  Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 847 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 69.246.13.131 |
I have complied a timeline for the Detroit Metro Area, It is interesting to follow the course of events that have lead to the current climate. The primary source is the Detroit News Busing timeline; other events have been included as I though of them. Comments are not necessarily my own, it was mostly a cut and paste. I have no political or social agenda to promote. It is purly a historical perspective. Please post additional events that have affected our area as this list is in no way complete. 1960s Detroit city, MI......... 1,670,144 5th largest city Sept. ’61: In Detroit, U.S. District Judge John Feikens dismisses a suit brought against the Highland Park school board by a group of parents and a neighborhood improvement association. The dispute involved charges of racial segregation in the assignment of pupils to Thomson Elementary School. Oct. ’62: James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Riots at the campus leave two people dead. June ’63 Martin Luther King delivers speech in Detroit. “I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live.” Aug. ’63: March on Washington draws more than 200,000 demonstrators in support of civil rights legislation. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech. July ’64: President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act outlawing segregation in public schools, restaurants and other public facilities. 1965: Westland Mall opens; unlike Northland and Eastland, shopping center is enclosed July ’67 Riots break out in Detroit at 12th and Claremont. 43 dead and the 101 Airborne called in. 1968: City's income tax doubles to 2 percent for Detroiters. April 4, 1968 Dr. King is assassinated as he stands talking on the balcony of his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He dies in St. Joseph’s Hospital from a gunshot wound in the neck. July ’68 Mini Riot in Detroit. Begins at Cass Tech Oct, ’68 Detroit Tigers win the World Series Early ’69: Black attorney Elbert L. Hatchett, then president of the Oakland County NAACP, files suit in federal court, complaining that Pontiac schools are deliberately segregated. Schools are either 90 percent white or 90 percent black. 1970s Detroit city, MI......... 1,511,482 5th Largest City In 1971, Irene McCabe spearheaded the National Action Group, which sought to block busing-based desegregation. Feb. ’70: U.S. District Judge Damon J. Keith finds Pontiac has violated the 14th Amendment by segregating its public schools. Judge Keith rules that Pontiac schools were intentionally segregated, and orders the district to bus pupils to achieve integration. School officials appeal and succeed in delaying the busing order. April, ’70: The Detroit school board adopts a desegregation plan altering attendance boundaries of 12 high schools. Aug., ’70: The NAACP files suit challenging the constitutionality of a state law overturning the Detroit desegregation plan. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Stephen Roth. The suit, Bradley v. Milliken, encompasses the question of whether Detroit schools intentionally segregated students. 1971; S.T.R.E.S.S Stop the Robberies Enjoy Safe Streets unit formed by the Detroit Police Department 1971: Catholic Archdiocese closes 62 schools. April ’71: The U.S. Supreme Court authorizes the use of busing to desegregate public schools in North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district. May, ’71: The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Keith's decision. The Pontiac board votes to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but agrees to implement a busing plan in the meantime. Opponents continue efforts to block busing by petitioning Congress to pass a law banning busing for racial balance. The movement is spearheaded by a local homeowners' group called the National Action Group (NAG), led by housewife Irene McCabe. McCabe insists that she and her followers aren't anti-integration — only against busing to achieve it. July ’71: The Citizen's Committee for Better Education files a motion with Judge Roth to include as defendants in the integration case 85 school districts in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. The group contends Detroit schools cannot be racially integrated unless whites from outside the district are included. Aug. ’71: After Judge Keith orders Pontiac to desegregate, a group of Ku Klux Klansmen blows up the buses that Pontiac needs to integrate the schools. Sept. ’71: Judge Roth rules that Detroit schools are segregated because of the “actions and inactions” of local and state officials contrary to the U.S. Constitution and schedules a conference to discuss remedies. Oct. ’71: Judge Roth orders the state to prepare a desegregation plan that could include some or all of the 86 school districts in the Metro Detroit area. He also directs the Detroit school board to prepare integration plans for Detroit schools. 1972: Kmart Corp. moves headquarters from Detroit to Troy 1972 L.Brooks Patterson elected Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney, 1972-88 1972: Jeffries Freeway, Interstate-96, opens. Nov ’73 : Coleman A. Young elected Mayor of Detroit June ’74: A federal judge orders school busing in Boston. The decision, aimed at achieving racial balance in the city’s public schools, triggers rioting. July ’74: In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reverses Judge Roth. The ruling put an end nationally to attempts to integrate urban schools with suburban children. The court did order Detroit's schools desegregated — an order that many believe sent the city's 1975: The Pontiac Silverdome opens, and hosts the Detroit Lions and Pistons as well as rock concerts, religious rallies and tractor pulls. Nov. ’75: U.S. District Judge Robert DeMascio rules city must begin integration. He angers the NAACP by ordering a "modest" desegregation plan involving the busing of 13,200 black students and 8,800 white students and reassigning 8,000 students based on boundary changes. Jan. ’76: 22,000 children board buses and the desegregation of the Detroit schools begins. 1976 Oakland County Child Killer rampage begins. June ’78: The Supreme Court declares that colleges can use race as a factor in admissions but bars the use of quotas. 1980s Detroit city, MI......... 1,203,339 6th largest city Aug. ’81: Congress, at the urging of President Reagan's administration, repeals the federal law that funded school desegregation efforts. 1981: Detroit schools prepare to expand busing for further racial integration; 1981: Ferndale schools begins busing. 1981 Wayne County Board of Commissioners orders Sheriff William Lucas to close the Wayne County Road Patrol Section. 1982 William Lucas elected first Wayne County Executive. Board of Commissioners disbanded 1983: Hudson's closes its flagship store, ending 102 years downtown. 1984: Tigers win World Series in Detroit 1988: The federal district court relinquishes oversight of city schools desegregation. 1988: L. Brooks Patterson Elected Oakland County Executive 1988: The Palace of Auburn Hills opens as the new home of the Pistons. 1989: Walter Reuther Freeway, I-696, becomes major east-west corridor. 1989: 27 Catholic churches close in Detroit, the largest mass closing of Catholic churches in U.S. history. 1989 Detroit Pistons win the NBA Championship 1990s Detroit city, MI......... 1,027,974 7th Largest City 1990 Detroit Pistons win the NBA Championship Back to Back 1991: Chrysler Corp. headquarters moves from Highland Park to Auburn Hills 1992: Governor's commission calls lack of coordinated planning a major environmental threat. Nov, 1992 Black motorist Malice Green was pulled over for a traffic stop on November 5, 1992. Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn were charged with murder and convicted. 1993: Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer takes office, promising downtown redevelopment and an era of cooperation with suburbs. 1993 810 area code is implemented, breaking away Oakland and Macomb counties from 313 1994: Republican caucus in state House draws up 21-point plan for improving planning and growth management. Eight years later, little has been implemented. 1994: Detroit voters pass $1.5 billion to repair deteriorating schools. It is the largest bond issue in state history. 1996: Compuware announces plans to move world headquarters from Farmington Hills to downtown Detroit. 1996: Michigan raises gas tax to pay for crumbling roads and freeways. 1997 248 Area Code is implemented for Oakland County 1997 Red Wings bring home the Stanly Cup 1998 Red Wings win back to back Stanley Cup 1999: Casinos open in Detroit, drawing some suburbanites back downtown for the first time in a generation. June ’95: The Supreme Court says Missouri may stop making improvements to schools in the heavily black Kansas City school system to attract white students from suburbs. Ruling signaled high court's willingness to end desegregation programs. 2000s Detroit population: 950,000 2001: 30-year fixed mortgage rates fall under 6.5%, the lowest rates in 30 years. 2001: African-American Brenda Lawrence is elected mayor of Southfield, signaling suburbanization of black political power. 2001: Planning reform stalls in Michigan Legislature. 2002 Red Wings win Stanley Cup 2002: Formerly rural South Lyon, Brighton and Howell are combined in a new federally designated urban area. June ’03: The Supreme Court, in a University of Michigan case, rules that colleges can favor minorities in admissions. 2004 Detroit Pistons win the NBA Championship. Sources: Gannett News Service; Cornell University, U.S. Census Bureau, Harvard Civil Rights Project; NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Lewis Mumford Center at the State University of New York at Albany; Detroit News research by Zena Simmons and Vivian Baulch. http://detnews.com/2004/specia lreport/0405/17/a13-153991.htm http://www.buildingsrus.co.uk/ detroit/population_change/popu lation_change.html http://politicalgraveyard.com/ bio/patterson.html#S0S04CBKM http://www.celebritymorgue.com /malice-green/ http://www.nba.com/history/awa rds_finalschampsmvp.html http://www.detroitredwings.com /history/stanleyCups.jsp http://www.quotationspage.com/ quotes/Martin_Luther_King_Jr. (Message edited by Psip on January 15, 2006) (Message edited by Psip on January 15, 2006) | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 666 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.79.116.168 |
Good timeline Psip, it really puts everything in order folks like me who weren't around for the entire history. Thanks for the effort. | ||
Erikto Member Username: Erikto Post Number: 302 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 64.228.108.91 |
If anyone who receives the same channels as us southern Ontarians is reading this, right now, at 1 a.m. EST, check out PBS. The guy's name escapes me (Tony Brown?) but he hosts a show every Sunday on PBS discussing mostly black community issues. Tonight he's discussing his invlovement with MLK and the march down Woodward in '63 which he says was attended by up to half a million people before the Cobo Hall speech. Check it out if you can... | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 3644 Registered: 02-2004 Posted From: 207.74.111.43 |
And here's the future: From the ghettoman: 2010s Detroit population: 795,010, 14th largest city. 2011: White and ethnic population is beginning to fill up all of the Cass Corridor. 2014: Belinda Throckmorton is elected first black woman of Detroit defeating Kwame Kilpatrick. 2015: Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was shot and killed while giving a speech at Detroit Bar Association. 2018: The Michigan State Legislature is delaring Detroit to be under suburban recievership. 10 selected suburban cities will be able to control 10 Detroit city planning sectors. 2019: The Hispanic Community has now occupied most of the west side areas with new shops and housing, The Arab community has expanded their communities futher west filling all of Dearborn Hieghts, Garden City, Westland, parts of the south end of Livonia, and parts of Canton Twp. Most of them are occupying NW side of Detroit all the way up to Fenkell Rd. 2019: The Detroit Black population has now dwindled to 498,000 people. Black flight to the suburbs and other parts of the U.S. has acclerated. 2019: Toyota, Hundai and Mitsubishi (Japanese) and Chinese Automakers Geely, and Ho Sung. had established their World HQ's in Downtown Detroit. Bringing in over 90,000 jobs. GM and Ford filed for Chapter 13 bankrutcy. |
