Threats, but no regrets over SD74 white privilege poster campaign

“To be honest, there were threats and at times it was difficult to discern where the threats to me physically were coming from, and we do know there were some locally,” Downs says. “I don’t think I ever felt unsafe but we did take additional precautions both here at the office and at home to make sure that any potential causes for concern were mitigated.”

And though criticism came from all over when the program launched, including internationally and nationally, she says the lingering resentment has been local.

“There continues to be a local conversation which we think is great because that had been the hope. There is a small group of individuals in the district (parents) that continue to advocate for the removal of the posters, so we’re still discussing that on a daily basis.”

Downs says their biggest beef is their belief that the posters represent racism against white people or that the term “white privilege” means that all individuals with white skin colour are affluent.

She adds that is definitely not what the posters were meant to portray.

“For us in the school district it is the unearthed and at times unintended privileges that people of white skin colour receive due to a society and a system that has been based on and created a normative white perspective and values. And so there are often things that people are unaware even that they are receiving. But in our experience people of other skin colours are clearly aware of those privileges that white people are receiving.”

Downs says, when one student in the district sought a deeper understanding of what white privilege is, completing an extensive study and project on the topic and displaying it at school, it made that student a target as well.

“Some individuals took pictures of that and it was put on social media and people used terms like ‘the hands of hate that created the work.’ And this was student work and goes to the great work happening in our schools and it’s very unfortunate that this dialogue turned personal against a student — which we’re not in support of.”

Four months after the posters went up Downs says she doesn’t have any regrets.

“I don’t think we have any regrets. I think the initial response by some individuals is a bit regretful but I think we are proud of the work we are doing in this school district and our intent is to support both staff and students to develop a true understanding of the world they live in and then they can develop how they want to interact in that world based on the knowledge they have,” she says.

In the meantime, the posters remain up in schools district wide and Downs says there are no plans to take them down yet.

by Greg Fry

Threats, but no regrets over SD74 white privilege poster campaign

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