50:19 -0500

This fall we have processed two new collections that add to the history of desegregation efforts in Detroit schools. These collections highlight the disparate perspectives represented in archives, where pieces of evidence can be assessed together to gain a deeper understanding of events in the past.

Attempts to desegregate Detroit Public Schools, particularly the court case Bradley v Milliken during the 1970s and 1980s, were very controversial endeavors. read more »

Judge Avern L. Cohn Papers open for research

aergas — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 10:23:20 -0400

The Reuther Library is pleased to announce the opening of the Avern L. Cohn Papers, now accessible to researchers and the public. The materials in this collection represent the scope of Judge Avern Cohn’s professional life and his wide-ranging interests and activities, from history to family matters and philanthropy to leisure travel. The papers include correspondence, opinions and orders, speeches and writings, scrapbooks, files on a large array of topics and some audio-visual materials. read more »

Records of Jewish Community Council Reveal Mid-Century Concerns and Actions on Social and Racial Justice

aergas — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 09:30:45 -0500

A lesser-known, and maybe surprising, source for historians and researchers looking at 20th-century race relations in Detroit are the Jewish Community Council Records, part of the Jewish Community Archives at the Reuther Library.

This large collection documents grassroots discussions and actions in Detroit’s Jewish community and the wider urban community particularly from the 1940s to the 1970s. read more »

Suburban District Cluster Proposal, Detroit News

mcourtney — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 10:46:10 -0500

Detroit News clipping from March of 1972 outlying the “cluster” proposal for 18 zones within the district, coupled with charts of the racial composition of the student bodies of the Detroit and suburban school districts comprising the corresponding zones.

(30721) Businesses, Downtown Detroit, 1966

eclemens — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 12:47:17 -0500

A view of the exterior of AAA Discount, located in downtown Detroit.

(37293) U.S. District Court Monitoring Commission assessment schematic

srafferty — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 11:40:43 -0500

A flowchart created by the U.S. District Court Monitoring Commission to determine the process of assessing Detroit schools delivery of court-ordered programs

(37295) U.S. District Court Monitoring Commission outline

srafferty — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 11:49:18 -0500

Judge DeMascio's notes written on a folder outlining the Monitoring Commission, including the people who would serve and in what capacity.

[Podcast] Punishing Promise: School Discipline in the Era of Desegregation

teller — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:24:05 -0400

Matt Kautz explains how his observations while teaching in Detroit and Chicago led him to study the rise of suspensions and other disciplinary tactics in urban districts during school desegregation, fueling the school-to-prison pipeline. read more »

[Podcast] Schools and the Rise of Mass Incarceration in a Post-Brown World

teller — Thu, 22 May 2025 08:35:39 -0400

Dr. Matt Kautz explores how evolving school disciplinary practices, changes in crime reporting, and political pressure in the decades following school desegregation led to the rise of student suspensions, expulsions, dropouts, and the school-to-prison pipeline in Detroit and other cities. read more »