17-year-old speaks out about racism faced at Winnipeg Catholic school

A Black high school student in Winnipeg finally had enough of the Catholic high school she was attending after a white student, during a pumpkin carving contest, suggested they paint the pumpkin black and name it after her.

That was after nearly a year-and-a-half of harassment, racial slurs, asking for permission to use the N-word and hair touching directed at Imani Pinder, who was one of the few Black students at St. Boniface Diocesan High School when she attended in 2017 and part of the 2018 academic year.

"I had never experienced any sort of extreme racism like that before, so it came to a huge shock to me and I didn't really know how to react to it," said Pinder.

"It was pretty damaging to my self-esteem, and I felt like I had lost my voice and I had lost my power in all this."

Going to high school is an adjustment for many students, but this was especially true for Pinder, who was coming from a predominantly Black middle school.

Some students were sympathetic to her plight, she said, but others were not and neither were teachers.

After the incident during the pumpkin carving contest, Pinder went to the school's guidance counsellor to file a report, but to her knowledge no punishment ever came of it.

In an email to CBC News, St. Boniface Diocesan High School said it had received complaints from Pinder in the fall of 2017 and 2018 regarding "racially-based bullying from other students."

The school says it immediately started investigating the complaints, contacted the families of the students involved, disciplined the bullies and offered support for Pinder.

'Reopened old wounds'

"Infuriating, frustrating, heartbreaking," said Pinder's father, Jason, about what his daughter faced.

"It definitely reopened old wounds that I also have from growing up in Winnipeg as a Black man or a Black boy," said Jason Pinder, who is now a teacher at West Kildonan Collegiate.

"It just took me back and it was really frustrating to approach a school, to approach a principal, an administrator to try and do something, and nothing has really been done. Sending a kid on a holiday for a suspension isn't the answer."

Jason Pinder remembers sitting down several times with administrators at the school about the racism directed toward his daughter, and offering suggestions that could help fix the problem — such as studying Black literature or teaching Black history — and how to address anti-Black racism.

But he says nothing was done.

"After the third time, you just give up," he said.

"You just try to advocate for yourself, fight back. If someone's being aggressive to you, be aggressive to them. If they want to verbally attack you, challenge them every time. But it's exhausting."

That battle is a core element to white supremacy, he said, because the constant conflict can become so tiring that people will stop fighting for what's right.

Speaking out

Pinder says she has received a lot of support from alumni of St. Boniface Diocesan High School, who say they experienced or witnessed similar behaviour. Others accused her of slandering people's names, she said.

"But I feel this is kind of the perfect time to bring light to this issue, now that the world is paying attention to Black rights," she said.

Since joining a new school, Pinder says life has gotten much better. The racism still exists in some form, but she's more comfortable and has even organized a Black students union.

At 17 years old, Pinder was also the youngest of the organizers who helped put on Justice 4 Black Lives, a rally demanding justice for Black people and changes to policing that drew thousands of people to the Manitoba Legislature a week ago.

"It meant a lot to me, definitely one of the most important things I've done this year by far," she said.

"When I was up on stage and had the mic, I had so much confidence, I felt so much power and I felt that my voice was important," she said.

"I hadn't really felt that for a very long time — or honestly ever, just with all that I've experienced in Canadian schools."

Both father and daughter want to see part of the school curriculum be devoted to Black perspectives — outside of Black History Month — and see Black people hold teacher and administrative positions in schools, while current school staff should be educated about anti-Black racism.

If Pinder can't get to see those initiatives come to fruition before graduating, she hopes the kids behind her can.