ACLU asks Michigan Division of Civil Rights to step in after racist incidents reported at Brighton colleges

BRIGHTON, me. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) urges the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) to intervene in a “potentially racially hostile educational environment” in Brighton schools.

On Tuesday, the ACLU sent a letter to the MDCR asking them to take action in schools in the Brighton area. The letter comes after photos of a Brighton High School graduate surfaced online in Blackface.

display

One photo showed the white teenager in a car with black paint on his face and another showed him holding up the “Black Power sign”. A third photo showed him with red paint on his face and a homophobic insult.

Read: Brighton School Officials Speak Out After Students’ Race-Insensitive Photos Go Viral

The ACLU’s letter also described an incident in 2018 when the ACLU filed a complaint with the MDCR. According to the ACLU, a second-grade teacher from Hawkins Elementary School put a hat with fake dreadlocks on the only black child in the classroom. The ACLU said the classmates laughed at the child and took photos of him, which they later shared.

“The Michigan ACLU is concerned because we have been suspected that the racist attitudes depicted on these social media posts are not unique and isolated, but actually reflect an ongoing trend of racialism in the school district itself. We are also concerned that regardless of written guidelines from school district administrations and their stated opposition to such behavior, their response to these circumstances will be ineffective. As you know, uncontrolled racialism, harassment, and discrimination can create a racially hostile educational environment that is prohibited by both Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Title VI of the Federal Civil Rights Act. “

Writing ACLU to MDCR

The ACLU said that “more can and should be done in Brighton’s classrooms to ensure that students appreciate any interracial experiences they may have”. In the letter, the ACLU outlined a number of steps that school administrators are encouraging to consider.

display

Read: More Local Coverage

Check out the letter below:

Copyright 2021 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.