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The summer of 2012 was the “summer of the gun” in Toronto. 

At ETFO’s Annual Meeting in August 2012, members attending the Black Member and Allies Caucus 
discussed ongoing and senseless youth violence, with black males at the centre. The conversation was 
very emotional and members reflected on some of the possible contributing factors to the violence 
claiming the lives of black youths such as TDSB student Shayanne Charles, whose elementary teachers 
were present in the caucus. One issue raised was the lack of sufficient, secure employment for youth, 
especially youth of colour. Another issue was many youths’ apparent disconnect from school and their 
own personal achievement within the education system. 

Members shared their experiences and identified factors they felt were at the root of this disconnect. 
One factor was the need for educators to be aware of our privilege and how we teach as a result of 
it. Members at that caucus wanted educators to be part of a solution. It was agreed that ETFO could 
do more to assist members in understanding their privilege and in understanding the importance of 
culturally relevant pedagogy. 

The caucus created a new business motion “that ETFO provide resource materials on white privilege, 
anti-racist theory and culturally relevant pedagogy.” The motion didn’t get to the floor of the 2012 
Annual Meeting, however it was approved by delegates to the 2013 Annual Meeting. 

In implementing this direction from Annual Meeting, the ETFO Executive recognized the huge scope of 
the task and committed to a multi-year project. The first phase was the development of a workshop 
that would be available to members, and designed to stimulate thinking and reflection on issues of 
white privilege.

Carol Zavitz and Adam Peer from the ETFO staff convened a writing group of members, including Sonia 
Ellis-Séguin from Toronto, Emily Hastings-Speck and Debbie White from Peel and Jill Aoki-Barrett from 
Niagara (Jill is now on the ETFO staff). Working with support from Tina Lopes, a Toronto-based anti-
racist activist and consultant, the group wrote and piloted the workshop between February and June, 
2014. 

The workshop itself is the first phase of a much longer-term project. Our 
approach is best expressed in the text from our poster and buttons:

RE-THINK YOUR PRIVILEGE

RE-CONNECT WITH YOUR STUDENTS

RE-IMAGINE A BETTER FUTURE

Our privilege takes on many forms and impacts our classroom experiences, 
our students and our world. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario 
is committed to improving education for all students across the province 
through a process of re-thinking white privilege, re-connecting with our 
students, and re-imagining a better world. Let’s work together.

ETFO Explores White Privilege