Teacher who painted herself black in class pleads guilty to professional misconduct

A Toronto high school teacher who showed up to school in blackface for Halloween says he intended to play a zombie; still, he is “appalled” by the damage he caused, a disciplinary committee heard Tuesday.

Gorian Surlan, a white teacher who was at Parkdale Collegiate Institute in October 2021 when the incident occurred, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct before a three-member panel of the Ontario College of Teachers.

Surlan, who currently does not practice and lives abroad with his family due to financial constraints, was not present at the hearing for the university, which licenses, governs and regulates the teaching profession.

He OCT had alleged that Surlan was guilty of professional misconductin part, because his actions were “disgraceful, dishonorable, or unprofessional.”

Lawyers representing Surlan and the college submitted an agreed statement of facts, and the panel accepted their joint submission of sanction, which includes a written reprimand from the college, a one-month suspension, and a requirement that Surlan submit to Cultural sensitivity training.

“I was horrified that I had caused so many people harm,” said Susan Ursel, the attorney representing Surlan. Ursel told the committee that Surlan did not understand the impact of her actions at first. When she did, she noted, she “immediately expressed remorse.”

According to the facts presented, in the lead up to Halloween 2021, the then principal of Parkdale sent an email to the staff regarding the costumes. He explained that the holiday can be difficult for those whose cultures are caricatured and appropriate, and urged teachers to talk to students about it. The email referenced indigenous people-related costumes, but not blackface, which Surlan says he was unfamiliar with at the time.

On Friday, October 29, Surlan appeared at the school, dressed in black clothing with his face painted black, and wearing a black cloth mask that covered most of his face from below his eyes to his chin. The administrators saw him arrive and asked what he was supposed to be. Surlan said that he was a zombie.

Before the students arrived, he put on a blue medical mask under the black mask. When he started the class he was having trouble breathing, so he took off his black mask and left the blue one on. Later, students complained to an administrator that the teacher had blackface. The director called Surlan into the office and then noticed that his entire face was painted black under the blue medical mask. She told him that the students were upset that he was wearing blackface and Surlan looked shocked and confused. They told him to wash his face and he did so immediately.

That day, photos of Surlan in blackface began to circulate on social media, parents began to complain, and the media made inquiries. By the end of the day, the Toronto District School Board had placed Surlan on home assignment while she conducted an investigation.

That weekend, as the incident grabbed headlines, the principal sent a letter to the school community saying that regardless of the teacher’s intentions, his actions were “racist and dehumanizing” and that “caricatures of the race or culture of people are inappropriate and offensive.” and hurtful.”

While at home, Surlan says he researched blackface and learned why it is so offensive, which left him feeling “appalled” that he had hurt so many people.

“He never intended to cause harm and if he had known the implications of wearing blackface, he would not have done so,” OCT attorney Ava Arbuck said, reading from the agreed statement of facts.

The committee heard that Surlan immigrated to Canada when he was 31, but it is not clear from where or how long ago. According to information published by the OCT on his website about member qualifications, he has a diploma from a university in Bosnia and a master of arts from a university in Michigan.

Arbuck noted that while he immigrated with little knowledge of Canadian history or culture, he should have understood something, given that he was certified by the OCT in 2002, lived in a large, multicultural city, and is against TDSB policies.

Arbuck said Surlan’s conduct made students “uncomfortable and outraged with the school community” and by wearing blackface demonstrated a “shocking lack of social and political awareness” and perpetuated a harmful stereotype.

The TDSB fired Surlan about two weeks after the incident due to the deep distress it caused in the school community.

He TDSB takes a multi-pronged approach to combat hate and racism, including anti-black racism, which aims to go beyond performative responses. Its anti-racism and anti-hate strategy seeks to better affirm student identities and enhance professional learning, school-community relations, employment equity, and school culture and climate.

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