Youths allegedly harassed during community service in Lathrup Villiage
LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. (FOX 2) - While doing community service work in Lathrup Village, a youth mentoring program has allegedly been getting harassed.
"Definitely racism," said Mark Watts, the president of Boys 2 Men – a non-profit organization that works to empower young boys.
Residents of Lathrup Village have taken to a couple of Facebook groups to post things against the program members.
Some have said "'why are these boys walking around our city, and who’s paying them?'" Watts said. "They weren’t just walking around the city, they were actually cleaning up City Hall. They were doing some work with the seniors."
Boys 2 Men has adopted a senior program with the Lathrup Village Police Department, "where the boys would go to the different seniors' homes every day and plant trees, do yard work," Watts added. "Our boys are paid through us and Michigan Works."
Watts said some of the badgering has been severe.
"The boys were followed, pictures were taken of them," he said. "These are minors. Pictures were posted on social media of them working at various places. One of them was actually at our mayor’s house."
Mayor Kelly Garrett said the boys were just helping around her home and neighborhood. In fact, she says she understands the racism they have experienced – as she is the first Black mayor in a village that has a difficult history with race relations.
"Probably about two weeks after I got elected as mayor for the first time, my house was spray-painted. And I also came home to where my house was egged," Garrett said. "I didn’t get concerned until the last couple of council meetings, when someone is flipping me off and they’re telling me ‘F-U’"
The alleged racism and lack of respect made the mayor concerned about her own safety, she said.
"The concern is there, and I think that that’s why I have more of a police presence now around me," Garrett said. "I just am upset about it because that not how I personally live my life."
It’s not the first time Lathrup Villagers say they've been spied on.
Lathrup Village council member allegedly caught on camera eavesdropping on outdoor meeting
It started when a group of Lathrup Village residents gathered together in a backyard to discuss a certain council member - and ended with a call to the police after the council member appeared in the backyard.
As for these current incidents, the mayor says she hopes cooler heads will prevail.
"I hope that somehow, some way, we could maybe do a round table where we all can come together and discuss what some underlying issues that people may be having," Garrett said.