Editing Traverse City, Michigan (section)

===21st century===
On November 3, 2015, Traverse City elected Jim Carruthers,<ref>{{cite news |first1 = Michelle |last1 = Merlin |first2 = Brian |last2 = McGillivary |date = November 4, 2015 |title = Carruthers wins city election: Lewis, Haas, Shamroe win commission seats |url = https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/carruthers-wins-city-election/article_1a475cac-d07e-5315-a26f-d698230871fc.html |work = Traverse City Record-Eagle |access-date = June 24, 2020 }}</ref> its [[List of the first LGBT holders of political offices in the United States|first openly gay mayor]].<ref>{{cite news |first = Aaron |last = Selbig |date = December 2, 2015 |title = Press 'pause' on Pine Street development, says mayor |url = https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/post/press-pause-pine-street-development-says-mayor |publisher = Interlochen Public Radio |access-date = June 24, 2020 }}</ref> After serving as mayor of Traverse City for six years, in June 2021 Jim Carruthers announced he would not run for his fourth mayoral term.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.traverseticker.com/news/traverse-city-will-have-a-new-mayor-this-fall/ |title = Traverse City Will Have A New Mayor This Fall |website = The Ticker: Traverse City News & Events |access-date = June 22, 2021 }}</ref>

May 18, 2020, served as the city's 125th anniversary of Traverse City's incorporation as a city in 1895, and was known as the "quarantine quasquicentennial".<ref name=travis2020-05-16/><ref>{{Cite web |title = Traverse City's 125th Birthday: A Virtual Celebration |publisher = City of Traverse City |url = https://www.traversecitymi.gov/news.asp?aid=764 |access-date = May 18, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title = Traverse City is Turning 125! Here's How to Celebrate at Home |url = https://mynorth.com/2020/05/traverse-city-is-turning-125-heres-how-to-celebrate-at-home/ |date = May 13, 2020 |website = MyNorth.com |language = en-US |access-date = May 18, 2020 }}</ref>

In April 2021, a group composed mostly of [[White Americans|White]] students from two Traverse City high schools held an online mock [[slave auction]] via [[social media|social media app]] in a [[chat room|private group chat]] titled "Slave Trade", wherein they traded their [[black people|Black]] student peers for monetary amounts while using derogatory language. After the local community was made aware of this event, a coalition of community members and Traverse City Area Public School (TCAPS) Board of Education officials drafted in response a resolution which denounced the behavior. The draft of the resolution itself led to community backlash initiated largely by White [[conservative]] parents and community members who regarded the planned resolution to be "...interlaced with [[critical race theory]]".<ref>{{Cite news |title=A critical conversation questions whether race discrimination should be part of curriculum |url=https://www.record-eagle.com/news/a-critical-conversation-questions-controversy-over-whether-race-discrimination-should-be-part-of-curriculum/article_34f60a58-c885-11eb-9d2e-072960d81c73.html |work=The Record Eagle}}</ref><!--direct quotes need direct citation.--> In the aftermath of the backlash, the resolution was edited by TCAPS school board officials. No date for consideration of the revised resolution has been set.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Quealy |first1 = Brendan |title = Hate-Chat: Area Students Hold Mock Slave Auction, Spew Racist Rhetoric Online |url = https://www.record-eagle.com/news/hate-chat-area-students-hold-mock-slave-auction-spew-racist-rhetoric-online/article_c029d4b4-a446-11eb-905f-23f68b0c0468.html |website = Traverse City Record-Eagle |date = April 24, 2021 |access-date = July 30, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1 = Quealy |first1 = Brendan |title = The Uncomfortable Truth: Racism, Hate Among Children Front and Center After 'Slave Trade' Snapchat |url = https://www.record-eagle.com/news/the-uncomfortable-truth-racism-hate-among-children-front-and-center-after-slave-trade-snapchat/article_4929bf44-a92a-11eb-8143-5b5063098911.html |website = Traverse City Record-Eagle |date = May 2021 |access-date = July 30, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1 = Natanson |first1 = Hannah |title = It Started with a Mock 'Slave Trade' and a School Resolution Against Racism. Now a War over Critical Race Theory Is Tearing This Small Town Apart. |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/mock-slave-trade-critical-race-theory/2021/07/23/b4372c36-e9a8-11eb-ba5d-55d3b5ffcaf1_story.html |newspaper = The Washington Post |access-date = July 30, 2021 }}</ref>