Their main finding was that America was heading toward two separate, unequal societies: one white, one black. One of the deepest inequalities was in education.
It’s a Sunday afternoon, and there’s a party of sorts going on at 12th Street and Clairmount on Detroit's west side.
Exactly 50 years ago, the police raid that sparked the city's massive, deadly riots started right here. Now there’s a newly-refurbished park on that corner and a marker designating it a state historic site.
The riots of July 1967 are not at the root of the problems that lead to Detroit’s decline. However, they do provide an exclamation point in the much larger story about the struggles the city has now faced for decades, including unemployment, poverty and decaying infrastructure.
For our series, "Summer of Rebellion," Morning Edition host Doug Tribou spoke with Wayne State University professor Robin Boyle about the legacy of that time period. Boyle has taught urban planning at Wayne State University for the past 25 years. He's also done extensive research on the Detroit and other Midwestern cities dealing with population declines.
