SALINE, MI – The son of a man who’s been the subject of widespread backlash since asking a parent why he didn’t “stay in Mexico” during a community meeting Monday is speaking out against “racist and xenophobic behavior."

Matthew Burtell said he feels it’s important to challenge bigotry wherever it appears -- even when it involves his own father.

His father Tom Burtell, in a tense moment during a Saline Area Schools community meeting on diversity and inclusion Monday, Feb. 3, asked the provocative question to fellow parent Adrian Iraola, who was in the middle of describing his son’s difficult experiences as a Hispanic student in the predominantly white school district south of Ann Arbor.

“It’s of vital importance to call out racism wherever you see it,” said Matthew Burtell in an interview Tuesday. “We can’t stand idly by – as children, as brothers and sisters, as friends and as people interacting with each other in daily life – when someone says or does anything racist. It’s all of our responsibilities and it shouldn’t have to get to this.”

‘Why didn’t you stay in Mexico?’ School diversity and inclusion meeting turns volatile

Parents at the community meeting were encouraged to discuss incidents of bigotry after a series of racist Snapchat messages between Saline High School students came to light last week. Iraola was recounting incidents of his son being called taco, enchilada and nacho as a student.

Tom Burtell interrupted Iraola, the owner of Ann Arbor’s Chela’s Restaurant & Taqueria, to ask, “Then why didn’t you stay in Mexico?”

The comment caught most of the audience off guard, eliciting a chorus of gasps and shouts. Iraola replied that the United States is “the greatest country in the world.”

‘Act of racism’ in Snapchat group denounced by Saline Area Schools

Matthew Burtell, a 2014 Saline High School alum with siblings still in the district, said he wanted to voice how his views differ from his father’s. His friend sent him the video Monday evening. He said it gave him “a sinking feeling."

“I was horrified,” said Matthew Burtell, a U.S. Navy veteran who’s studying computer science and math at Yale University. “"At some points in my life, I’ve felt immense dread and a sort of sinking feeling, like ‘Oh my god.’ So, I think it was that feeling."

28 School diversity and inclusion meeting

Tense moment at meeting on racial climate illustrates problem at Saline Area Schools, parents say

Racism was not uncommon when he attended Saline schools, Matthew Burtell said. It isn’t uncommon in many environments, he added.

“It’s always around you,” he said. “It’s microaggressions. It doesn’t always come in the form of something totally, obviously racist. Oftentimes, that’s not what racism looks like. I don’t think there’s ever been a long period of time where I didn’t see either the effects of racism or racism itself in any situation.

“I am a white guy. I’m not the person to be asked the question. There’s so few people of color in the Saline Area Schools district. Asking them if they experienced racism would make much more sense.”

Some students in the district said they were frustrated and hurt by the Snapchat messages at a school board meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 29. One said he wanted the district to make students of color feel more comfortable in the hallways following the incident.

Students weigh in on culture at Saline Area Schools after racist group Snapchat

The district was 88% white, 4% multiracial, 4% Asian, 3% Hispanic or Latino and 1% black from 2013 to 2017, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Tom Burtell declined to speak to a reporter after the meeting Monday.

A message seeking comment on the district’s ongoing community meetings was left with Superintendent Scot Graden Tuesday. Graden tweeted an April 2019 blog post titled “The Courage to Challenge Insensitive Comments” after the meeting Monday evening.

Courage.... watched a room filled with courageous Saline community members today - https://t.co/2n7kEGb60U — Scot Graden (@SuperScot) February 3, 2020

Saline Area Schools plans to host another community conversation on diversity, equity and inclusion at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 at Liberty School, 7265 N. Ann Arbor St., Saline.

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‘Why didn’t you stay in Mexico?’ School diversity and inclusion meeting turns volatile

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Students weigh in on culture at Saline Area Schools after racist group Snapchat

‘Act of racism’ in Snapchat group denounced by Saline Area Schools