ROCKWOOD – Silence is validating the behaviour.
That was the message over 200, Grade 4-8 students from Rockwood Centennial Public School walked away with Thursday morning after an interactive presentation from the Get REAL Movement, a Canadian non-profit focused on combatting 2SLGBTQIA+ discrimination, racism, and bullying in schools, summer camps, and workplaces.
Hosted by Courtney Allain and Kamau Peterson from Get REAL, the event mixed storytelling with general education to help contextualize what racism can look like and "bring the experience closer to home" while explaining how students can become better allies to their BIPOC classmates.
"We'll hear students saying they're going through these moments of racism but then we'll also hear students say oh it doesn't happen here, I've never seen it happen here," said Allain. "I think it's important to bring awareness that it is happening in your schools and you might even be a part of it."
During the presentation, both Allain and Peterson spoke about racism they've experienced throughout their lives. A former professional athlete, Peterson said he used to go by Kriss or Kris to avoid negative comments about his name- a microaggression.
Now, Peterson recognizes that by staying silent instead of defending himself he was "co-signing" or validating the behaviour and wishes he'd felt strong enough to take pride in his culture and use his real name Kamau, which means quiet warrior in Kikuyu, a native Kenyan language.
"As an adult, it's upsetting to hear that these young students are going through these same instances of racism that I did when I was that age so we know there's a lot of work to do," said Allain. "We see it out in the world around us and it trickles down to the students and the school environments too. So that's our goal; to change that."
One of the Grade 8 students who attended the event, Nomvelo Dube, said she believes the event is important because a lot of people don't understand how racism impacts others, calling the presentation's section on microaggressions "relatable."
"It feels like you can't say anything about it at the moment because they'll just say that that's not what they meant," said Dube. "You know it's intentional and they know it's intentional but nobody else will understand."
Another Grade 8 student, Zoe Dow, said the presentation helped her understand as an ally how important it is to keep trying and speaking up.
"This kind of stuff happens all the time (at Rockwood)," said Dow. "In the past, I've seen examples of racism and personally, it's disgusted me to have to witness that. It's ridiculous to judge someone based on their skin colour."
Principal Reena Anand also spoke on her experiences with racism during the presentation, encouraging students to go home and think about what they can do to help combat it in their schools and communities.
"As you know, being a racialized principal hasn't been easy for me either. These stories that they shared, I can relate to them too," said Anand. "Your friends in your classrooms who deal with racism on an ongoing basis, I'm hoping that all of you take something away from this today ... because you all have voices that can uplift."
Specifically discussing small, rural communities like Wellington County, Allain said it's important for residents to remember that racism "is happening here too."
"We're seeing more racialized communities moving to these rural communities and they're experiencing racism at high rates," said Allain. "So having these conversations early and often will hopefully combat that."
Anand agreed, saying she believes it's important for both students and staff to understand the impacts of racism so they can be allies, check their existing biases and "unlearn to learn."
"I think we just need to be mindful that this work is very important and we're doing everything we can in the community to raise and build awareness ... to help students feel comfortable coming to school and feeling safe," said Anand.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program