Page 6 - Professional Advisory on Anti-Black Racism

achievement and well-being of all students so they can reach their full potential.10
Examples of anti-Black racism
It is helpful for OCTs to understand what anti-Black racism looks like so they can raise their awareness of circumstances where anti-Black racism might factor
into their approach to teaching, marking, disciplining and supporting Black students. Anti-Black racism may take many forms and may include:
• Traditionally, school boards have been known to place students from countries outside of Europe and North America in a lower grade without taking the time to make an objective assessment of the student’s capacity and previous educa- tional attainment.
• Hyper-surveillance of Black students, including prevalence of security cameras inside and outside of school property, appearance of hall monitors before, during and after school and regular police presence in schools.
• Educators selecting texts that portray Black people through a deficit lens and reinforce negative stereotypes without offering options that could counter the dominant negative narrative.
• Reinforcing the racism of low academic expectations in feedback shared to Black students or career advice given.
• Introducing predominantly Eurocentric (i.e., white, patriarchal) teaching materials in all subject areas of
the curriculum that reinforce white supremacy by diminishing, caricaturing or eliminating the experiences and histories
of other races, including Black people. • Besides school uniform policies,
attempting to limit self and cultural expression of Black students through restrictive dress codes, including the banning of hats, do-rags or coats in classrooms. Often the inference is that Black students might be concealing weapons in these items of clothing.
• Lack of opportunities to study or discuss Black contributions and achievements to Canadian history except for the month of February (Black History Month), where efforts may seem performative.
• Directing Black students to pursue sports without the same encouragement to pursue academic courses.
• Using forms of discipline such as deten- tions, suspensions and expulsions at a disproportionately higher rate for Black students, often in ways that are overly punitive in relation to the offence.
Heightened awareness and deliberate and urgent action are necessary to dismantle the systemic oppression and racism that Black students and their families and care- givers often experience. “Experiences with streaming, teacher expectations, testing, and the ways in which the low educational performance of Black students have become normalized, of course, speak of a schooling structure and climate that sustain anti-Black racism.”11
Ontario’s educators are best positioned
to lead efforts to support an inclusive learning environment. The notion of being a passive bystander is not conducive to active engagement in decolonizing existing pedagogical structures. Demonstrating
10 Ontario's Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy
11 James, C.E. & Turner, T. (2017). Towards Race Equity In Education: The Schooling of Black Students in the Greater
Toronto Area. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: York University
4 PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY ON ANTI-BLACK RACISM