The small town of Saline, Michigan, is wrestling with how to deal with incidents of reported racism that have drawn national attention. In response, town leaders organized a diversity and inclusion march Wednesday.
The Detroit Free Press reported Jan. 27 that high school students were found using the n-word and gorilla emojis on Snapchat, according to local Director of Public Safety Matthew Harshberger.
"None of it was criminal in nature. It was definitely offensive and racial, as the schools have identified, but not criminal, so it did not fit the elements of ethnic intimidation or hate crime." —Matthew Harshberger
Credit: Nicole Hester
Credit: Nicole Hester
A diversity and inclusion meeting was held for parents Monday, which showed how deeply racial insensitivity is entrenched in the community.
According to USA Today and MLive's footage, Adrian Iraola, owner of a local taqueria chain, stood up to recount times his now-adult son was called "taco" and "enchilada" at school. These slurs would leave his son in tears.
Tom Burtell, a white parent, interrupted him to respond, “Then why didn’t you stay in Mexico?”
Another local business owner, Ron Schofield of Salt Springs Brewery, spoke to the media to share his disappointment.
"To say, 'shocking,' I don't know if that's appropriate. It's disturbing that people are this comfortable being this open about their feelings that are just racist. That's the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around." — Ron Schofield
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Saline is only 4 square miles and has a population of 9,160, according to Data USA. 90% of its residents are white.
One African American man shared that he was wary he might run into racism in the small town after moving there from Detroit.
"Everybody is so sweet, so nice, that it's like a horror movie on the down-low," he said, comparing the situation to the film "Get Out," where the characters seemed nice at the beginning.
Despite Saline’s small size, members of the community rallied together to allow space for support, hatred, fear and worries they felt in the community.
On Wednesday, about 250 citizens braved 30-degree temperatures and attended a march on the main strip of Saline to draw attention to diversity and inclusion.
One sign read, "Racism Not Welcome" according to The New York Times.
“I am Saline, get used to it,” read another.
Saline Mayor Brian Marl spoke at the rally, reminding protesters that racism will not be tolerated in their town.
“You represent the majority of Saline, and I want you to know that,” he said.
Students of Saline High School also reported a positive experience at the rally, according to The New York Times, and potential for change in their community.
"[Students of color] just want to see a lot of change happen. I think it's definitely going to happen now that there's this much attention to it." — senior JJ Ohren-Hoeft
Saline Schools Superintendent Scot Graden has reportedly taken measures such as training teachers on social justice, developing a culturally inclusive curriculum and establishing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for the school district.
Residents of Saline haven’t given up their small-town American dream yet.
At Monday’s conference, Iraola responded to Burtell’s comment after gasps of the other attendees died down.
"He asked me a question. He asked me a question, 'Why didn't I stay in Mexico?' Because this is the greatest country in the world," responded Iraola.
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