FOX 2 - “We need justice, we need policy change, and that all starts right around the corner at the school board building,” said protest organizer Nash Salami
On Saturday, former and current Birmingham Public Schools students stood outside of Groves High and demanded that the black 15-year-old sent to a juvenile detention facility in Oakland County for allegedly violating her probation be released.
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Former Birmingham Public Schools’ student seeks ‘Grace’s’ Release and reform
A former Birmingham Public Schools' student who says he is running for the school board is calling for the release of a black teen sent to a juvenile detention facility in Oakland County, allegedly for not completing her school work. Nash Salami, says he wants to see policy changes at the local and state level.
“We’re asking for school districts around the district and around the area to take a stance on the school to prison pipeline.” Salami said.
The teen, we’re all calling Grace to protect her identity, allegedly landed herself in trouble for physically fighting with her mom and stealing, and charged with misdemeanors.
She was sent to Children’s village because of a probation violation, that mentioned the fact she did not complete her school work. Grace reportedly has ADHD and struggled during the Pandemic with working online. The teen spoke Monday in court, where Judge Mary Ellen Brennan denied grace’s release.
A number of protests have pushed to see Grace let go, as her attorney has tried to do, adding they want her back at home with her mom and in the therapy she was getting there.
And it’s systemic issues that keep coming up. Was this particular decision about race? These questions are being asked and answers are harder to come by. But does race play a role in who gets charged with crimes or is shown leniency, what sort of punishment they receive and how that punishment gets interpreted. Is the way police, social workers and teachers interact with students… influential in eventual outcomes? Protesters continue to say yes.
“Zero Tolerance discipline policies disproportionately affect students of color. Black and brown students are 3 times more lie to be expelled than their white peers, and once a student is suspended or expelled they become 3 times more likely to come in contact with the juvenile system the next year,” Salami said.
Monday, Judge Brennan said Grace is benefitting from her time in Children’s Village.
“The worst thing I could do is say you’re doing great and watch the whole thing blow up. She is exactly where she needs to be,” Judge Brennan said.