Book Talk & Meet the Author: The Containment

Name: Book Talk & Meet the Author: The Containment
Start: 2025-10-15T17:30:00-04:00
Location: 3142 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, MI, United States, Michigan 48912

Schedule

Wed, 15 Oct, 2025 at 05:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

3142 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, MI, United States, Michigan 48912 | Lansing, MI

University of Michigan Law Professor Michelle Adams will join us for a discussion of her critically acclaimed book, The Containment, moderated by Dr. Kristine Bowman (Professor of Education Policy, Michigan State University). In 1974, the Supreme Court issued a momentous decision: In the case of Milliken v. Bradley, the justices brought a halt to school desegregation across the North, and to the civil rights movement’s struggle for a truly equal education for all. How did this come about, and why? Adams tells the epic story of the struggle to integrate Detroit schools—and what happened when it collided with Nixon-appointed justices committed to a judicial counterrevolution. The book features compelling portraits of a city under stress and of key figures—including Detroit’s first Black mayor, Coleman Young, and Justices Marshall, Rehnquist, and Powell. The result is a legal and historical drama that exposes the roots of today’s backlash against affirmative action and other efforts to fulfill the country’s promise.