Anyone driving between Detroit and Grosse Pointe will be struck by the stark change that happens when you cross the border at Alter Road.
A report from a New Jersey non-profit group has declared that the economic divide between Detroit schools and Grosse Pointe schools is the worst in the nation.
The report from the group EdBuild says nearly half the households in Detroit's school district live in poverty. In Grosse Pointe, that number is 6.5%.
It also found that 82% of Detroit's public school students are African-American. In Grosse Pointe schools, it's 16%.
EdBuild's report says the sharp economic divide dates back to the United States Supreme Court's 1974 ruling in Milliken v. Bradley. The ruling ended bussing between school districts to achieve racial integration.
And the report asks a question: Why does there have to be that boundary between schools in Detroit and schools in Grosse Pointe?
Greg Bowens is the former press secretary for then-Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer.
Bowens founded the Grosse Pointe-Harper Woods NAACP branch. He lives in Grosse Pointe, and his youngest daughter recently graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School. He joined us today to talk about the EdBuild findings.
GUEST Greg Bowens is the former press secretary for former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer.
