On January 27, 2016, during a school demonstration, a confrontation between police and protesters led to an arrest of two students and a teacher. Detroit Free Press Education Writer, Ann Zaniewski covered the students’ efforts to protest the poor learning environment in Detroit Public Schools.

Approximately 50 students walked out of East English Village Preparatory Academy. Joining the students were members of the civil rights organization By Any Means Necessary (BAMN). The East English Village teacher arrested was Nicole Conaway, along with two BAMN organizers: David Douglass and Justin Cheog for either resisting arrest or disorderly conduct. BAMN’s chairwoman, Shanta Driver alleges that law enforcement was acting “aggressively and inappropriately.” BAMN organized the walk-out to attempt to protest the poor building conditions, crowded classrooms, and concerns over emergency management.

BAMN has had a history of activism with regard to the issue of access to public education. In April 2014, Washington D.C., a march including high school and college students from California, Michigan, and Washington D.C, had walked from the Lincoln Memorial to the Supreme Court. BAMN arranged this march to showcase the outcry and demand for change to promote equal access within the educational system for minority students. Donna Stern, BAMN’s national coordinator said, “We see the affirmative action issue as very linked to immigrants’ rights,” she continued “With the immigrant reform bill pending and deferred action programs, if you don’t also have affirmative action it’s like opening a door to immigrants with one hand and slamming it shut with the other.” Ben Freed, Ann Arbor news business and general assignments reporter covered the importance of this march by BAMN organizers and other protesters. Michigan students, prior to the march, hoped that this student demonstration would convince the court to rule against Proposal 2, a state law to ban affirmative action in admission policies at the state’s public colleges.

Immediately after being approved by Michigan voters, Proposal 2 was challenged by The American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and other organizations that considered the ban to be unfair and unconstitutional toward minority students in the admissions system. In 2006, the Michigan ballot initiative, Proposal 2 was passed, but overturned in federal court in 2012. In 2013, the 6th Court of Appeals declared Proposal 2 unconstitutional. In 2014, the case to uphold Proposal 2 was brought before the Supreme Court on behalf of the citizens of Michigan by Attorney General Bill Schuette.

In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts stated, “the way to stop racial discrimination is to stop discriminating based on race.” Scott Neuman of National Public Radio reported that Justice Anthony Kennedy, one of the justices who drafted the decision, announced that the case was not about “constitutionality or merits of the race-conscious admissions policies of colleges and universities, but whether voters in the state may choose to prohibit consideration of such preferences.” Kennedy continued, “the decision made by Michigan voters reflect the ongoing national dialogue about such practices.”

This year’s protests of poor and unequal conditions in the over 46,000-student Detroit Public School district brings attention to ongoing racial inequality in the public education system and the failure to provide the predominantly African American students who attend the city’s public schools an equal education.

While the protests may have contributed to the resignation of Darnell Earley, DPS emergency financial manager, on February 2, DPS may run out of funds to continue to operate as soon as next month. Earley was appointed by Gov. Snyder in January 2015.

As reported by Gus Burns of MLive, retired judge, Steven Rhodes, who helped oversee Detroit’s bankruptcy, has assumed leadership of DPS. Rhodes appointed current interim superintendent, Alycia Meriweather. In his article, Burns goes on to explain that two bills backed by Gov. Snyder are in the state legislature. One would fund DPS through the end of the school year. The other is to address the over $550 million debt that DPS has accrued. Almost $500 million is secured debt, meaning the state is legally bound to pay it. According to Burns, Rhodes clarified that DPS is not seeking bankruptcy, "[Seeking bankruptcy is] not the case, adding that only about 10 percent of the district's debt -- $50 million -- is the sort that can be addressed in a bankruptcy."

Detroit Free Press's Ann Zaniewski's reports that three DPS unions have criticized Lansing's inaction: “'If Detroit Public Schools runs out of money on April 8, the stark reality is that Detroit’s students won’t have schools to attend, many students won’t receive breakfast or lunch, and educators and school staff won’t get paid. These are the real consequences of Lansing inaction,' said the statement from Detroit Federation of Teachers Interim President Ivy Bailey, Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees President Ruby Newbold and Detroit Federation of Paraprofessionals President Donna Jackson."

For their part, BAMN will continue to demonstrate. BAMN not only fights for civil rights, but other causes such as protecting students from rape and sexual assaults on college campuses. BAMN continues to be a student-led socio-political movement in the spirit of Malcolm X to seek equality by any means necessary.