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.
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.
“By keeping the public discourse focused at the level ‘does racism exist?’ denial demands no change, no reflection, no accountability. Denial is complicity” – Shree Paradkar
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”
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”
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)
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.