New Grand Rapids podcast sheds light on the history of the Grand Rapids Public Schools

A new podcast called, GRPS Uncovered, takes a critical look at the history of the Grand Rapids Public Schools, through interviews with people who went to school in this district. 

GRPS Uncovered is a project started by Professor Leanne Kang, who currently teaches at GVSU and is the author of the book, Dismantled: The Breakup of an Urban School System: Detroit, 1980–2016.

So far, GRPS Uncovered has produced three episodes, which you can listen to at this link. All three episodes shed light on important history in the Grand Rapids Public Schools, but I was particularly drawn in by episode 2, which is an interview with a former Black student who attended South High and was part of the bus program, where he was bused to Union High School, which was completely opposed to Black students attending the then all white student body. 

These oral histories are critical not only for our understanding of this history, but because they provide insight into the lived history of people, many of which we are not familiar with. 

We encourage you to listen and share these podcasts and use them as teaching tools for learning local history and as a resource to potentially impact current policies at the GRPS.