Black History Month is soon approaching. As parents, we want to ensure that educators are intentional and purposeful in their approach to celebrating Black History. We thought we would share some dos and don’ts to keep in mind when planning for Black History Month so parents can understand what a positive educational experience should look […]
Do You Know the Dos and Don’ts of Planning for Black History Month? Read More »
We are full of gratitude for all the educators, parents, and caregivers who joined us this weekend for Breaking Barriers: Achieving Black Student Excellence. While many painful and difficult facts about the challenges Black students face in educational spaces were presented, innovative solutions sprung out of the hard conversations, and a real collective commitment to
How to Break Barriers! Read More »
You may recall our blog post from a few weeks ago discussing how colouring worksheets can uphold bias, reinforce stereotypes, and erase racialized children from the curriculum. Here’s an update on what happened after speaking up about that worksheet. My child’s teacher responded to my email: “Sometimes we get caught up in the hoopla of
When Speaking Up Works!A Success Story (And How You Can Speak Up Too) Read More »
This week is Halloween, which means it is time to talk about costumes, racism, stereotypes, and cultural appropriation. We are using this week’s blog post to amplify some excellent voices that have spoken beautifully to this issue already. “Dressing up as another cultural group diminishes that cultural group to a caricature. And for youth, Indigenous
How to celebrate Halloween WITHOUT cultural appropriation or racist stereotypes Read More »
We are fortunate to live in a city where our school board offers French and English language instruction beginning in kindergarten. There are so many advantages to being multilingual, and I’m grateful that my daughter has access to this kind of education. When she brought home this pair of colouring sheets from her kindergarten class
My mother came to this country Victoria Day weekend 1999, with four children and no understanding of the English or French language. We were placed in a government housing neighbourhood, subsidized, while my mother was in school to learn English. All four of us began school the following school year. I have two older brothers
Life of an immigrant woman with four kids Read More »
Islamophobia in Canada is increasing at a concerning rate; Muslim students are particularly vulnerable to Islamophobia. There is no shortage of stories about Islamophobic incidents both physical and verbal in our communities. Students are on the receiving end of hateful speech and actions by administrators, educators and their fellow school community members. Schools have a responsibility
Islamophobia in Our Schools Read More »
When Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) stepped into an elevator in 1955 on his way to a meeting with his publisher, Houghton Mifflin, he encountered Annie Williams, the elevator operator. She was “an elegant, and petite woman who wore white gloves and a secret smile”.[1] Ms. Williams would later serve as the inspiration behind
How Blackface can be a teachable moment…in the Classroom and at Home Read More »
At Parents for Diversity, tennis isn’t usually at the top of our agenda, but parenting and solidarity with marginalized parents is always one of our top priorities. We are delighted for Bianca Andreescu and congratulate her on the astonishing achievement of becoming the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title. Sports are a
Why White Moms Like Me Need to Reject Misogynoir Against Black Moms Like Serena Williams Read More »
By Simone Aba Akyianu Micro-aggressions are like bee stings. We can recover from the sting, but we never forget how it feels. Maybe you rock an Afro, maybe you have curly ringlets, or wear Senegalese twists, box braids, cornrows, locs or Bantu knots. Recently, California and New York State each passed a law to prohibit
Touching Black Hair as Micro-Aggression Read More »
