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People in the Parkdale area of Toronto are speaking out to condemn and call for the dismantling of the culture of anti-black racism that exists in their community schools and to support those affected by it.
On Saturday at 1 pm, parents, students and community members will gather outside the Parkdale Collegiate Institute (PCI) for the Parkdale Against Racism rally. The event will include speeches from members of the Black Student Success committees in local schools and elected representatives.
In the past two weeks, two Parkdale Collegiate educators have been investigated and placed at home for incidents of racism against blacks.
On October 29, a teacher showed up to his ninth grade class wearing Blackface.
The day before, another staff member allegedly said the N word while talking to some students.
Since then, the Far West High School has sent letters home describing the actions it has taken and will take to respond to both incidents, including training teachers to mitigate racial trauma and creating learning environments that affirm students. blacks on an upcoming professional development day.
A third incident of anti-black racism occurred on October 22 at the nearby Queen Victoria Public School, which for the second time in as many years saw a black educator receive racist hate mail. The school community was informed of the situation in an Oct. 28 letter, which also noted the steps the board has taken to address it.
“We know that racism is alive in our schools. We need to create an anti-racist culture, ”said rally co-organizer Sarah Latha of Parkdale Against Racism, a group of concerned parents demanding an end to systemic racism at the Parkdale Collegiate Institute and in all Toronto schools.
Latha, who is the mother of a ninth grader at PCI, said the approach being taken is twofold.
First, he said, they want to understand how incidents of racism against blacks happened in local schools and are demanding more transparency and accountability from the board.
Latha said the group also wants to do its part to help foster a safe and anti-racist school culture.
“We believe that it is important to act, not remain silent,” he said, adding that mandatory training against black racism for all students, staff members, administrators and parents is a good first step.
“(Saturday’s rally) is about talking. It’s about the responsibility of (school) leaders to create anti-racist (learning) environments ”.
Latha said that while people involved in recent incidents of racism in local schools must be held accountable for their actions, it must be recognized that what happened is part of a “bigger picture.”
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Sarah Latha, front right, and Leila Sarangi are part of the local parent team organizing the Parkdale Against Racism rally on November 13. Photo by Sarah Latha
Parkdale-High Park Trustee Robin Pilkie agreed.
On November 10, he submitted an emergency motion to the Toronto District School Board asking the Director of Education to develop a strategy to make schools in Parkdale safer spaces for black students and educators, to engage partners community on this goal and report on how this strategy could form the basis of a framework to address similar issues in other schools. The motion, which passed unanimously, was amended to include the creation of a report on staff accountability mechanisms for intervening in hate and racism.
According to the latest annual human rights report from the Toronto District School Board, there were a disproportionate number of complaints related to racism, especially racism against blacks, received between 2018 and 2020.
For the past 18 months, the board has worked to address racism against blacks through the implementation of new policies and initiatives, in particular the launch of the Center of Excellence for Black Student Achievement.
In October 2020, a new policy also came into effect requiring all hate incidents to be reported to its human rights office within 24 hours. However, the TDSB has admitted that it is dealing with a large number of backlogged cases, often resulting in staff members who are the subject of an investigation being sent home for months until the investigation is complete.
-with a Toronto Star file
Reference-www.thestar.com