Thousands of people demonstrate to defund the police during a Black Lives Matter protest as they painted the street pink in front of the City of Toronto police head- quarters in Toronto on Friday, June 19, 2020.
“EDUCATORS HAVE A LOT OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PRIVILEGE THAT CAN BE USED TO FIGHT AGAINST ANTI-BLACK RACISM. AS WE CONSIDER HOW WE MIGHT CHANGE OR TRANSFORM OUR INSTITUTIONS, WE NEED TO BE READY TO PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS AND FUND DIRECT ACTION.”
good person. You have to be ready to accept a change in your living conditions, so that ev- eryone else’s living conditions, in particular Black people’s living conditions, can change.” Alejandra Bravo agrees; “Solidarity is only real if it costs you something.” Educators have a lot of political and eco-
nomic privilege that can be used to fight against anti-Black racism. As we consider how we might change or transform our institu- tions, we need to be ready to put our money where our mouth is and fund direct action. We also need to recognize how institutions are in- terconnected and advocate for change so that all communities have equal access to health care, housing, paid sick days, food security, ac- cessible transit, etc. Two organizations that are working hard
and deserve our financial support are par-
entsofblackchildren.org and showingupforra-
cialjustice.org
WHY DEFUND POLICE?
Part Two focuses on defunding the police. In the video, Sandy Hudson challenges us
28 ETFO VOICE | SPRING 2021
to shift how we think of safety and security in our society. She explains that police have historically harmed many communities, in- cluding Black, racialized, Indigenous, 2SL- GBTQ+ and the under-housed. This harm and violence is still ongoing, and police make some folks feel less safe. Hudson shares facts about how police budgets are allocated, and argues that funding must be provided to support services that are more effective and build alternatives.
WHY ARE POLICE IN SCHOOLS?
As part of this program, we were very for- tunate to meet Phillip Dwight Morgan, and hear more about his personal experiences and his advocacy work. Morgan encouraged us to critically reflect on the role of School Resource Officers (SROs) and police in schools and to consider the impact for Black staff, students and their families. He also questioned where police are located in Toronto schools, and the racial bias inherent in defining “high priority” neighbourhoods as areas with a higher per- centage of racialized families. These discus-
THE CANADIAN PRESS/NATHAN DENETTE
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