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Blackness, Exclusion, and the Law in the History of Canada’s Public Schools 1 Blackness, Exclusion, and the Law in the History of Canada’s Public Schools, Ontario and Québec, 1850–Present Rachel Zellars Department of Integrated Studies in Education McGill University, Montréal October 2017 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies © Rachel Zellars, 2017 Blackness, Exclusion, and the Law in the History of Canada’s Public Schools 2 Table of Contents List of Key Terms ............................................................................................................................4! Abstract ............................................................................................................................................7! Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................9! Prologue .........................................................................................................................................11! Researcher Background .....................................................................................................17! Our Homeschooling Year ..................................................................................................21! Research Lessons ...............................................................................................................23! Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................26! Why this subject? ...............................................................................................................26! The Pragmatism of Critical Race Theory ..........................................................................32! Overview of the Chapters ..................................................................................................36! Chapter 2: Canadian Critical Race Theory and Education ............................................................43! Section 1: Overview ...........................................................................................................45! Section 2: Critical Race Theory and History .....................................................................47! Section 3: Characterizing Canadian Critical Race Theory ................................................61! Section 4: Critical Race Theory and Education .................................................................68! Conclusion .........................................................................................................................78! Chapter 3: Methodology and Methods ..........................................................................................80! A Note on Race-Based Data Collection in Canada ...........................................................81! Methodologies ....................................................................................................................84! Methods..............................................................................................................................98! Blackness, Exclusion, and the Law in the History of Canada’s Public Schools 3 Chapter 4: Refugees in Canada: Blacks, Literacy, and Migration in the 19th Century ...............102! Section 1: Literacy ...........................................................................................................105! Section 2: Migration ........................................................................................................112! Section 3: Literacy, Restrictions, and Canada .................................................................122! Conclusion .......................................................................................................................134! Chapter 5: The Pattern of Anti-Black Racism in Early Schooling Practices in Canada West 1830–1900....................................................................................................................................137! Literature Review .............................................................................................................141! Discussion ........................................................................................................................147! Conclusion .......................................................................................................................160! Chapter 6: Anti-Black Racism in Schooling Practices in Montréal, 1960 to the Present ............165! Literature Review .............................................................................................................167! Discussion ........................................................................................................................171! Conclusion .......................................................................................................................206! Chapter 7: The Case for Mandatory Implicit Bias Training for Canadian Educators .................208! On History ........................................................................................................................208! Discussion ........................................................................................................................210! Conclusion .......................................................................................................................230! Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................232! References ....................................................................................................................................236! Blackness, Exclusion, and the Law in the History of Canada’s Public Schools 4 List of Key Terms Anti-Black racism: I use this term to highlight the uniquely transnational persistence of racism that follows Black bodies across borders globally, as well as to signify the carceral relationship in North America since the end of slavery between state institutions, such as prisons and court systems, and Black communities (Blackmon, 2009). In the context of the history of public schooling in Canada, I use this term to describe the ways that the institution of schooling has also created a segregated, carceral relationship with Black children in Canada since the 19th century. Black: I use this term throughout to refer both to the right to self-naming of those who have historically employed it, as well as to signify the political and cultural weight of this term!as in Black Power, Black is Beautiful, “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” “Black Is, Black Ain’t,” and so on. The direct use of Black, employed in a Canadian context in a text about critical race theory is helpful as it identifies skin colour as a testament to the experience of Canadian racism directed against the racialized Black body and signifies the identity “Black Canadian.” In Québec, “Black” is distinguished from the racist employment of “ethnocultural minority” set forth in the Bouchard Taylor Report (Bouchard & Taylor, 2008), the Québec government’s formal statement on diversity and “reasonable accommodation,” drafted to affirm cultural, social, and political dominance in the hands of white Québécers. Black, herein, does not deny the cultural variations of Canadians who are of Caribbean, African, and American heritage, but rather is used as a signifier with which to engage a cohesive conversation about the history and reality of anti-Black racism throughout Canada. I capitalize B in Black following APA guidelines. Canada West: Previously known as Upper Canada, this territory was governed jointly along with Canada East (formerly Lower Canada) from 1841 to 1867, when Canada West became the province of Ontario under Confederation. Throughout, I refer to both Upper Canada and Canada West depending on the relevant time period I am discussing. De facto: A legal term used to describe what exists in fact and in practice, even when it is not legally authorized or prohibited. Blackness, Exclusion, and the Law in the History of Canada’s Public Schools 5 De jure: A legal term describing what exists as a matter of law, made official as law in the context of case law, statutes, bills, and codes, as examples. Literacy practices: In the body of scholarship pertaining to education amongst the enslaved, the formal and informal practices of learning to read and/or write are commonly referred to as literacy practices (Cornelius, 1983, 1991). Lower Canada: Refers to the southern portion of present-day Québec, which existed as a separate British province from 1791 to 1840. In 1841, Lower Canada was united with Upper Canada into a single territory, known as the Province of Canada. New France: Refers to the area colonized by France in 1534 and includes the province today known as Québec. In 1763, the territories of New France came under British and Spanish control. Québec, thus, came under British control, and in 1791, the area was finally divided into Upper and Lower Canada where the French-speaking population maintained French civil law and the Catholic religion. Racism: “By racism, we mean the predication of decisions and policies on considerations of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaining control over that group” (Hamilton & Ture, 1967,