Racial Equity manager Nick Brown receives national recognition award from ABEEL Foundation
Racial Equity manager Nick Brown (centre) is one of this year's award recipients at the ABEEL Foundation's (Alliance of Black Employee Experience & Leadership) SFSHP National Awards (Shaping the Future of High School Program), recognized for his work to multiply the number of Surrey Schools students who submitted for bursaries from the non-profit organization, and his ongoing work to uphold Black excellence and enact antiracism efforts in the district.
The ABEEL Foundation (Alliance of Black Employee Experience & Leadership) is recognizing the manager of the district’s Racial Equity department for his work to empower and inspire Black youth in Surrey, White Rock and beyond.
Nick Brown received an award of recognition at ABEEL’s annual SFSHP National Awards (Shaping the Future of High School Program) in Toronto, honouring secondary students, educators and school communities that challenge systemic racism in innovative ways.
Brown was nominated by ABEEL founder Samuel Ajobo for his work in increasing the representation of Black students from Surrey Schools in submissions to the non-profit, which supports students with bursaries for post-secondary education and entrepreneurship.
“They were struggling to find where a lot of the Black students were,” he said. “The population is very scattered, they only had a few northern schools like Guildford Park, Kwantlen Park and North Surrey involved, and I said, ‘You’re missing Frank Hurt, Tamanawis, Semiahmoo, Grandview Heights.’
“We opened it up to all 21 schools plus the Burnaby School District, and I was able to triple the nominations and the entries of the students to make this our largest year.”
As Racial Equity manager over the past two years, Brown has been and influential figure in enacting antiracism efforts throughout the district and elevating the voices of Black students. His accomplishments also include:
- assisting with the establishment of Black Student Unions across Surrey and White Rock secondary schools;
- collaborating with the Research & Evaluation department on Youth as Changemakers, a program that gives students in secondary equity clubs the opportunity to create projects to improve topics of equity in their schools;;
- upholding Black excellence and recognizing Black History Month in schools, educating communities on Black art, stories and people of Canada’s past and present; and
- celebrating Black staff who make meaningful contributions to their schools and leave a lasting impact on students and peers; and
- furthering the efforts of Surrey Schools’ Racial Equity Strategic Plan, aimed at strengthening diversity and belonging in the district through culturally affirming and responsive equity initiatives.
Within this work, Brown has conducted antiracism training for secondary students in Surrey, inspiring Grade 10 to 12 students at numerous schools to share their knowledge with Grade 6 and 7 students at nearby elementary schools and continue racial equity work in their broader communities.
Brown said he hopes to continue to grow groups like Youth as Changemakers and other Racial Equity initiatives to make a difference in the lives of racialized students in the district.
“In my speech, I kind of touched on my personal experience growing up around racism and my lived experience, and I tied it into education and foundations like ABEEL that remind us that we can continue to grow and break barriers,” he said. “I’m appreciative of the foundation and of getting the opportunity to work with and empower Black students.”
