Extracurricular Program

Social Justice Initiative: Dress Down Day for True North Aid

The Senior School Social Justice club tackles social justice initiatives with at least one issue promoted each month. This involves the club’s more than 40 members spearheading a charitable action, such as a dress-down day or a food drive, along with a research component. The students create displays and posters for the classrooms and hallways as well as presentations for school assemblies. The initiatives are student-driven based on their interests and passions.
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An Evolution of the Social Justice Club

Since its founding about a decade ago, the Social Justice Club at The Country Day School has offered interactive and inspirational opportunities for community-driven Senior School students interested in exploring the issues and injustices faced in our contemporary world, as well as possible remedies for these issues. This year, Mr. Harvey and Mr. Downer led a group of students through their journey toward becoming global citizens with an ability and a passion for alleviating local, national, and international struggles. Over the past several weeks, I had an opportunity to sit down with both of these faculty advisors and speak about the goings-on of the club, its initiatives, its importance, and its future.
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Organizations

Black Health Alliance
System change, fundraising, health, research. Mission: “To reduce racial disparities in health outcomes and promote health and well-being for people from the diverse Black communities in Canada with emphasis on the broad determinants of health, including racism”
Urban Alliance
Community based educational programs to reduce racism in society
Black Youth Helpline
Provides health and social support
NIA Centre for the Arts
Amplifying the artwork of Black artists, first Canadian Black art centre
Black Lives Matter Canada
Vision: “To be a platform upon which black communities across Toronto can actively dismantle all forms of anti-black racism, liberate blackness, support black healing, affirm black existence, and create freedom to love and self-determine”

Books

“How to be an Antiracist” – Ibram X. Kendi
“The Hate You Give” – Angie Thomas
“The New Jim Crow Laws: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colourblindness” – Michelle Alexander
“Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor” – Layla F Saad
“The Skin We’re In” – Desmond Cole
“Stamped from the Beginning” – Ibram X. Kendi
“White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” – Robin DiAngelo
“Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” – Reni Eddo-Lodge
“Ain’t I a woman: Black Women and Feminism” – bell hooks

Educational Videos

Timeline: “Slavery to Mass Incarceration”
Systemic Racism Explained
A short explanation and video outlining the foundations of systemic racism
When They See Us
A four-part Netflix series about the 1989 Central Park jogger case and rush to judgement that wrongly accused five black and Latino boys for a crime they did not commit (the Central Park 5)