Jan. 15 is Black Excellence Day and Black Shirt Day

Today, the district is proud to support both Black Excellence Day and Black Shirt Day, two movements recognizing Black history, stories, art and people in solidarity with Black Canadians, as well as encouraging education and dialogue on the history of racism and civil rights in Canada.

“January 15^th is an opportunity to celebrate Black excellence through our students and what’s happening in schools,” said JB Mahli, Director of Instruction for Racial Equity. “It’s an opportunity for us to recognize that Black excellence really is about Canadian history and uplifting Black voices – within our schools, we do our best to offer culturally responsive resources to really celebrate the joy and criticality of racial equity, and to bring that to life across our whole school year.”

Both movements coincide with the birthday of American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and are reserved to promote racial inclusivity, recognize inequality and acknowledge the ongoing civil rights struggle of Black and racialized Canadians. The day itself is also a chance to show solidarity by wearing black.

This school year, Racial Equity manager Nick Brown has helped students organize and establish Black student unions at six Surrey secondary schools. The main purpose of the Black student unions is to provide students an opportunity to speak up, discuss issues such as racial language and lived experiences that affect racialized students and communities, and promote positive contributions to the arts, culture and history of Black Canadians.

“It gives them a voice and to share some of the feelings that they feel within their schools,” said Brown. “There have been a lot of students who want to start Black student unions within their schools so we’re working to help them in their pursuit of equity.”

Brown said the new Black student unions also provide an opportunity for secondary students to teach younger students at elementary feeder schools about racial equity and antiracism. The secondary students are currently building workshops to present to Grade 6 and 7 students, with the aim of reducing and improving issues experienced by racialized students in future generations.

“The hope is that Grade 7 students who attend these workshops can come to high school and see someone they recognize,” said Brown. “And the Grade 6 students entering Grade 7 will then be the leaders at their school, and we’ll be building together that student-teaching-student model, which is guided by their racial equity lead at that school.”

Today, about 4,000 Surrey students from nearly every school across the district are attending a live virtual event hosted by the Ninandotoo Anti-Racism Society and the Burnaby School District on Zoom from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The event will feature discussions on the contributions of Black Canadians and their ongoing civil rights struggle.

This year’s event also includes student-led videos from A.H.P. Matthew Elementary, North Surrey Secondary and Queen Elizabeth Secondary.

Events such as these are powerful opportunities to learn, promote inclusivity, acceptance and equity in our schools and communities.