West Indian to African Canadian: Race and Education in Toronto in the 1970s to 1990s

• In Event: 28.033 - Black Power, Black Schools, and Radical Multicultural Reform

Abstract

This paper examines how race, particularly Black people, was to be addressed by teachers in public classrooms in Toronto, Ontario from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. In 1971, the federal government adopted a multicultural policy that resulted in the introduction of new policies at the school district level. Although education was controlled provincially, this federal policy shaped curriculum in Ontario and as a result Toronto. At the same time of increased migration of Black people from the Caribbean into Toronto, there was a shift in how marginalized populations were to be addressed in curriculum as seen through government policies, teaching materials produced for teachers, and scholarly work in education.

Author

• Tianna Dowie-Chin, University of Florida