We need to include more Black history in our Education system in Manitoba, and to improve the experience for Black children and youth.
My blog post below was originally published in a shortened version in the Sou'Wester on Wednesday June 17
“Black Lives Matter!” This chant echoed loudly
when fifteen to twenty thousand people came out to a rally at The Manitoba
Legislature on June 5th hosted and organized byJustice4BlackLivesWinnipeg (1). Many residents of River Heights including
myself attended.
As the conversation of Black Lives Matter
continues to grow around the world and right here in our community, we must remember
that as we fight for justice, we must also address the systemic discrimination
and exclusion of Black Manitobans on all levels. The powerful chants at the
rally reminded us of the urgency and necessity of action. One important area to take such action is our education
system. On March 10, 2019, I hosted a public forum in River Heights on Education in Manitoba. One of
the panelists, Alexa Joy is the founder and president of Black Space Winnipeg and longtime political
activist in our community.
Ms.Joy educated attendees on pressing issues of anti-Blackness
within our education system in Manitoba.
First being, the inadequate content in our curriculum about the lives and
contributions of Black Canadians and Black leaders globally. It is crucial that
we represent all of Canada’s history prioritizing historically marginalized
communities, specifically, what Black Canadians have achieved and fought for in
our country. Additionally, as our
Manitoban curriculum lacks in Black history, we see the disparities of Black educators,
administrators, teaching assistants and school trustees. It is essential for Black
students to have academic role models and mentors who are Black to support
students throughout their education.
In 2015, Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators
released a 72 page report entitled Voices
of Ontario Black Educators - expressing the need to support academic
development and growth for Black students with the need for Black educators to
be hired in predominantly Black communities (2). We see the urgency that all students will benefit from having a
faculty that reflects all demographics of our province.
In October 2003, Manitoba Education and Youth
released a similar report "Diversity and Equity in Education, An Action Plan for
Ethnocultural Equity”, for consultation (3). The report put forward an agenda to
increase ethno-cultural representation and strengthen education diversity approaches
to curriculum and hiring practices. However,
not much has been done since with respect to Manitoba’s community. Indeed, Manitoba is one of the few provinces
that has not moved forward with an action plan to address these systemic
barriers in education.
Ms. Joy wrote to the Minister of Education with
tangible suggestions for action in December 2018 (4). In support of Ms. Joy’s
call to action I wrote to the Minister of Education in January 2019. Once
again, there has been little progress on a provincial level since.
In my letter, I emphasized the importance of
addressing what Ms. Joy outlined - starting with the incorporation of Black history
in our schools. I also provided an
example of a successful mentoring
program initiated by Maurice (Mo) Williams (son of late Winnipeg
activist Wade Williams) at the
University of Winnipeg.
Ms. Joy went into considerable detail suggesting
the following steps:
1.) Introduce Black student groups in schools
that are financially supported to host events and programming.
2.) Incorporate existing national models for Black education
in Manitoba's curriculum (e.g. pushing for education reform and Black
education in Ontario and Nova Scotia).
3.) Develop a Black history textbook centering
Black-Manitoban and Canadian history and contemporary experiences.
4.) Develop a public fund to support Black students
financially pursuing post-secondary education.
5.) Conduct regular diversity, inclusion and anti-racist
training for Manitoban teachers, educators, staff, trustees and all members of
school divisions academic communities.
6.) Engage and encourage students to participate in
culturally relevant events like Black History Month and year-round
programming.
7.) Develop a stronger anti-racist/anti-bullying policy in
our educational institutions to ensure the safety of Black students.
8.) Support Black educators, administrators, coaches, teaching
assistants, staff and trustees to expand their knowledge of Black history,
educational tools and resources to best educate their students.
All of these topics and more were discussed at the forum I hosted
at the River Heights Community Centre March 10th, 2019.
I welcome the opportunity to work with others to improve our
education system to serve all Manitobans and to build a Manitoba which
emphasizes and strides to support that Black Lives Matter on every level.
Taking steps to readdress our education system to support our Black Manitoban communities
will centre the focus on a community that has been ignored by our systems for too
long and therefore must be seen, heard and supported moving forward.
1 Frew, N. “Thousands Gather in Peaceful Protest at Manitoba
Legislature to Demand Justice 4 Black Lives | CBC News.” CBC news. CBC/Radio Canada,
June 6, 2020.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/justice-4-black-lives-petition-abolish-winnipeg-police-1.5601130.
2 Ontario Alliance of Black Educators . “Voices of Ontario
Black Educators .” Toronto, ON: Turner Consulting Group Inc, 2015.http://onabse.org/ONABSE_VOICES_OF_BLACK_EDUCATORS_Final_Report.pdf
3 Manitoba Education & Youth. “Diversity and Equity in
Education An Action Plan for Ethnocultural Equity.” Winnipeg, MB: Manitoba
Education and Youth, 2003. https://digitalcollection.gov.mb.ca/awweb/pdfopener?smd=1&did=11169&md=1.
4 Joy, A. Black Education in Manitoba (Letter of Intent)
Winnipeg , MB, December 21, 2018 - Black Space Winnipeg Inc.
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