Traverse City Area Public Schools’ passed an anti-racism resolution late Monday night after hearing hours of public comment over how strong a stance the district should take.
Talks of creating a resolution began after an incident in April when several Traverse City students participated in a Snapchat group purporting to be a "Slave Trade" where students bid on and sold some minority students.
At the school board meeting which went past 11 p.m. hundreds of parents, teachers and students crowded into the conference and overflow rooms to discuss the third draft of the resolution. Most were in favor of a resolution with several sharing accounts of their experience witnessing racism and discrimination.
Among them was Nevaeh Wharton, a rising junior at Traverse City Central High School, who was the subject of the Snapchat group.
“I’m here in support of strengthening the resolution and in encouraging our community to speak up and resolve this issue," she said.
Other speakers argued the focus on race is inappropriate.
The board agreed to rewrite a fourth version of the statement during the meeting. They finally passed a newly-worded resolution that acknowledged racism in the community and condemned it.
