Parents, students gather for anti-Black racism rally outside Toronto school
CBC
Protesters gathered outside a Toronto high school on Saturday to call for an end to anti-Black racism after a teacher wore blackface to school for Halloween.
The rally outside of Parkdale Collegiate Institute, where the incident happened on Oct. 29, was aimed at fighting racism in schools.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has since placed the teacher on home assignment, but community members are calling for stronger action from the board, saying incidents involving racism and discrimination at schools should not be tolerated.
A petition that has garnered more than 3,400 signatures as of Saturday morning calls on the TDSB to address racism within Toronto schools and hold those who discriminate accountable for their actions, adding that this isn't a "one-time incident."
"It was traumatizing to the children who were in the classroom, and unfair that the responsibility was on them to document with photos and come forward to complain," the petition reads.
"As parents, many of us have witnessed overt and micro-racial aggressions toward our children. This incident, however, is severe, shocking and concerning," the petition continues.
Parents said the current policy and protocols in place are not enough and they urged the board to create or provide the following:
In a letter to parents and students on Friday, the TDSB said it is finishing its investigation into the matter and will provide an update next week.
The TDSB said it has taken a number of steps since the incident, such as holding a meeting for the school advisory council and organizing sessions for students in grades 10-12 to "be heard and engage in critical discourse."
On Nov. 19, all staff will take part in learning about historical and current harm caused by blackface and understanding the difference between freedom of expression and hate speech, the letter added.
In a statement on Nov. 3 following the incident, Colleen Russell-Rawlins, education director for the TDSB, apologized to the school community.
"Far from a fun and joyful celebration for students on this occasion, this disrespectful and highly offensive act brought pain and harm and served as a grim reminder of how much racism and oppression we have yet to defeat in the TDSB through both collective and individual actions," Rawlins said.
"On behalf of the TDSB, I want to apologize to the students, families and staff who were impacted at Parkdale CI, but also the larger TDSB family — particularly to those in the Black community — for the negative impact of this dehumanizing incident of anti-Black racism."
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