ABSTRACT
In 1999 the Governor ofMichigan and the legislature replaced a democratically elected local school board in the City of Detroit with an appointed “reform board.’’ In 2002 the AERACommissionOnResearch in Black Education (CORIBE) organized a 3-hour conversation among a diverse group of educators, school administrators, and parent leaders in Detroit. The meeting was convened by CORIBE Chair Joyce E. King andAdministrator Sharon Parker in collaboration with three local leaders: Grace Lee Boggs, Detroit community activist, educator, and writer; Glenda Price, President of Marygrove College and a member of the “reform board;’’ and Alma Harrington Young,2 Dean of the School of Metropolitan, Labor and Urban Affairs at Wayne State University. Dean Alma Young hosted the meeting on her campus. The three Detroit area co-conveners selected the eight 1 Dr. King, who served as CORIBE Chair, and Ms. Parker, who was the CORIBE Project Administrator, organized theDetroit Conversation on behalf of CORIBE.Ms. Parker served as the facilitator for the conversation. The Detroit Conversation was recorded and the discussion later transcribed. King and Parker reviewed and edited the transcript for use as an organizing tool by other educators, parents, and community leaders. This chapter comprises excerpts from the transcript. All participants are identified in the text.
