A Sign of the Times: Father Tells School Meeting About Racist Bullying Son Faced, Asked Why He Didn’t ‘Stay in Mexico’

Video courtesy of Fox 2 Detroit

A racist comment at a local school meeting has gone viral.  Newsweek reports that a Michigan father who tried to speak out about the racist bullying his son had endured in school was reportedly asked why his family didn’t just “stay in Mexico” during a meeting earlier this week.  Ironically enough, the meeting was called to address racism in the school district.

Recounting his son’s suffering during his time within the Saline Area Schools district just outside Ann Arbor, Adrian Iraola, who owns a restaurant serving Mexican cuisine in the area, told fellow parents and educational workers of how his son used to cry himself to sleep at night over the bullying he faced.

“I remember when I went to his bedroom to say goodnight and he was crying because of the abuse he was enduring in this school system,” Iraola can be seen telling the room in video published by Fox 2 Detroit.

That is when another man in the room can be heard cutting in, asking: “Then why didn’t you stay in Mexico?” as others in the room gasp.

Iraola’s son is far from the first pupil to have faced alleged racism within the school district. The community-wide meeting on Monday had been organized to address racism within the school district after black student football players were reportedly sent racist messages over Snapchat.

Statement from Superintendent Graden and Saline Area Schools: https://t.co/JP6ncDG0hk pic.twitter.com/huTXpGKzrP

— Saline Area Schools (@SalineSchools) February 5, 2020

CNN reports that Saline Area Schools Superintendent Scot Graden responded to teh incident via twitter.  “This type of bigotry goes against all of the values and beliefs of our school system,” Graden said in a statement sent Tuesday via twitter.

“Over the past several years, we have established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, worked with our local intermediate school district to train teachers and administrators on social justice practices, and taken a number of steps to support a more culturally inclusive curriculum in our school district,” he said.

KJ