York school board aims to 'correct' actions causing hurt in Vaughan school renaming process

'Stop oppressing the Black community,' trustee Elizabeth Sinclair urges board

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 3, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

York Region District School Board will "correct" its words and actions that haven’t lined up with its intentions in tackling anti-Black racism during the process of renaming a Vaughan school, according to an online statement it issued Feb. 1.

"We are listening to feedback and will correct this and future processes as needed so that our goals, and our values, are clear," YRDSB chair Cynthia Cordova said in a written statement.

The process for renaming the high school, which was previously named after Benjamin Vaughan, an 18th-century slave owner, has become acrimonious, with various parties making accusations of anti-Black racism and anti-Semitism.

During a marathon meeting Jan. 28, YRDSB’s only Black trustee, Elizabeth Sinclair, alongside fellow trustee Juanita Nathan, dubbed the process as painful to the Black community, and at times racist.

"We wanted and needed to address the anti-Black racism associated with Benjamin Vaughan’s history," Cordova said.

"We have not done this well and hurt has resulted."

As part of the renaming process, a survey of various members of the school community, along with citizens of Vaughan and York Region, was conducted.

The name Hodan Nalayeh -- a Somali-Canadian journalist who was killed in an attack on a hotel in Somalia and who used to live in Vaughan -- received more responses in favour than any other name.

Nalayeh received 401 first-choice selections and 570 selections when preferences beyond first choice were considered. The next closest selection was Dr. Elie Wiesel, who received 172 first-choice selections and 281 in total.

Trustee David Sherman questioned the results and argued that among survey responses from residents of Thornhill, where the school is located, the name that received the most support was Wiesel. Eighty-one of the first-choice selections for Wiesel came from Thornhill residents.
"Thornhill overwhelmingly supports naming local high school for a Holocaust survivor," Sherman said in a Jan. 20 tweet.

"Let me be clear that the trustees are responsible for all children, especially those children who are marginalized and underserved," Sinclair said at the Jan. 28 meeting. "In this situation, trustees’ behaviour is hurting and traumatizing the Black community with this oppressive behaviour and pitting the Black community against the Jewish community.

"I strongly urge the chair and all the trustees to do the right thing and be on the right side of history and stop oppressing the Black community," she said.

Trustees voted unanimously to rename the school Sept. 15, following lobbying led by the Black community.

The board has no clear precedent for renaming a school, so the trustees selected a process for choosing the new name.

The process includes the survey, which ended Nov. 30, followed by a virtual town hall meeting on Feb. 17 to allow people to provide feedback. The recommended names head for approval by YRDSB in April.

The board passed a motion Jan. 28 to allow YRDSB staff to "refine and operationalize" the upcoming town hall meeting "in an effort to prevent further harm to the community and to honour the board's commitment to anti-racism, equity and inclusivity".

"This means having appropriate supports in place and working to facilitate the sharing of feedback in a manner that is thoughtful and respectful," the board said.

Soon after the Jan. 28 meeting, Tristan Coolman, president of Pflag York Region, an LGBTQ2 support, resource and education network, lent his organization’s support to naming the school after Nalayeh.

"There is overwhelming community support for selecting Hodan Nalayeh as the name for the secondary school in the City of Vaughan," he said in a news release. "In addition, we stand in solidarity with the Black community who has been hurt by recent comments from one of your trustees and the actions of the property management committee through this journey."