LONDON — A teacher in London, Ontario warned her students that the book they would be studying contained offensive language. She then went ahead to say the N-word herself.
Amiya Harrison is a 13-year-old girl who was in her eighth grade English class when her teacher said the N-word while discussing the book And Then There Were None. But it did not stop there, Amiya says the teacher then told them not to tell their parents what had happened.
“Then an EA got on the bus and said ‘what happens at school, stays at school,’ and to keep it from our parents,” Amiya told Brandon.
But Amiya and her mother have a special bond, and Amiya confided in her mother what had happened, and said she did not feel comfortable studying the book.
“She told me that it bothered her that the book was published under the title Ten Little Indians,” her mother said.
But as offensive as it may be, the book was not originally published as Ten Little Indians. In 1939 the novel was originally published under the title Ten Little Niggers.
“I was disheartened that this was even taught to her, but I was more alarmed that she was told not to share it with me,” Amber explained.
“I also didn’t appreciate that there was no warning to the parents, there was no warning to the students,” Amber added.
The London-Middlesex area is becoming increasingly diverse. Statistics Canada census data from 2016 shows that about 17 percent of the regions population identify as visible minorities, however this is not the first time this year we have heard about racism in London.
On June 6, 2021 a man in London drove his pickup truck straight into a Muslim family who were out for a walk. 74-year-old Talat Afzaal, her 46-year-old son Salman Afzaal, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, 44, and their 15-year-old daughter Yumnah were killed in the attack. Their nine-year-old son Fayez was hospitalized with serious injuries but did survive the incident.
“You have to be careful, because some of us feel sensitive to certain things. Some words you use can harm people in different ways and you don’t know how far it can harm people if you don’t know their past,” the 13-year-old said.
Amiya says she old has a handful of Black friends, but her classmates were upset by what their teacher had said. She said one of her classmates was crying because they felt so uncomfortable.
Amber then moved Amiya to a different school.
“She told me that she didn’t feel like she belonged and that she felt segregated,” Amber explained.
Amber then requested a meeting with the principal. She said they discussed next steps, including the school board talking about removing the book from the curriculum. But Amber says they’re still waiting for an apology.
“I wanted the teacher held accountable, she’s never reached out to me,” Amber said.
“I felt lonely, I felt like I didn’t belong. I was always picked last for everything. Whenever you do partner work, I never had a partner,” Amiya told Brandon, saying that she really enjoys her new school.
“Every child should feel like they belong no matter what race or culture they are,” Amiya told Brandon.
“It doesn’t have to do with Black or white, the whole study was wrong on every level to teach to anyone. If it’s about English, make it about English and study something about English. If it’s about race, fine let’s deal with race. But there were blurred lines there,” Amber explained.
“I know her intentions weren’t really to hurt us, and she’s actually a nice teacher, but why say that?” Amiya said.
“She knows what said was wrong. This is probably uncomfortable for her. But apologizing and making up for it, even though ‘sorry’ is just a word, she could have just apologized,” Amiya told Brandon.
And Amber’s message? Do better.
“I’d like to hope that there is good in the world still. But when you avoid, it doesn’t look like you didn’t mean harm,” Amber said.
“Educate yourself, and use a better book for English study,” Amber told Brandon.
