When York Region District School Board (YRDSB) teacher Claudette Rutherford got a call from the police about a hateful letter targeting her, she thought she was being pranked.
A copy of a newspaper article Rutherford was featured in addressing anti-Black racism in education was “defaced” with slurs and mailed to the YRDSB office.
But she says the call from York Regional Police (YRP) was the first time she was hearing of it.
“I felt worried … concerned for myself and for my family,” Rutherford said, noting that it felt like a “personal threat.”
After the call from police, she got in touch with Louise Sirisko, director of education at YRDSB, who explained the situation and that a police report had been filed.
YRP told Rutherford that the letter was received March 25. She heard from police a week later on April 1.
Rutherford, who is a social sciences department head, still isn’t sure why the school board didn’t get in contact with her. “I felt like I should have been notified well before then,” she said. “It should have been a priority to let me know, especially if you’ve spoken to the police.”
Rutherford is a co-founder of Parents of Black Children, an advocacy group that was founded to support families and combat anti-Black racism in schools. She said it’s a priority for them to make sure processes and tools are in place for families and staff to feel supported by the education system.
“This is an indication that those processes and the protocols that we’ve been talking about are not in place,” she said.
In an emailed statement to the Star, YRDSB spokesperson Licinio Miguelo said, “YRDSB takes all incidents of racism, and specifically in this case, anti-Black racism, very seriously.”
Miguelo confirmed that “hateful correspondence was directed at one of our teachers,” which was immediately reported to YRP whose investigation is ongoing.
“We will continue to fully co-operate with YRP’s investigation, as well as ensure that anyone affected by this incident receives the support they need,” he wrote.
The statement did not address why the teacher was not notified directly.
In February, a similar incident occurred in the TDSB. A copy of a Star article about a course on anti-Black racism was defaced with racist comments and mailed to the school in question.
In that case, the TDSB said the teachers who created the course were notified and a meeting was held with leadership and equity representatives.
While it could be a busy time with the pandemic response, Rutherford hasn’t felt like the usual wraparound supports at the school board have been available to her.
“I did expect at least a phone call and notification and outreach — some sort of support,” she said.
Doing this work you end up being a target, Rutherford said. “We do need to be protected and supported in the work that we’re doing to help eradicate and dismantle anti-Black racism.”
Angelyn Francis is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative report at the Toronto Star
