FEATURE
WE HAVE WORK TO DO
Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Catholic Schools By Tia Duke
This article is based on my own experience. Black educators are individuals, and Black people are not a monolith. I hope that sharing my thoughts on being a Black Catholic educator will resonate, enlighten, and challenge all of us. I am hopeful that we can start to collectively learn and unlearn so we can do the work to dismantle anti-Black racism in our Catholic schools.
16 CATHOLIC TEACHER | JUNE 2020
In every Ontario Catholic school I have attended, or taught, I have experienced anti-Black racism.
For some, reading the bolded statement above will feel like a betrayal. At this point, I am unconcerned about white fragility, or the micro-/macro-aggressions that may present themselves in our interactions. I am not attacking Catholic education. I am attacking the antiBlack racism that occurs within schools
in Ontario’s publicly funded Catholic education system. I can easily recall every racist incident from Kindergarten to year 15 of my teaching career. I can remember the incidents from childhood, adolescence, and adulthood vividly. With the exception of the completion of my degree programs, I have spent the entirety of my life in Catholic schools.
