Race-based education is political, but so is the Black existence

This First Person column is by Hillary LeBlanc, a 27-year-old communications professional and content creator, originally from Moncton, N.B.  LeBlanc is advising a committee proposing changes to the New Brunswick  school curriculum. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. 

When I was two years old I was called an "N-word baby" while getting my first pair of panties for potty training, at a mall in Moncton, N.B. This was the first time I was made to feel othered.  

That feeling would continue through 23 years in New Brunswick schools. 

Being confronted with racism, coupled with a lack of Black histories and representation in the school system contributed to a lost sense of identity. 

For years I did not associate with my Blackness and often felt I did not know who I really was. I eventually took the time to bond with my Black family members and look into my history on my own, which led me to participate in the Black in the Maritimes podcast, an avenue that has opened many doors for me. 

Through the podcast, I was asked to be on a committee that would inform New Brunswick school curricula on Black histories and encourage more Black representation. 

While this experience has been a complete honour, some of the responses I've received in conjunction with the work have shown just how resistant some people are to race-related education. They believe educating people about race will somehow turn into racism, when it is the contrary. 

The unfortunate reality that Black and other people of colour face is that they are racialized from birth. 

White people often question why things like education and politics become race-related. But when you are fighting from the moment you are born for your existence to be validated, every moment you live is racialized.

People seem to believe that this work is pointless, but my existence is the point.

Growing up different

Some people question when it is age-appropriate to bring these "difficult topics" into the conversation. But the answer is simple: if a child is young enough to be racially profiled, then they are young enough to start to learn about equality.

Growing up as a mixed-race (Black presenting) person in Moncton, I felt I was different from a very early age.

I never saw myself in my teachers, on TV or in books. In school I had no teachers of colour, and I was one of (at most) five other Black students.

Kids often reminded me I was different by making Black jokes, saying I had N-word lips, asking why the palms of my hands were white. 

I was recently met with the unfortunate reality that the racism present in New Brunswick and in its schools had not changed. 

I had the pleasure of meeting a Black student who is from the same area where I grew up. He is having the same identity crisis I experienced, the same racism being put upon him in school, and he too feels alone and othered the same way I did nine years prior. 

It breaks my heart to know that representation in New Brunswick schools has not increased, that teachers still do not know how to properly handle racism, and that even though it's been a decade since I experienced these things, the Greater Moncton Area still demonstrates hatred to Black people as young as 16. 

Hope for change

The minute we are born, we are put into this category of other. And because we cannot change our race to conform to the ideals of society, or to become more palatable, we have had to constantly fight to prove why we deserve what we have earned, why our voices should be heard and why our opinions matter. 

In hindsight, and with hope for the future generations, I see now where I was constantly defending my Blackness and my existence and where I believe schools could have been better allies in helping me solidify my self-esteem and confidence as a young Black woman.

It is also important to note that teaching children about equality and racial history does not have to be about slavery, lynchings or hatred.

Children can be taught very early on what Black joy looks like, what Black success is, who some Black heroes are, that everyone is capable and worthy of the same opportunities and rights. These lessons transcend colour, gender, ability.

Black stories will end racism, not encourage it

I see it as a white privilege that certain people cannot wrap their heads around why race theory should be taught in schools, or that they are able to believe that teaching race will lead to racism. 

Sadly, some families do teach racism to their kids and those kids, teens or adults (in my case) will find children who are different and use slurs against them before they are even potty-trained.

I do not believe most Black people want to continue the propulsion of hatred and racism. We tell our stories, our experiences, our joys and our plights so that we can be regarded as humans who deserve basic human rights.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.