On Halloween day, in Toronto, a teacher from Parkdale Collegiate Institute shocked the students by wearing a blackface. 

On Halloween day, in Toronto, a teacher from Parkdale Collegiate Institute shocked his whole class by wearing an inappropriate costume. The teacher wore a blackface as a disguise. When the students asked about what his costume meant, he said in a defensive way that ‘’ it looked cool’’. This act made all the students uncomfortable and confused.

 Otis Stang, a ninth-grade student, was a witness of the situation. He confirmed that after the class ended, there was an assembly in the auditorium with the teachers and hundreds of students. Consequently, while the school board investigates the incident, the teacher has been placed on home assignment . The students’ parents are saying that this type of incident should not be tolerated. They then demanded more actions from the TDSB. 

When she learned about what had taken place, Liz Ikiriko, Stang’s mother, called the school. The principal of the school called her back and apologized for what happened.

“As things kind of sunk in through the afternoon and evening I realized that there were other instructors, there were other teachers who saw him and who were interacting with him throughout the day before he was asked to take the makeup off,” Liz said. “And that’s the part that’s really so devastating, is that really the only action that took place was because the kids stood up and said something. How would you feel to have your teacher come in with blackface, then be asked to remove it and continue teaching you?” she said.

Liz asserted that there was a huge misunderstanding of how this kind of incident can affect the students and have an impact on them.