Black Hartland student made allegations of racist harassment in March livingstondaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from livingstondaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
April 13, 2021 By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com
As the Hartland Consolidated School Districtâs Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee prepares to start training, the Board of Education has elected to form a subcommittee to provide oversight.
After revelations of racial harassment against a Black high school student came up this year, the district began working with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and formed a 21 member DEI Committee. That committee is set to begin training courses at the end of the month.
Recently, Board of Education Treasurer Bill Gatewood began working with Superintendent Chuck Hughes on figuring out a structure for a subcommittee of Board members who would oversee the main committee. This weekend, Gatewood posted on social media that the recommendation they came up with was met with resistance, and Hughes was forced to put another one together.
WHMI 93 5 Local News : Hartland Schools Creates DEI Committee, Sets Implicit Bias Training whmi.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from whmi.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Schoolmates at a Michigan high school taunted a Black high school student with racially charged insults, called her the N-word and made fun of her appearances, she came forward to say this month.
They bullied Tatayana Vanderlaan so harshly that she feared for her life and stopped attending classes, she says.
But according to a plea for help that 18-year-old posted on social media this month, school administrators at Hartland High School were aware of the harassment and they did nothing to hold her bullies responsible for the torment.
Tatayana Vanderlaan. (Photo: Facebook/Tatayana Vanderlaan)
Vanderlaan enrolled at the school during her junior year. She’s now a senior preparing to graduate.
and last updated 2021-03-03 19:59:06-05
HARTLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) â The Livingston County Sheriff s Office confirms it s investigating allegations of racist bullying and alleged threats at Hartland High School.
Tatayana Vanderlaan, 18, wrote a post on social media that s drawn a lot of supportive comments. One of her biggest things she says is that racism is taught, Travis Palmer, Vanderlaan s best friend, told 7 Action News.
Palmer says Vanderlaan sought legal advice and is being advised not to speak any further than what she posted to Facebook on Monday. Vanderlaan, who transferred to Hartland as a junior, wrote that she s been called the n-word, other racist names, threatened, and taunted about her appearance.