Parent at Michigan high school diversity meeting: ‘Why didn’t you stay in Mexico?’

DETROIT – A parent meeting on diversity and inclusion took a racist turn Monday, with a white parent telling a Latino parent ‘Why didn’t you stay in Mexico?’

The meeting came in the wake of a recent racist incident involving students at Saline High School in Michigan. 

A video of the Feb. 3 meeting showed parent Adrian Iraola sharing a story about racism his son faced and the impact it had on their family.

Iraola, owner of Chela’s Restaurant and Taqueria in Ann Arbor, said his son was being called “taco,” “enchilada” and “nacho” at school. 

“I remember when I went to his bedroom to say good night and he was crying because of the abuse that he was enduring in this school system,” Iraola said. 

That’s when another parent, who identified himself as Tom Burtell, according to WDIV-TV, interjected with a comment that turned heads. 

“Then why didn’t you stay in Mexico?” Burtell asked Iraola. 

In the video, Burtell looked genuinely shocked that his comment caused an uproar. 

The meeting erupted with community members telling Burtell, “You need to leave!”

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The meeting stemmed from an incident last week in which Saline High School students posted racist comments “using derogatory terms about African Americans” on a social media group chat.

It involved white football players inviting their black teammates to a Snapchat group called “Racist” featuring two gorilla emojis and calling them the N-word. 

Saline Area Schools said it became aware of the “offensive and inappropriate racist comments” and was taking action.

Burtell’s comment is “indicative of what these kids are experiencing,” said parent Brian Wright, whose son was directly impacted by the racist group chat. 

Thank you to everyone who joined and contributed to our #CommunityConversation today. #SASCompasspic.twitter.com/6o1nQFAemH

Iraola responded to Burtell saying that America is the greatest country in the world. 

“Well, you’re complaining about being here!” Burtell shouted over the cheering crowd.

Burtell also commented about the group chat.

“It was done off-campus so why does it even concern the school system?” Burtell questioned. “You know, everybody has a right to free speech.”

“You think that … whites are the oppressors,” Burtell argued. “Here’s the evidence. You’ve got black racism all the time … try to be white and walk in a black neighborhood and see what happens.”

Saline Superintendent Scot Graden had already denounced the incident in a letter stating it was “an act of racism that created harm to all of our students, especially students of color.”

Graden couldn’t be immediately reached for a comment regarding the comments made at the diversity meeting. 

Follow reporter Bisma Parvez on Twitter @bismapar

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