Charline Grant remembers the dismissiveness toward her claims of racism over many years in her children鈥檚 school district north of Toronto. But she also takes pride in what鈥檚 emerged: the group Parents of Black Children.
PoBC was founded in 2019 after a casual gathering of Black parents. 鈥淲e were all professionals with jobs, multiple degrees,鈥 says co-founder Kearie Daniel. 鈥淎nd so many of us have had that experience of saying, 鈥極h, yeah, the school thought I should be in a special class or they thought there was something wrong with me.鈥
The group has seen significant gains, including accountability for teachers and a support structure for parents. But as the group members have sought respect for their perspectives, they have sometimes found their fight being called disrespectful and divisive.
鈥淚deals and values like respect are not neutral,鈥 says Vidya Shah, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at 91亚色 in Toronto. 鈥淔or families whose children are experiencing harm and violence in schools, the most respectful thing to do is to stand up,鈥 she says. 鈥淭o somebody else who doesn鈥檛 want to admit that families are experiencing racism, respect might be to stay quiet.
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