Dear Editor:
RE: School board should do more to prevent, address racism: parents, July 4.
As a white father of a Black daughter this article sickens me to no end. I came to Canada in the early 1960s, a decade known for racism and anti-war rhetoric.
But somehow crossing the 49th parallel, that rhetoric died down to a virtual murmur. And I’ve lived 60-plus years in this great country, where most of its citizens lived in a free and fair society. Was it perfect? No, but compared to our southern neighbours it was and still is pretty darn good in comparison.
Now, I’m not naive to think my daughter hadn’t experienced some form of racism growing up in Canada. But to read one of these Black students, in Grade 4 no less, was compared to feces by a classmate? In my experience raising my daughter in Canada, young children absolutely do not see “colour”. But somehow as children grow up they start noticing “differences” and colour is no exception.
How does this transformation occur, you might ask? Personally, being raised in an American family in Canada, this transformation is learnt in the home for the most part. Yes, media can play a hand, but most Grade 4s aren’t watching the news media as an adult might. Sadly, even in Canada racism begins at home. And I don’t have an answer to that issue.
But, what struck me in this article is our school boards aren’t equipped to handle racism in our schools? Considering this “issue” has been around since the landing of the first slave ship, I’m gobsmacked that in today’s world we don’t have the tools to deal effectively with this incendiary topic.
I knew from a very young age that the N-word was unacceptable, despite the American overtones growing up. It was on a level with swear words, which when used at Claremont P.S. during the mid-to-late 60s meant your hand had a date with the strap. The fact that the article described how a Black principal handled a racist issue to the satisfaction of the parents, but a later ‘issue’ with the same child wasn’t, due to the fact the former principal was no longer there? This is as surprising as it’s unforgivable.
I have to give total credit to the parents cited in this article. I can’t honestly say I’d of handled the situation with as much calm and decorum as they did. I mean it’s your kid being humiliated for God’s sake!
But these parents were the epitome of Michelle Obama’s “when they go low, we go high” … And to that end I hope their efforts will affect the positive change our society so desperately needs.
Brett Davis,
Orton