This Video Shows How Little Black History Is Taught In Ontario Schools

To be a young Black student in this country, or perhaps to be a Black Canadian in general, is to routinely witness the erasure of your own history. It is quite possible (common, even) to be shuttled through the entirety of ones school education without ever learning about Canadas legacy of slavery , or its legislation of Black segregated schools , or anything, really, about Black history in Canada.

Over the last couple of months, the movement to incorporate more Black history into Canadian schools has intensified. Most recently, the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS) has mounted a campaign urging the Ministry of Education to make changes to curriculum that offer a more comprehensive look at Black history in this country.

This week, the Canadian charity dedicated to the study, preservation and promotion of Black history and heritage released an advertisement for this campaign called #BlackedOutHistory . The video illustrates what happens when you remove all the non-Black history from a Canadian textbook.

Just 13 of the 255 pages remain.

This is what happens when you remove all of the non-Black history from a Canadian history textbook. #BlackedOutHistory pic.twitter.com/O213ws23pp

OBHS (@OBHistory) October 21, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"OBHS","author_url":"https://twitter.com/OBHistory","cache_age":86400,"description":"This is what happens when you remove all of the non-Black history from a Canadian history textbook. #BlackedOutHistory pic.twitter.com/O213ws23pp OBHS (@OBHistory) October 21, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1318861792341299200/pu/img/gA5RGUGotvmlT4Eu.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"OBHS on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/OBHistory/status/1318862315161374725","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"archive","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"ca","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5f91cb7bc5b695a32fb1835b","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/archive/ca/entry/black-history-ontario-education-video_ca_5f91cb7bc5b695a32fb1835b","entryTagsList":"parents,education,racism,identity,life,high-school,black-canadians,@ca-lifestyle-viral,@instantarticle,@newsletter-lifestyle2","sectionSlug":"parents","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"living","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.parents","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":14},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5f91cb7bc5b695a32fb1835b","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"parents","slug":"parents","links":{"relativeLink":"news/parents","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/parents","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/parents"},"section":{"title":"Parents","slug":"parents"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/parents"},{"name":"Education","slug":"education","links":{"relativeLink":"news/education","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/education","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/education"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/education"},{"name":"racism","slug":"racism","links":{"relativeLink":"news/racism","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/racism","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/racism"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/racism"},{"name":"identity","slug":"identity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/identity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/identity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/identity"},"section":{"title":"Life","slug":"living"},"topic":{"title":"Identity","slug":"identity","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/identity"},{"name":"life","slug":"life","links":{"relativeLink":"news/life","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/life","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/life"},"section":{"title":"Life","slug":"living"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/life"},{"name":"high school","slug":"high-school","links":{"relativeLink":"news/high-school","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/high-school","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/high-school"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/high-school"},{"name":"Black Canadians","slug":"black-canadians","links":{"relativeLink":"news/black-canadians","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/black-canadians","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/black-canadians"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/black-canadians"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

This is what happens when you remove all of the non-Black history from a Canadian history textbook. #BlackedOutHistory pic.twitter.com/O213ws23pp
OBHS (@OBHistory) October 21, 2020

Black History is Canadian History, the video reads at the end. It deserves to be remembered.

In a statement posted to Twitter , Natasha Henry, president of the OBHS, said the campaign is an effort to draw attention to just how little Black History is taught in Canadian schools and to elevate the demand of Black students and Black parents for the government to finally respond to the decades-long push to have Black history part of the mandated learning in Ontario.

As part of government responses to calls to tackle anti-Black racism, Henry said, the systemic exclusion of Black history from the curriculum across Canada must be addressed.

What the OBHS wants is for explicit, mandated learning expectations on Black history to be integrated into Canadas curriculum. Though education ministers and spokespeople have been adamant that the curriculum is already reflective of whats being demanded in these campaigns, anecdotal evidence from students continues to offer a portrait of a school system that prefers to gloss over Black history, limiting teaching about it either to the month of February, or nothing at all.

Watch: Black Canadian students discuss how Canadian schools can do a better job at supporting them. Story continues below.

","type":"newAolon","meta":{},"flags":[],"enhancements":{"fonts":{"primary":{},"accent":{},"caption":{}}},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"archive","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"ca","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5f91cb7bc5b695a32fb1835b","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/archive/ca/entry/black-history-ontario-education-video_ca_5f91cb7bc5b695a32fb1835b","entryTagsList":"parents,education,racism,identity,life,high-school,black-canadians,@ca-lifestyle-viral,@instantarticle,@newsletter-lifestyle2","sectionSlug":"parents","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"living","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.parents","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":14},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5f91cb7bc5b695a32fb1835b","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"parents","slug":"parents","links":{"relativeLink":"news/parents","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/parents","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/parents"},"section":{"title":"Parents","slug":"parents"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/parents"},{"name":"Education","slug":"education","links":{"relativeLink":"news/education","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/education","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/education"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/education"},{"name":"racism","slug":"racism","links":{"relativeLink":"news/racism","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/racism","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/racism"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/racism"},{"name":"identity","slug":"identity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/identity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/identity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/identity"},"section":{"title":"Life","slug":"living"},"topic":{"title":"Identity","slug":"identity","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/identity"},{"name":"life","slug":"life","links":{"relativeLink":"news/life","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/life","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/life"},"section":{"title":"Life","slug":"living"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/life"},{"name":"high school","slug":"high-school","links":{"relativeLink":"news/high-school","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/high-school","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/high-school"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/high-school"},{"name":"Black Canadians","slug":"black-canadians","links":{"relativeLink":"news/black-canadians","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/black-canadians","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/black-canadians"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/black-canadians"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"defer":true,"addPlaceholder":false}">

In June, following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a number of campaigns emerged with the goal of achieving exactly what the OBHS seeks. Over 40,000 people signed a petition demanding the Ministry of Education immediately address the overlooked and under-taught Black Canadian history in Albertas schools.

In Ontario, a similar petition started by a former student of the Toronto District School Board surfaced this summer . And in Nova Scotia, a group of educators organized an online program for African Nova Scotian youth that would correct the lack of history education in the provinces curriculum.

Our children are taught very condensed and untruthful narratives about the experiences of Black people in this place, Dr. Rachel Zellars, a founder of the African Nova Scotian Freedom School, told HuffPost Canada last month . We wanted to create an environment where Black children could be centered, and come out knowing their histories, with the confidence to lead in their communities.

View this post on Instagram