WHITE SUPREMACY IN EDUCATION

Murphy Browne © October 2017


Friday 13th October 2017
Dear Parents/Carers
As you are aware Class 2N will be performing their Black History Month song in assembly next week on Friday.
Children will be dressing up in clothing that children would have worn during slavery. All clothing must be plain with no modern patters or modern brand names. Even a white shirt or blouse that looks dirty or torn is a good costume.
Girls: Old dresses or blouses with trousers that look dirty and worn out. A small straw hat or cloth/fabric for head-wrap.
Boys: Old t-shirts/shirts that look dirty and worn out. A small straw hat or beret.
It might be an idea to not wash these clothes and stain them with tea or coffee to look more authentic.

Excerpt from a letter sent home to parents of a “primary school” in Britain.


During the week of October 15-24, 2017 there was a bit of a kerfuffle over a letter sent home to parents of an elementary school in Britain asking that children dress as enslaved Africans for a school performance. October is African Heritage/Black History Month in the UK and as in Canada during February some schools or individual teachers in schools recognize the significance of the African presence in the country. The letter went “viral” on social media and also appeared in British newspapers. The headmaster of the school apologized and disavowed all knowledge of the offending letter. The headmaster claimed that the letter had not been seen by senior staff members before it was sent home with students. A letter of explanation was subsequently been sent home to parents apologizing for the original letter. African British "poet, writer, lyricist, musician and naughty boy" Benjamin Zephaniah was then invited to visit the school. Hundreds of people commented online about the letter and its “insensitive” or “racist” content. Many people were surprised that in 2017 there are educators who are “unaware” of the impropriety of asking children to dress and perform as enslaved Africans.


A similar occurrence in the USA was not surprising. On Thursday October 19, 2017 school officials in Bridgewater apologized because of an image that could kindly be described as “insensitive.” The image was of a kneeling African American child tethered by two leashes held by two smiling White children and a smiling White teacher. The teacher apparently felt that this White supremacist image was appropriate to share with parents of her students. Someone shared the image on Facebook and the offensive image went “viral” across social media. Ironically the photograph from the US was taken on October 13, 2017 the same day as the offending letter (about children dressing as “slaves”) was sent home to the parents in the UK. Derek Swenson, superintendent of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District, posted a statement on the school department’s Facebook page, where he wrote that the school district “sincerely apologizes” to “students, staff, and the broader community.” African American lawyer Rahsaan Hall who is the Director of the Racial Justice Program for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts thinks that the photograph is “pretty disturbing” especially in a school district that is not diverse. According to state data the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional District is 87.4 % White, 3.9 % African-American, 2.3 % Asian and 2.7 % Hispanic. In the “disturbing” classroom photo of smiling faces, the kneeling tethered little girl is the only racialized person. One has to wonder how this child felt and how she and her parents are dealing with this.


In her 1998 published book “Beyond Heroes and Holidays” African Canadian educator Enid Lee wrote: “Racism is the use of institutional power to deny or grant people and groups of people rights, respect, representation and resources based on their skin color. Racism in action makes Whiteness a preferred way of being human. By whiteness I am referring to the civilization, language, culture and the skin color associated most often with European-ness. Racism is reflected in a hierarchy in which beauty, intelligence, worth and things associated with Whiteness are at the top.” That was 19 years ago and in 2017 Canada “Racism is the use of institutional power to deny or grant people and groups of people rights, respect, representation and resources based on their skin color.” It may be as subtle as a White female teacher constantly harassing a male elementary school African Canadian child or it can be as blatant as White teachers calling the police to handcuff and shackle a six year old African Canadian girl child. The “White is right” mindset proliferates the system when dealing with White supremacist educators abusing their “authority” over African Canadian students and parents.

To their credit the Peel District School Board (PDSB) has at least made efforts to address the White supremacist culture that manifested itself in many ways last year. The Board has been working with African Canadian author/educator/historian Natasha Henry who has conducted workshops to “build awareness of the implications of the persistence of a Eurocentric perspective in the curriculum and the far-reaching effects on racialized and non-racialized students.” Henry is also involved in the PDSB initiative “We Rise Together – Peel District School Board’s Action Plan to Support Black Male Students.” Laudable as a start but much remains to be done. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is lagging behind in addressing the White supremacist culture that allows teachers to harass African Canadian parents and students with impunity. They need to contact Natasha Henry because of the work she has done and is doing at the PDSB.


Murphy Browne  © October 2017