My daughter, the class valedictorian, was on art school principal’s ‘Black list’
My daughter Marlee is the 2018 valedictorian at Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA). Her average is in the 90s. She’s heading to a university in the Maritimes in the fall, where she was awarded a prestigious scholarship. Please bear with me. This isn’t about motherly bragging. I share these details primarily to provide context.
My 18-year-old daughter, who graduated from ESA last week, was one of the students who the school’s principal, Peggy Aitchison, put on what has now been dubbed the “Black list.”
The problematic layers of this are many. But what I find particularly perplexing is that Aitchison created the list by combing through yearbook photos and black and white headshots and used this as her guide for populating her list. In one instance, in the case of mixedraced twins, one was put on the list while the other was not.
The principal’s defence for the creation of the list was supposedly in aid of addressing gaps in academic success for Black students that the Toronto District School Board has identified.
But curiously, many of the students named on the list are high achievers. I watched some of these graduates on the list proudly go up to receive their high school diplomas as their many academic achievements and scholarships were announced.
So what gives with the “Black list” at ESA?
The principal created the list back in November — about a month after the TDSB’s equity task force draft report called out arts schools, such as ESA, for their lack of diversity.
I wonder whether the creation of the “Black list” wasn’t some kind of ill-conceived defensive posture. As in, there may not be many, but our Black students are doing well!
What was she thinking when she sat down thumbing through a yearbook and creating the list? Did she for a moment ask herself: Who did I consult? Did I reach out to the equity experts at the TDSB? Did I talk to faculty? Did I talk to the school community?
Was it arrogance that made her so certain in carrying out her task? Or did she just not get it?
The principal certainly didn’t get it when Marlee and her three friends bravely confronted her after they found out about the list that was shared with arts major teachers and then withdrawn after some faculty members were appalled.
My daughter, who is of mixed-race, explained her anger and dismay that her principal had reduced her to a category on a list and shared the information behind close doors without her consent.
I was in one of several meetings where my daughter and her friends pushed the principal to take accountability for her actions and apologize.
The best apology Aitchison could muster was, “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
Marlee told her principal that she and other students on the list had good cause to be hurt, but that wasn’t the reason she should be sorry. “You should be sorry because what you did was wrong. You should be sorry because you racially profiled us.” But still the principal didn’t get it.
In a recent letter, Aitchison sent to the school community announcing that she had requested a transfer, she repeated that she was sorry if she hurt some students and families. She didn’t say: “I was wrong.”
At a recent ESA school community meeting sparked by pressure from students, one lone faculty member defended the list saying it was meant to stay behind close doors.
In Marlee’s eloquent valedictory speech, she echoed the powerful message that if you think racism is OK if it goes on behind closed doors, then you’re the problem.
Shuffling a problem from one school to another is not a solution.
Shining light on the systemic racism that exists within the TDSB and taking accountable and transparent actions to address it is the answer.
It has been said that sunlight is the best disinfectant. And things kept in the shadows fester.
Sometimes taking action means public institutions such as the TDSB have to recognize attitudes and people who are anachronistic and out of time, and move them aside so that the institution can step into the light.