The Eagles' Nest

We stand against hate. Together, we need to do the work to dismantle systemic racism.
The past two weeks have brought anti-Black racism to the forefront in our community. Police violence, brutality and overall ugliness are not an American problem – it is a global problem. In Canada, there are several cases of violence against Black and Indigenous people. Our families need to be part of the solution.

Here are some resources to share with your personal communities and families, especially the children and young people in your lives. While there are many resources out there, we have prioritized those written and developed by Black authors and activists. At Earl Haig, Black Lives Matter.

Resources for the littles

Videos:

• Something Happened In Our Town
• Not My Idea – A Book About Whiteness – a picture book read by a dad – Seriously Read A Book!
• A Kid’s Book About Belonging – YouTube
• A Kid’s Book About Racism – YouTube

Books:

• Dancing in the Wings (Debbie Allen)
• Dream Big, Little One (Vashti Harrison)
• I am Enough (Grace Byers)
• Princess Truly series (Kelly Greenawalt)
• Richard Van Camp books (such as Welcome Song for Baby)
• Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! (Jody Nyasha Warner)
• Last Stop on Market Street (Matt de la Peña)
• Don’t Touch My Hair (Sharee Miller)
• Not My Idea (Anastasia Higginbotham)
• Fresh Princess (Denene Millner)
• Hair Love (Matthew A. Cherry)

Resources for the grown-ups

• Black Lives Matter at School
• 2020 Curriculum Resource Guide
• Freedom School Toronto — Shop
• Raising Race-Conscious Children (Cup of Jo — Joanna Goddard)
  Key concepts discussed: Naming and conversing about race with kids, useful books, seeking out diversity
• 100 Race-Conscious Things You Can Say To Your Child To Advance Racial Justice (Raising Race Conscious Children – this whole website is excellent)
  Key concepts discussed: Language to use when talking about race, privilege, gender/sexism, etc.
• The Danger of Teaching Children To Be ‘Colorblind’ (Washington Post —Valerie Strauss)
  Key concepts discussed: “Despite all our best intentions to avoid and mute any mention of racism, children learn about it from their environments. Not talking about color or teaching children to ignore it because diversity is only skin-deep will not stop the spread of racism.”
• Je suis comme je suis ! – Le respect des différences (Lumni) (ressource en français)
• Are Your Kids Too Young to Talk About Race (Pretty Good Design)
• Anti-Racism For Kids 101: Starting To Talk About Race (Books for Littles)

Independent Bookstores

• A Different Booklist

Local Organizations to Support

• Children’s Peace Theatre
• Black Lives Matters Toronto (BLM-TO)

[Update: Find more resources on raising anti-racist kids here.]

Please join us for our next virtual SAC meeting on Wednesday, June 17th at 7pm. For this meeting, we will be joined by our principals!

The meeting link will be posted here on our blog and on our Facebook event soon, so please stay tuned.

As you know, Earl Haig students have benefitted from a wonderful Snack and Lunch Nutrition Program provided through a combination of funds from the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS) and donations from Earl Haig families. Unfortunately, during the school closure our dedicated Nutrition Program Staff Silvia and Shazia were unable to provide food to those students in our community who could use the extra support.

We are pleased to share with you that after recent discussions between the Earl Haig Nutrition Committee and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success we have now been able to redirect a portion of the funds in our account with TFSS to $50 cards for local grocery stores.

If you would like to request a $50 grocery card, please email our Office Secretary, Laurie Bowman, by June 8th with your full name and mailing address so that we can send all requests received to the TFSS before the end of June. **It is important that within your email you give TFSS permission to mail a card directly to the address you have provided.

If you know of an Earl Haig family that might like to request a card but may not be on our Council mailing list, please forward this message along to them.