Broken trust between Peel Board and the black community

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was truly unfortunate that on the eve of the Ministry of Education’s review of anti-black racism at the Peel District Board of Education (PDSD) that a trustee at the February 25^th public meeting called police. This incident shows how fractured the relationship has become between the PDSB and the black community. According to the March 12^th edition of the Mississauga News, Vice-Chair David Green reported, “I’m in fear of my life,” and that he felt threatened by parents at the February 25^th meeting.

He stated that, “When somebody tells us they feel unsafe, we have a duty and legal responsibility to respond and to call the police. I can appreciate that (the) presence of the police can feel threatening and I apologize for the negative impact of having them attend.” PDSB’s chair Brad MacDonald apologized at the meeting for summoning Peel Region Police at the February 25^th meeting in response to the trustee’s fears about feeling threatened.

At the March 10^th public meeting, there was a standing room only as the black community showed up to voice their objections to the treatment of black students. Dr.Tope Adefarakan spoke on behalf of the parents. According to the March 12^th, Mississauga News, she stated, “The police being called at the last board meeting is definitely concerning. The trust is quite broken between the Board and the black community.” She noted that the board has been “criminalizing” children by calling the police, and the same thing was repeated when the board calling the police on the parents. In her words, “There you are, dehumanizing the very people that are trying to hold you accountable. We will not be silenced. We will continue to advocate for our children. They are our future and we will not be stopped.” She did not mince words.

As reported by Sumran Dhunna on March 10^th on Facebook, the delegation asked clear questions to the trustees:

• Are you acting in the interests of black students or the police?
• Is it Peel District School Board or Police District School Boards?

These questions were followed by five specific demands that were made:

1. Have a third party produce a report on the violent policing experienced by black students
2. Clearly identify who will be held accountable for perpetrating anti-black police violence in schools
3. Remove school resource officers and reintroduce a motion on this removal at the next meeting
4. Collect race-based data and make it available to the public
5. An Afro-centric alternative school with a decolonized curriculum should exist in Peel

The culmination of this delegation saw the protestors led by Dr. Tope kneeling on the floor chanting, “Black Students Matter. We will not be silenced. We will not be stopped.”

According to parent advocate Mangaljit Dabb there were several changes that were subtly done by the board such as: removing black Trustee Kathy McDonald from parent involvement committee, calling the police on the black community, reducing the time parents can delegate (or make a presentation) to the board from ten minutes to five, and issuing a trespass letter to Idris Orugha and a letter of warning to parent advocate Kola Iluyomade for supposedly uttering derogatory remarks about schools and trustees in emails.