“We do not want our son’s name to be associated with the hate that’s being spewed at these meetings,” Nathan and Danielle Clark wrote. “Please do not mix up the values of our family with the uninformed majority that vocalize their hate. Aiden embraced different cultures and would insist you do the same. Thank you to the community for the continued support.”
Aiden was killed the morning of Aug. 22 when a 2010 Honda Odyssey went left of center in the 4100 block of Troy Road (Ohio 41) at Lawrenceville and drove into the path of the oncoming school bus.
The bus driver attempted to avoid the Honda by driving onto the shoulder, but the bus still collided with the minivan. The bus and van went off the side of the road, with the bus rolling over.
Hermanio Joseph, 35, faces first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide charges.
Joseph presented to law enforcement a driver’s license from Mexico, which was invalid due to his immigration status. He also had an Ohio identification card.
At a Sept. 13 commission meeting, officials announced that they were forming an Immigration Accountability Response team to look into issues related to immigrant housing, employment, crime and driver’s education.
Thousands of Haitian immigrants have come to the city in recent years. Estimates range from 5,000 to 10,000 Haitians in Springfield now.
Many Haitian immigrants are in Springfield under asylum or Temporary Protected Status.
At Tuesday’s meeting, fewer community members spoke about Haitian immigrants in the community than past meetings.
Diane Daniels told commissioners that residents were upset due to a lack of information and “the folks that were angry were seeing things that they wanted or felt that they should be getting that was going to someone else — full grocery carts, rides to jobs, rides to wherever, the vans all over town.”
“We are not going to be preached to with Bible verses and examples of previous immigration; we’re not going to do that,” Daniels said. “This is not Springfield ... That’s what you heard, and then the disconnect of being yelled at. They’re not coming back.”
At previous meetings, some people were called racist for their views on Haitian immigrants in the city, and one woman was escorted from the Sept. 27 meeting after repeated interruptions.
Another resident said she was concerned about the way people are speaking about “my Haitian brothers and sisters.” She denounced a petition the author said would prevent non-English-speaking people from driving in Ohio. The author called the proposed legislature “Aiden’s Law.”
Commissioner Dave Estrop said he was concerned the proposal would prohibit tourists who don’t speak English from driving, like they would be able to do in the rest of the country or in other countries.
“I just visited a foreign country and drove there, and my Ohio driver’s license was good for a specified number of days,” Estrop said.
In response to one person saying that comments made by some people were racist, one citizen said the concern was not about race but rather the country from which the immigrants have come.
Commissioners at previous meetings asked the audience to tone down rhetoric toward the Haitian population. At a Sept. 27 meeting, several community members also emphasized the need for kindness and acceptance.
At the Sept. 13 meeting, one community member said city leaders have created “an active state of emergency” by failing to act and asked officials to examine “how this invasion has impacted effected each agency and business in Springfield. It is your job to know these things.”
At the same meeting, Springfield NAACP President Denise Williams asked people stop referring to Haitian immigrants as “they,” “them” and saying to “send them back.”
“All of this racism going on right now has got to stop … This is a disgrace to our community. We cannot continue to be divided as we are right now,” Williams said then.
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