Hope and Despair in the American City: Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh - Paperbackby Gerald Grant (Author) In 1972, the U. S. Supreme Court handed down a 5 4 verdict in Milliken v. Bradley, thereby blocking the state of Michigan from merging the Detroit public school system with those of the surrounding suburbs. This decision effectively walled off underprivileged students in many American cities, condemning them to a system of racial and class segregation and destroying their chances of obtaining a decent education. In Hope and