Beyond Busing: Inside the Challenge to Urban Segregation

Discusses the landmark school and housing desegregation cases of the 1970s A wave of desegregation cases hit the federal courts in the 1970s, in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. In Beyond Busing, author Paul Dimond revisits four of the most important such cases, which he argued in Detroit, Dayton, Wilmington, and Columbus. Dimond’s penetrating analysis takes into account both the complex social and legal issues behind the litigation, and the enormous range of emotions that these cases elicited from the individuals and communities involved. Beyond Busing is a compelling insider’s account of the fight for educational desegregation, from one of its most dedicated and outspoken heroes. A new afterword explains the author’s controversial belief that the moment for litigating educational equality has passed, clearsightedly critiquing his own courtroom strategies and the courts’ responses, before closing with a compelling assessment of the economic and social changes that he feels have already moved us
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Originally published in 1985, Beyond Busing remains relevant for metropolitan areas today. It is a must-read for civil rights attorneys, as well as students and scholars of law, politics, and American history. The book will fascinate anyone interested in the legal battle for justice and equal opportunity.