International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination marked in public schools

Students at Johnny Bright School learned about the International Day to End Racial Discrimination from the chair of the Edmonton Public School Board.

Some Edmonton public school students on Monday learned the story of Viola Desmond, the Black woman who is depicted on Canada’s $10 bill.

In 1946, Desmond refused to leave the white-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre, a protest that is often linked to the start of the civil rights movement in Canada.

For International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, annually recognized on March 21, Edmonton Public Schools’ board chair Saadiq Sumar read Desmond’s story to a group of Grade 3 students at Johnny Bright School.

When asked what they learned, Reshana told CTV News Edmonton, “Don’t be rude to other people’s cultures. And don’t be rude about their lunch and their skin colour.”

“I learned that (Desmond) went to a movie theatre and that in 19-something-something, Black people had to sit up on the top layer and they weren’t allowed to sit beside white (people),” her peer Zack said. “It’s wrong because, for example, my best friend is not a white person.”

Eliana added, “People’s cultures matter and people can’t just treat people because of their culture or their skin or their hair or whatever, and they should not bully people for what they are or who they are.”

Sumar said the goal of the reading was to teach that racism like Desmond experienced is part of Canada’s history, but doesn’t have to be its future.

“Some of them really were profound questions about racism, about belonging generally, and about the safety of kids in our schools,” Sumar said of the topics discussed at the end.

“I commend our staff for doing such a fantastic job of bringing our kids up to speed with what’s happening in the 21st century, making sure that we raise not just academically excellent students, but also students who want to make sure they do better in their communities, that are empathetic, that care about their fellow students and even the staff that work in the building.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Klippenstein