Black students seek path forward after recent racist incident at Saline schools

SALINE, MI – In the days following an alleged racist incident involving students at Saline Area Schools, members of the school district's minority community say they are still looking for ways to talk about their concerns in hopes that students will learn from what has now seemed all too commonplace.

Superintendent Steve Laatsch released a statement on Saturday, September 14, condemning an incident of hate speech that was reported to school administrators at the end of the school day the previous Friday.

Read more: Saline school principal condemns alleged racist incident involving students

The district has not released further details about the incident pending the completion of the investigation, but some students suspected of being involved have been identified.

On Wednesday, September 18, an Instagram account for Saline High School's Black Student Union posted images allegedly taken the previous week showing racial slurs, Nazi symbols, and shortened references to the Ku Klux Klan drawn in the dirt on the cars of two minority students.

The post, from an account neither approved nor operated by the school district, invited followers to raise questions and concerns and urged the school district to “do the right thing to ensure the safety of all of its students.”

Aliyah Corrao, a senior at Saline University and president of BSU who manages the account, later echoed that sentiment, adding that the group knew the students responsible.

“These were people that a lot of group members called friends, so we're all kind of stuck,” Corrao said Thursday, Sept. 19. “But what we do as a group is we educate when people comment on this. A lot of people ask, 'So how do you feel? Why does this affect you?'”

The BSU students had not yet officially met, but she said, “We're having a group chat right now. We were just discussing how we deal with this as minorities at the school.”

This incident follows others reported in recent years, including the writing of the N-word on a bathroom wall in late 2023 and the fallout from a 2020 lawsuit demanding disciplinary action against students behind racist Snapchat messages.

The mother, Kandace Jones, served on the Saline school board between these events and has two sons in the district. Her eldest, a tenth-grader, is a member of the Black Student Union.

Although the incident became public knowledge this month, she said local black and minority families have struggled with racism for many years.

“Every year there are several incidents, many of which go unreported, and it's gotten to the point where my sons are numb to it,” Jones said. “So it was almost like it was starting again, and that's a shame for me.”

“It's extremely disappointing and heartbreaking to see that this is so normal for them that they just shrug their shoulders and say, 'Yeah, it is what it is.'”

In response to past issues, the district has taken steps to more systematically address concerns about racism. It has met at the committee level and discussed changes to the student handbook and response policies, and Laatsch has met with black students.

In his last statement, Laatsch also announced that further support services for students and employees would be made available in the coming weeks.

“I have the impression that the school is taking the process more seriously this time than it did a year ago,” Corrao said.

However, she admitted that she trusts that the issue will be addressed and that there will be consequences.

“We will not let up,” said Corrao. “We want change. We want zero tolerance.”

According to the school district's handbook, students who engage in hate speech will be subjected to a three-tiered intervention that includes disciplinary action, education and reparation. In addition, students will face age-appropriate consequences that may include detention, suspension from school and possible expulsion.

“We are following due process and interviewing the students who were victimized and those believed to have been involved,” Saline Schools spokeswoman Jackelyn Martin said via email on Thursday, Sept. 19. “Because this process is ongoing and student records are protected, we cannot comment further on the ongoing investigation.”

Corrao said she wants students to put their concerns on the agenda of a future school board meeting to discuss them. The Saline School Board next meets on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Jones said she wants to continue to have teachable moments at home and in the classroom and talk about how hurtful the events were and how the experiences of minority students were diminished.

“My ancestors fought for school integration and equal educational opportunity,” she said. “And I believe we deserve to be here. My children deserve to be in this district just as much as anyone else. There are people who say, 'Why do you stay? Why do you stay in this district and in this situation?' But I'm not going to run away from it.”

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