For Black parents, racist video seen as painful reminder and a teachable moment
Video of teenage girls from West Island school prompts calls for greater awareness, more education
A racist video of two West Island teens being shared widely online has served as a cruel reminder for Black parents of the challenges their children still face.
The video is a minute long, heavily edited and shows the teenage girls dancing in blackface to a song that uses racial slurs to describe Black people, including repeated use of the N-word.
It was posted online and spread quickly Monday.
Sabi Hinkson, a teacher and mother of two Black daughters, saw it that morning while working from home.
"Everything about me hurt to see something like this, especially during a time like this," Hinkson said, referring to the international anti-racist civil rights movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by Minneapolis police.
"It is painful; it is psychologically damaging; it is a very dangerous thing when you involve race in bullying, and I think we're not dealing with it appropriately."
Growing up in Montreal, Hinkson said she experienced racism. She was hoping things would improve for her children.
"It seems to be getting worse," she said.
The girls in the video, who attend Lester B. Pearson School Board's John Rennie High School, are not being named by CBC News.
They were the subject of a police investigation, but Montreal police spokesperon Raphaël Bergeron said Tuesday there were not enough elements to lay charges.
'Wake-up call' for school board
The chair of the Pearson board, Noel Burke, said the video was not made recently and that it resurfaced online.
Burke said the video is "appalling" but that it's a symptom of a larger societal problem.
"It's a wake-up call for us as a board," he said.
Although the board has a policy on bullying of all types, Burke said he foresees the creation of a specific policy on racism in the short term.
In the long term, he said, the board will review curricula and literature to ensure inclusiveness is part of students' education.
The board hasn't decided whether to expel the students in the video. The decision, he said, will be based on what is safest for them and the school community.
"Before we act impulsively on that, we need to understand the act behind it," he said.
John Rennie High School, for its part, issued a statement on its Facebook page Monday, saying the administration immediately reported the video to authorities and is co-operating with the investigation.
The video was produced outside of school activities, the statement says, but "nonetheless, we wish to emphatically underscore that this video is completely in contradiction to the values shared by our students, staff and our school community."
As of Tuesday afternoon, 7,000 people had signed a petition calling for the two students to be expelled.
A time to talk to your kids about racism
The school's Facebook page is filled with comments, some calling on school officials to discipline the girls or host anti-racist workshops.
Allison Saunders, a Black mother who co-organized an anti-racism protest in Pointe-Claire last weekend, said focusing on punishing the girls misses the point.
"Instead of looking at those kids, look at your kids," she said. "Have a conversation. Why is it not OK to make a video like this?"
Parents, she said, should use this moment to talk to their children about racism.
"Our community is hurting. Our kids are hurting, and our adults are sitting around online passing this video around and calling for justice. It's not their place," Saunders said.
"What we do have control of is our own family and how we behave in the world."
WATCH: Black teens hope racist video leads to education, understanding
With files from Kate McKenna and CBC Montreal Daybreak