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In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 5â4 verdict in Milliken v. Bradley, thereby blocking the state of Michigan from merging the Detroit public school system with those of the surrounding suburbs. This decision effectively walled off underprivileged students in many American cities, condemning them to a system of racial and class segregation and destroying their chances of obtaining a decent education.In Hope and Despair in the American City, Gerald Grant compares two citiesâhis hometown of Syracuse, New York, and Raleigh, North Carolinaâin order to examine the consequences of the nationâs ongoing educational inequities. The school system in Syracuse is a slough of despair, the one in Raleigh a beacon of hope. Grant argues that the chief reason for Raleighâs educational success is the integration by social class that occurred when the city voluntarily merged with the surrounding suburbs in 1976 to create the Wake County Public School System. By contrast, the primary cause of Syracuseâs decline has been the growing class and racial segregation of its metropolitan schools, which has left the city mired in poverty.Hope and Despair in the American City is a compelling study of urban social policy that combines field research and historical narrative in lucid and engaging prose. The result is an ambitious portraitâsometimes disturbing, often inspiringâof two cities that exemplify our nationâs greatest educational challenges, as well as a passionate exploration of the potential for school reform that exists for our urban schools today. |
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