BEING BLACK IN CANADA
Students talk of experiences
Kylandra Cooper admits she was a rebel with a cause during her teenage years she just didn’t know what it was for too long.
“A piece of me was missing, my black heritage,” said Cooper, a mixed race child raised by a white family in Leamington. “I never got to explore that part of myself when I was younger living in a community and attending a school where no one looked like me. “When I got a chance to finally connect with my (biological) father’s family, it all made sense to me. I just had to fit in that missing piece.
“I was raised in a loving family, but they couldn’t give me that piece and now I know why.” Having made that journey of self exploration, Cooper emphasizes events such as Wednesday’s second annual Blackness and Canadian Identity conference are vital in allowing minority students the space to unpack themselves. For a day, the 217 mostly black students attending the conference put on by the Greater Essex County District School Board got to feel just how freeing it is to be in the majority.
There would be no need to be a spokesperson for your race, to have to try and explain to classmates your different experiences or not to see a teacher or even a student that looks the same as you. “I didn’t have positive black role models in my life,” said Cooper, who has just completed the public board’s School Within a College Program (SWAC) that earns students the credits they need to graduate Grade 12 while also learning credits at St. Clair College. “I thought being black was just the negative stereotypes you see. I think a lot of young black people fall into that trap.
“I’m back on track thanks to programs like SWAC end events like this. I’m hoping to start prehealth at St. Clair now and intend to become a nurse.”
The public school board’s diversity officer Rachel Olivero said providing minority students with examples of role models, opportunities and giving them a voice are the goals of the conference. “We want the students who attend to see themselves as leaders, place value in themselves and have pride in their identity,” said Olivero, who said the conference was open to all high-school students. “We want to counter program some of the negative things around them.”
Olivero said it’s not just a oneday job.
The board offers a year-round mentorship program specifically aimed at racialized students called Change For the Future.
The conference also featured a workshop for teachers in which graduated students shared what they ’d wished teachers had known during their high-school careers. “It’s the first time for many teachers having that frank a discussion with students,” Olivero said. Kennedy student Abuolo Cham particularly enjoyed how free- ranging the discussions were in the workshops.
“It wasn’t sugar-coated,” said Cham, who hopes to become a doctor.
“The acknowledgment (of black students’ perspective) was very good. We’re much more than the stereotypes.”
Lydia Abraha, a Grade-12 student at Kennedy, said she’s never had a black teacher. She’s also felt isolated at times being the only black student in a classroom. “I have to be careful what I say and be educated on issues because I’m looked at speaking for a whole race sometimes,” Abraha said. Abraha said making the public board’s African studies course available at more schools would help fill the knowledge gap that exists.
“Education is the most valuable and powerful tool we have,” said Abraha, who will pursue a career as a physician.
Abraha was encouraged that several non-black students were also in attendance.
“These students aren’t black and don’t understand what it’s like to be black and they’re not pretending to,” Abraha said. “That’s what’s great. They’re here to learn what it’s like for us. Everyone is being educated by each other.”
I thought being black was just the negative stereotypes you see. I think a lot of young black people fall into that trap.