ANTI-RACISM AND THE FIGHT FOR BLACK LIVES
BY VELVET LAC ASSE (Originally published on the Heart and Art Blog)
I
recently joined educators from across the province to participate in ETFO’s powerful four-part webinar series called “Anti-Racism and the Fight for Black Lives.” It was an amazing professional learning opportunity, and it should be
mandatory for all ETFO staff and members. The program involves watching a short
video clip each week and engaging in coura- geous and critical conversations about anti- Black racism with other educators. ETFO re- leased the video, “Anti-Racism and the Fight for Black Lives,” during the 2020 Annual Meeting, as part of the ETFO’s Anti-Black Racism Strategy. This video is available to all members on
etfo.ca, along with guiding questions to explore on your own or with your colleagues. In the video, we hear the voices of Sandy
Hudson, who is a political activist, writer and founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, and Phillip Dwight Morgan, who is a journalist, poet and researcher. The interview is moder- ated by Alejandra Bravo, who has a history of working for progressive social change with grassroots, immigrant and labour groups.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FIGHT FOR BLACK LIVES?
Throughout the interview, Sandy Hudson and Phillip Dwight Morgan share knowledge and
26 ETFO VOICE | SPRING 2021
insights about how educators might use this moment of “awakening” to fight for Black lives and demand systemic change. One of the is- sues we discussed each week was the impact of police in schools and in communities, and the call to action to defund or abolish the police and re-imagine different ways to respond and care for each other. Each session was organized and facilitated
by ETFO staff and included opportunities to break out into smaller groups to share ideas and reflect on the guiding questions. The ac- tive and deep engagement of the participants was inspiring. Educators from Kindergarten to Grade 8 leaned in to listen, learn, ask questions and share resources.
WHAT IS YOUR POSITIONALITY?
In our first session, the facilitators shared a defi- nition of anti-oppression work as the “active and consistent process of change to eliminate individual and systemic oppression.” ETFO staff acknowledged that we are all in different places on our learning journey towards equity and racial justice and that being an ally sometimes means standing up, standing behind or standing with others depending on your positionality. Throughout the program, we were en-
couraged to move from individual to collec- tive action and think critically about how we can use our privilege as educators to work
towards systemic change. As an educator committed to learning and unlearning what anti-oppression looks like in schools, I am always grateful for the opportunity to learn from and with other educators about how to disrupt institutional racism.
HOW CAN WE TRANSFORM CANADIAN INSTITUTIONS?
To change or transform systems of education, we must first recognize that schools are not safe or equitable spaces for all students, fami- lies, staff and community members. Schools continue to reinforce White privilege, and cre- ate barriers for Black, Indigenous and other racialized students. Please read the following Voice articles about the impact of institution- alized racism in schools:
• Anti-Black Racism in Education and Black Students Navigating the Pandemic by Stephanie Fearon
• Sisters in the Struggles: Racialized Women and Microaggressions in the Workplace by Angelique Cancino-Thompson
CAN YOU SPARE SOME CHANGE?
In Part one, Sandy Hudson invites us to think about the difference between fighting for Black lives and fighting against anti-Black racism. She says, “It is not enough to be a
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