SYSTEMIC RACISM AT MCCAIG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: CRARR RECEIVED MANDATE FROM MOTHER TO FILE CIVIL RIGHS COMPLAINT

Montreal, April 5, 2017 — CRARR has been mandated by Ms. Adrienne Charles, the Black mother of two young boys at McCaig Elementary School in Rosemere who were victims of several acts of racial harassment since the Fall of 2016, to bring her case to the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission.

The case made news headlines last month when Ms. Charles denounced publicly the racially discriminatory treatment repeatedly directed at her sons by other students. This treatment, which included racial slurs and jokes (such as the N-word) and aggressive behaviors by other students, has created an unbearable toxic environment for the Black children. Despite her repeated requests to the school principals for protection for her children, Ms. Charles has not seen any concrete measures of support from the school and the school board.

CRARR intends to tackle the case from a perspective of systemic racism in education, viewed from two angles. On the one hand, it will examine acts of race-based harassment and violence directed by students towards racialized students. On the other hand, CRARR will assess the tangible responses from the school board and staff, and how they carry out their legal institutional duty to prevent and stop a hostile environment that discriminates against minority students and that effectively denies them equal access to educational opportunities and benefits.

In light of the number of cases of a similar nature involving different school boards and schools that have been brought to its attention, CRARR will join some parents of affected children at the end of the month in publicly calling on Education Minister Sébastien Proulx to address systemic racism in schools.