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The New Black Migration: The Suburbs or Bust

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Steven Snead, via a kind reader

Recall now the biblical phrase, “from whence comes my help?” It mentions looking up to the hills and Detroiters are doing just that.
They are looking to the Hills of Bloomfield, Auburn Hills, and Rochester Hills. They are looking to the rich green lawns of Troy, Sterling Heights, Farmington, and Gross Pointe. And yes, they are looking to their excellent schools too.
I have no doubt that this mother’s prayers have been duplicated by thousands of Detroit parents. The results of the 2010 census will no doubt show that minority populations have increased in suburban cities and overall population in Detroit will yet again hit an all time low. So while they desperately scramble to enroll their children in charter schools and suburban schools of choice, parents still have their compass set due north. Way north.
This is the New Black Migration. And if school leaders cannot devise a way to make the city schools a viable option for parents who want the best for their children, it will be a migration whose tide will know no end.

Clusty Search: Steven Snead.
Related: Madison Preparatory Academy.

One thought on “The New Black Migration: The Suburbs or Bust”

  1. So true, and so familiar. We witnessed firsthand the incredible disparity in Michigan across neighboring schools districts (in curriculum, quality of teachers, and performance). It is one of several reasons we moved. The disparities in that system make Wisconsin’s school funding appear fair and square. No wonder people have fled Detroit and cut its population by more than half. Unfortunately, the surrounding districts that do not have a MEDIAN income of $110,000 per household (!) are struggling almost as much. Hard to solve, and if it could be solved easily, it might be transferrable to Milwaukee, and at some point, Madison. Is a school in Madison only for African-American boys a solution? I doubt it, though I can’t say for sure. They have not managed to arrest the decline in Detroit. And what about black girls, Hispanic or white boys AND girls, and so on? Don’t they also deserve a school that supports them and encourages them to grow from where they are, no matter where they are now?

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