Clarke Spring Speaker Series: Dr. Joyce Baugh on the Detroit School Busing Case

On Thursday, February 4th, the Clarke will welcome Dr. Joyce Baugh, CMU professor of political science and author of The Detroit School Busing Case: Milliken v. Bradley and the Controversy over Desegregation (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2011). Dr. Baugh is the first guest of the Spring 2016 Clarke Speaker Series.

​​In the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, racial equality in American public education appeared to have a bright future. But, for many, that brightness dimmed considerably following the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Milliken v. Bradley (1974). While the literature on Brown is voluminous, Joyce Baugh's measured and insightful study offers the only available book-length analysis of Milliken, the first major cross-district desegregation case to originate outside the South.

As Baugh chronicles, when the city of Detroit sought to address school segregation by busing white students to black schools, a Michigan statute signed by Gov. William Milliken overruled the plan. In response, the NAACP sued the state on behalf of Ronald Bradley and other affected parents. The federal district court sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the city and state to devise a "metropolitan" plan that crossed city lines into the suburbs and encompassed a total of fifty-four school districts. The state, however, appealed that decision all the way to the Supreme Court.

In its controversial 5-4 decision, the Court's new conservative majority ruled that, since there was no evidence that the suburban school districts had deliberately engaged in a policy of segregation, the lower court's remedy was "wholly impermissible" and not justified by Brown, which the Court said could only address de jure, not de facto segregation. While the Court's majority expressed concern that the district court's remedy threatened the sanctity of local control over schools, the minority contended that the decision would allow residential segregation to be used as a valid excuse for school segregation.

To reconstruct the proceedings and give all claims a fair hearing, Baugh interviewed lawyers representing both sides in the case, as well as the federal district judge who eventually closed the litigation; plumbed the papers of Justices Blackmun, Brennan, Douglas, and Marshall; talked with the main reporter who covered the case; and researched the NAACP files on Milliken. What emerges is a detailed account of how and why Milliken came about, as well as its impact on the Court's school-desegregation jurisprudence and on public education in American cities.

Dr. Baugh's talk begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Park Library Auditorium and a reception will follow in the Clarke. This event is free and open to the public. For more information about other events in the Clarke Speaker Series this spring, head over to the Clarke's Event Page.

Kids and Culture

By Victoria Fisher

Radio station CFX’s “Kids and Culture” event, which introduces kids to cultural venues around Mount Pleasant, kicked off on Saturday, January 16, with CMU Libraries and the University Art Gallery. The first in a series of events that will take place at various locations throughout the year, “Kids and Culture” featured numerous activities for all ages. The University Art Gallery posed the question of how we can take better care of our planet and allowed for the kids to respond through art.

In Park Library’s Baber Room, paper and pictures were available for kids to make books. From old calendars and bits of ribbon, kids creatively pieced together a unique story that was all their own, giving them the chance to express their own stories and ideas. McDonald's provided delicious refreshments.

The Clarke Historical Library brought out books from their children’s collection for a fun and interactive storytelling with Clarke student assistant Victoria Fisher. Throughout the storytelling, kids were asked to make predictions, reflect, and share some of their own experiences. Books ranged in topic from the legend of the dreamcatcher, to imaginary friends, to a book titled "Stanley Goes Fishing" by Craig Frazier – tying in with the Clarke’s current exhibit, The Michigan Angler.

Whether participants took advantage of every location or just one, it was a Saturday morning enjoyed by all.

 

Victoria displaying "Stanley Goes Fishing"

“Burial of an Infant in Florida”

Burial of an Infant in Florida

by Lt. George Patten

I lay thee here my sinless one
I put thee down to rest
But not upon thine eider bed
Nor on thy mother’s breast

Within this little grave they’ve scooped
Far in the forest wild
I lay thee here my precious one
I leave thee here my child

These lines are taken from a poem written in 1840 during the second Seminole War. They refer to the infant son of Captain Joseph Rowe Smith and his wife Juliette. Smith commanded Company B of the 2nd U.S. Infantry. Juliette accompanied her husband on one campaign in the war. During that campaign their child died, but they could not bury him in a marked grave for fear it would be discovered and desecrated. The complete poem appears in John K. Mahon’s well researched article based on Captain Smith’s diary and letters. See John K. Mahon, “Letters from the Second Seminole War,” The Florida Historical Quarterly 36 (April 1958): 331-52.


Captain Joseph Rowe Smith graduated from West Point in 1823. He fought in both the Seminole War and the Mexican War and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. During the Civil War he served as the military commander of Detroit. He and Juliette made their home in Monroe, Michigan, where Smith died in 1868. The University of Florida holds the diary Smith kept during the Seminole War. The Clarke Historical Library holds the Joseph Rowe Smith Family Papers. Recently the Clarke purchased at auction the portrait of Smith displayed above.


John Fierst

January 6, 2016

CMU's A Cappella Tradition

by Colton Hengesbach

One tradition loved by many in the Central community during the Winter holiday season is listening to musical performances from members of the CMU student body, faculty, and staff. For over 80 years, Central Michigan University has had its auditoriums, walkways, and gathering areas blessed with music. This music, however, wasn’t created by any musical instrument as you might think of one; it was created entirely by voices. A Cappella groups have been a prominent part of CMU’s musical history ever since the first group was formed by Professor J. Harold Powers -- sound familiar? After a stint as the Keeler Union, the building known as Powers Hall today, was the  Music Building, a building where J. H. Powers taught and for which he is now the namesake.

The first A Cappella group on campus was primarily formed by Choir students and Glee Club members. This talented group of 16 men and 20 women mostly performed at assemblies that the entire University community attended. Little did this group know that they would be the founders of an entirely new way of performing and producing music on Central Michigan University’s campus.

Image from December 1933 Centralight

Today, there are three A Cappella groups on campus. First off, there is the all-male group, Fish ‘N Chips. Secondly, there is an all-female group named On the Rox. Last, but certainly not least, the only co-ed group at CMU, Central Harmony. Each group has their own style of music, which is typical among A Cappella groups. Similar to today, the first A Cappella group on campus also had their own style and feel to the songs they performed. This group pulled from many classical composers and used a number of different dancing styles to accompany their arrangements. For a more detailed list of this groups members and a set list, check out the December 1933 Centralight (p.8).

Things sure have changed over the years in terms of the variety of music and the way A Cappella groups entertain crowds. New songs make for a new way to create this music and new ideas shape how this music can come alive. One thing among all A Cappella groups that will never change, though, is the love of music

Christmas in the Clarke's Archives

By Marian Matyn

Christmas is recorded in 25 manuscripts collections in the Clarke. Many of the collections include various examples of Christmas cards, some of which are in scrapbooks. We also have a Display Items collection composed of cards for special occasions, which includes Christmas cards. Here are a few examples from our manuscript collections:

Harley Whelpley, 1 folder, mentions receiving Christmas packages. He served as a private in Company C, 167th Engineers Construction Battalion during WWII.

Rotary Club slides, 1958-1962, include colored slides documenting family and group activities including Christmas celebrations.

Kendall Klumpp, Photograph collection includes black and white photos of Mt. Pleasant High School choral events, one is identified as Christmas Vespers Chorus, 1941.

Greeting card scrapbook, 1800s, includes mostly 19th c. Christmas and New Year's cards.

Tourism Club (Mt. Pleasant, MI) Organizational records include Christmas Books, 1931-1941 and 1961-1971. The Christmas Books document needy, local families that the Club helped at Christmas time. The 1931-1941 book also notes gifts given in 1929. The books include the names, ages, and addresses of family members, gifts given (food, clothes, toys, and/or household supplies), medical, marital, and employment or income information, if any, and what, if any, government or other assistance was received. Due to the private personal, medical, and financial information about the families in the books, and the fact that some of the people listed in the 1971 Christmas Book were infants at that time, the books are closed to researchers until 2040.

Camp North Woods (Pellston, MI) Camp Snooze, Vol. 5, 1928.

Also included are party and dinner favors, a few newspaper clippings documenting the girls attending summer camp from June 28-Aug. 20, 1928, and a Dec. 28 Christmas gathering, and related letters, invitations, and telegrams, Nov.-Dec. 28, 1928. Most of the materials are mimeographed.

Owen P. Safford, Glass-plate negatives, 1890, 1897. Box 1 contains the calendar pages of 1897 as well as a wonderful Christmas scene of a decorated table-top tree complete with candles on the branches and surrounded by children. Safford was a druggist and photographer in Flint.

The Ardith and Charles Westie collection, which is still growing, includes Christmas cards including some from the 1940s. Here's one to warm your heart.