Racial Intimidation Reported at Mill Pond Park in Saline

(An update to this story reveals the incident may not have occurred at Mill Pond Park)

A black man was playing with his three children at Mill Pond Park Sunday. When they were done playing, the man and his children were confronted by what looked to be a Confederate flag drawn into the dust on their vehicle.

This account is according to a post made in the Saline Posts Facebook group by Grace Wu.

To see the post, click here.

"Everyone is physically safe and the kids don't fully understand it. But the friend is pretty shook up," Wu wrote.

She said she posted the image with the permission of the man because she thought the community needed to know what's happening in Saline. And she issued a call to action.

"More importantly, as a community, we need to speak out against racism, racial intimidation and racist acts, and condemn them publicly. Please be vigilant, watch out for your neighbors and friends, and take care of yourself," Wu wrote.

The Saline Post has reached out to the Saline Police Department to see if the incident was investigated.

The Confederate flag was the "battle flag" of the army fighting for the Confederate States of American during the US Civil War. The 11 states that seceded from the US did so, in part, to protect the practice of slavery of blacks. The flag has since been used as a symbol by white supremacist organizations, among others.

Members of the Saline Posts group expressed sadness, shock and disgust by what appeared to be an instance of racial intimidation.

"I am embarrassed about the white supremacy displayed by this community. And I'm sorry they experienced this," Carey Gardiner wrote.

Sheila Bourgoin said it was a shocking display.

"I’m so sorry that this happened here. It doesn’t represent most of us," Bourgoin wrote.

Ingrid Hartman pledged to keep her eyes open for racist activity.

"I’m sorry that he and his children had to be targets of lower-thinking caveman," Hartman wrote. "Will keep my eyes open to this racist activity."

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