This article includes descriptions of anti-Black racism that may be triggering to some readers. The Black Youth Helpline can be reached toll free at 1-833-294-8650.
Educators and the Province have both fallen short in addressing anti-Black racism, earning themselves an embarrassing F.
On Feb. 12, the CBC reported that two educators from James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School in North York were placed on leave while the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) investigates allegations that they exchanged racist messages using a school social media page.
According to the article, one teacher allegedly sent a racist anti-Black image to another teacher’s account. The second teacher reportedly replied, “LMAO where are the chicken wings, [F-word] [N-word] are all the same.” Although the incident was reported to both the principal and superintendent, they allegedly didn’t take the matter seriously at first. The TCDSB later launched a formal investigation and placed both educators on leave, something that could’ve happened sooner if student’s concerns were taken seriously.
The TCDSB was quick to defend the principal and the superintendent, stating to the CBC that they “acted immediately from the moment this incident was reported and have handled it with urgency, care, and accountability throughout.” Their statement added, “all appropriate actions have been taken consistent with its commitment to maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive school environment.”
This incident hits close to home. Two years ago, a white professor, Demetra Sorvatzioti, who was teaching the Law 320 Evidence class, used the N-word over 20 times during a lecture. The students at the time made it clear that the word had no pedagogical value, yet despite this, it took days for the apology from Queen’s to get to students.
READ MORE: Students urge Queen’s University to address racism following professor’s use of the N-word
While it can be argued that the incidents are different, the principle remains the same: anti-Black racism must be confronted directly, especially with educators and educational institutions at all levels, who must have proper systems in place to address such incidents and support affected students—something that, in this case, the school clearly failed to do.
Although the fate of the two high school educators should rightly include the revocation of their teaching certificates, the problem extends beyond the classrooms. The Province of Ontario’s ongoing interference in the education system actively harms marginalized students through bureaucratic measures, highlighting systemic issues that go far beyond individual misconduct.
Just recently, the Black Trustees’ Caucus of the Ontario Public School Board Association called out Ontario’s continued weakening of governance structures, particularly through provincial school board takeovers, as undermining efforts to address anti-Black racism in schools. In an open letter to Doug Ford, the Chair Black Trustees’ Caucus, Debbie King, rightfully argued that provincial supervision isn’t just administrative oversight; it’s disrupting hard-won equity efforts.
“Ontario cannot address systemic anti-Black racism while weakening the governance and equity structures designed to confront it,” Debbie King, chair of the Black Trustees’ Caucus, wrote in the letter. Sustaining strong oversight during provincial supervision is essential to meeting legal obligations, maintaining public confidence, and improving outcomes for Black students—and for all students,” the open letter read.
The letter also points to what it describes as a troubling pattern where, under the supervision, “at least 10 democratically elected Black trustees have been removed or sidelined in their governance roles.”
The sidelining of elected Black voices risks silencing those tasked with holding institutions and people within them accountable. It also threatened the support systems that Black students rely on. As the letter notes, trustees are elected to oversee critical responsibilities, including “monitoring race-based disparities and program access, reviewing systemic discrimination and exclusionary practices, and advancing equity and human rights obligations through policy and community engagement.”
Yet TCDSB still has homework to do, because it’s fallen short on the recommendations given by The Black Voices Study from November 2022, which revealed that half of 696 respondents had witnessed or heard of anti-Black racism in their child’s school or elsewhere in the TCDSB, while 40 per cent of respondents said their own child had experienced it firsthand.
The incident, coupled with Ontario’s continued meddling in the education system, is putting the experience of Black and marginalized students at risk. Now is the time to wake up and take meaningful action to do right by them.
—Sarah Adams & Meghrig Milkon, Editors in Chief
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Tom G.
As a retired (Catholic) high school teacher, I am appalled that these two teachers behaved this way. Shame on them, and I do hope they face serious repercussions. I’m not sure their OCT designations should be revoked as this is “presumably” a first offence, but the College of Teachers and the TCDSB must act.