Home / Full timeline / U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Roth orders a massive busing program to desegregate the city and suburban schools in the Detroit, Michigan, area. President Nixon disagrees with the order.
U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Roth orders a massive busing program to desegregate the city and suburban schools in the Detroit, Michigan, area. President Nixon disagrees with the order.
1972 (Jun 14)
U.S. District Court Judge, Stephen J. Roth ordered a massive busing program to desegregate the city and suburban schools in the Detroit, Michigan, area. It was the most extensive desegregation plan ever ordered by a federal court. Under the plan, 310,000 of 780,000 students in Detroit and fifty-three suburban school districts would be bused to achieve desegregation. The Detroit schools had, at the time, 290,000 students, 65 percent Black, while 29 of the 53 suburban districts had all-white enrollments and the rest were predominately white. On June 22, President Nixon voiced complete disagreement with the court's decision and reiterated his appeal for congressional action on a strong anti-busing law. The president called the Detroit order “perhaps the most flagrant example that we have of all the busing decisions, moving against all the principles that I, at least, believe should be applied in this area.” On July 21, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order delaying the implementation of judge Roth's order until it could hear the merits of the case on August 24, 1972.
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.