Coalition of Black communities concerned anti-racism measures under unfair scrutiny after death of former TDSB principal

Understandable. But similarly need to be mindful of counterproductive approaches as this case illustrates:

A coalition of Black community organizations in Ontario is expressing concern that a government review of the circumstances that led to the death of a former Toronto District School Board principal will put anti-racism and equity measures under unfair scrutiny.

Speaking in front of the provincial legislature in Queen’s Park on Wednesday, representatives of the organizations said the death of the principal, Richard Bilkszto, is being used to dismantle these diversity measures at school boards and to discredit Kike Ojo-Thompson, an anti-racism trainer who led a workshop the former principal attended two years ago.

Mr. Bilkszto retired from the school board in 2019 after more than two decades in education, but continued to work on a contract basis. His lawyer, Lisa Bildy, has said he died in July by suicide. He had filed a lawsuit against the school board, alleging it had failed to protect him after a confrontation with Ms. Ojo-Thompson during the workshop.

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce characterized Mr. Bilkszto’s allegations as “serious and disturbing” in a statement last month. He said that his government would review the circumstances that led to the educator’s death.

It is not clear if the workshop played any role in the death. Even so, the incident has galvanized right-wing commentators, who have been critical of equity, diversity, and inclusion training at school boards. The government has said it will investigate what happened during the workshop as part of its probe.

The group outside the Ontario legislature on Wednesday called for transparency in the government’s review.

“Any attempt to remove or restrict anti-racism education in this province will have severe and detrimental consequences perpetuating inequities and hindering the progress we have collectively made in fostering an inclusive and compassionate learning environment,” Amanuel Melles, executive director of the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities, told reporters.

“Any attempt to remove and restrict anti-racism education in this province, based on the death of one individual, is an intentional appropriation of the death for political gains,” he added. “This will not happen under our watch.”

Idris Orughu, a community organizer, told reporters there is an “active campaign to villainize and undermine anti-racism work in this province.”

The organizations are calling for the province to meet with them, reaffirm its commitment to anti-racism work and “denounce the scapegoating” of the trainer and her consulting firm, which is called the KOJO Institute.

In a statement on Wednesday, Grace Lee, a spokesperson for Mr. Lecce, said that while the review “into these disturbing allegations will occur, we remain firm that professional anti-racism and anti-discrimination training will continue.”

Before his death, Mr. Bilkszto was outspoken about diversity and equity issues. Last year, his name appeared on the conference agenda for New Blue, a newly created right-wing political party in Ontario. He was scheduled to speak on critical race theory in schools.

In his lawsuit, Mr. Bilkszto alleged that Ms. Ojo-Thompson “implicitly referred” to him as a racist and a white supremacist during the workshop, which was a professional-development course for administrators. Mr. Bilkszto alleged that senior school staff did not stop the harassment. He said this was contrary to the school board’s policy of protecting the well-being and safety of its employees.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

A statement of claim provided by Mr. Bilkszto’s lawyer said that, during a session, Mr. Bilkszto expressed an opinion that challenged a claim by Ms. Ojo-Thompson that Canada was more racist than the United States and had “never reckoned with its anti-Black history.”

Mr. Bilkszto, who had previously taught in Buffalo, N.Y., disagreed and referred to Canada’s education and health care system. He said it would have been an “incredible disservice to our learners” to suggest Canada lagged the U.S. in this way.

In a session the following week, Ms. Ojo-Thompson emphasized the previous interaction with Mr. Bilkszto “as being a ‘real-life’ example of ‘resistance’ in support of white supremacy,” the statement of claim said.

Mr. Bilkszto said he was berated in front of his peers and felt humiliated, according to the claim.

In May, 2021, Mr. Bilkszto filed a mental stress injury claim with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board over the training. The WSIB decision, which was provided to The Globe and Mail by his lawyer, was in his favour. He was awarded almost two months of lost earnings in a ruling that described Ms. Ojo-Thompson’s behaviour during the training sessions as “abusive, egregious and vexatious.”

His lawyer, Ms. Bildy, said in a statement that the incidents caused her client “severe mental distress” and that he “succumbed to this distress.”

In a statement on the KOJO Institute’s website last week, Ms. Ojo-Thompson said her company would co-operate with the government review. She said allegations made by Mr. Bilkszto were false. The incident, she said, is “being weaponized to discredit” anti-racism work.

Source: Coalition of Black communities concerned anti-racism measures under unfair scrutiny after death of former TDSB principal