I think one of the ways we institutionalize disparities in education, though, is by insisting that municipalities must fund the bulk of school costs. It may or may not be intentional, but the effect is often to cement poor education in communities that are largely black.

Yes, Detroit schools suffered terribly from a declining tax base caused by white and middle-class Black flight, but why should the Black children of Detroit have dysfunctional schools? Why should we be so firmly married to the idea of local school funding?

It’s like gerrymandering in a way. Royal Oak and Ferndale (which abut Detroit and merge seamlessly with it) have awesome schools, but only because they have artificial political boundaries that enclose small communities of white people. If the schools were funded regionally or on a statewide basis, then there would be plenty of money to go around to fund Detroit schools. That’s what I mean by systemic, institutional racism.