Today, at Maywood, we celebrate Black Excellence Day.
Join us today (and tomorrow, Jan 15 – a newly proclaimed day of Black Excellency in BC) to celebrate and “acknowledge the strength and resiliency of Black communities in British Columbia to overcome hardships and fight for justice and equality for all“.
Black Excellence Day is an initiative created by the Ninandotoo Society that came out of last year’s successful first Black Shirt Day. This year’s event was created after consulting with various community members, including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, and the BC Human Rights Commission, and is a joint anti-racism initiative. Burnaby School District is one of many districts who have committed to celebrating and learning about Black contributions and achievements in Canada. As a school community, we will be looking at ways to acknowledge and celebrate the awesome diversity we have in our school, community and country.
Today we are reminded about the importance of uplifting diverse voices and the importance of sharing the stories of racialized groups to provide a more inclusive view of history and society.
With Black History Month (February) just around the corner, Maywood classes will be learning more about Black history and celebrating the excellence of many Black Canadians. This week and next, the Grade 5/6’s will be focusing on the inspiring story of Eugenia Duodu, a Canadian chemist and the CEO of Visions of Science Network for Learning – an organization supporting STEM in racialized and low-income communities. We will be listening to her inspiring story here – TEDxYouth The Unlikely Scientist.
Stay tuned to view our class pop-art project!
And don’t forget to wear a black shirt today (and tomorrow!)
In solidarity! 
To read more about this, visit the CBC news story: Black Excellence Day aims to boost education, create unity in fight against racism
Learn more about BC’s proclamation of Emancipation Day
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.