DIE: Diversity, Inclusion, Equity

"To sit here and talk about facts and figures and then walk into the classroom tomorrow and say 'Canada is just as bad as the United States', I think we are doing an incredible disservice to our learners."

School Principal Richard Bilkszto, Toronto & District School Board 

"We are here to talk about anti-Black racism, but you in your whiteness think that you can tell me what's really going on for Black people?"

"At least [the U.S.] had a fighting posture against at least the monarchy, here we celebrate the monarchy, the very heart and soul and origins of the colonial structure."

DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) trainer Kike Ojo-Thompson, CEO, KOJO Institute

"[Thanks to the KOJO Institute for] modelling the discomfort administrators may need to experience in order to disrupt [anti-Black racism]."

Toronto & District School Board Superintendent

"Based on the information on file, I am satisfied that the conduct of the speaker ... was abusive, egregious and vexatious, and rises to the level of workplace harassment and bullying."

"[The DEI trainer intended to] cause reputational damage and to] make an example [of the principal."

Worker's Compensation Board

A Toronto District School Board sign is shown in front of a high school in Toronto. Photo by The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn

There seem to be few public schools and academic institutions in North America currently that haven't been invested in workplace diversity, equity and inclusion training; sensitivity awareness by 'white colonialists' to the 'lived reality' and historical colonialism of typical 'white supremacists', a learning issue that has extended to businesses and governments in this age of progressive wokeness. Richard Bilkszto, a principal with the TDSB, is suing the board for its failure to defend him during a hostile DEI training session.

 

Mr. Bilkszto has a 24-year career as a principal behind him. He is quite aware of the responsibilities incumbent upon the teaching profession, relaying to young students the fundamentals of a good education in the primary subjects of exposure; language, geography, history, science and economics. He previously taught at an inner-city school in Buffalo and is well versed in how Black and white students were treated. He took offence at Canada being singled out as the greater harbourer of racism.

For her part, Ms. Ojo-Thompson set out to teach the class she was addressing of education administrators that Canada's status as a monarchy represented a marker of racism. The British monarchy, in fact, outlawed slavery long before the U.S. did, and Canada itself had very few Black people held as slaves. The Underground Railway from the U.S. to Canada was a conduit to safety. It can be assumed that this DEI educator either was ignorant or chose to bypass the historical fact that African tribes were heavily involved as slavers.

She is the chief executive of an enterprise with clients in public institutions with listed clients that include the RCMP, the government of Ontario, the CBC, a number of universities and the federal government itself, enjoying service contracts in the interests of instilling a higher sense of sensitivity in employees to Black victimhood. In this instance, Mr. Bilkszto responded that racism is real with a need to improve the situation but that Canada remains a fairer place than the U.S., belying the trainer's contention otherwise. 

Another training facilitator with KOJO who was present at the session told Mr. Bulkszto "if you want to be an apologist for the U.S. or Canada, this is really not the forum for that". To which Ms. Ojo-Thompson added by instructing the class that "your job in this work as white people is to believe", not to question.

The day following this exchange of opinions, Mr. Bilkszto was berated by his supervisors about his "male white privilege" and "fallout" from the training.

In a follow-up training session, trainer Ojo-Thompson referrered to the principal's comments at the previous session as an example of "resistance" that supports white supremacy, explaining that his reference to "facts" represented an effort to derail the conversation and discredit her words. She encouraged everyone present to push back when they see others being "accosted by white supremacy".

The Toronto School Administrators' Association and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board supported Mr. Bilkszto's claim for workplace harassment leading to sick leave, calling for an investigation into the incident, though no investigation was initiated. However, the worker's compensation board awarded loss of earnings benefits for chronic mental stress.

The Toronto & District School Board itself is now under mental stress, since it decided in turn to issue a statement of claim against the KOJO Institute, alleging the DEI consulting firm was negligent, in breach of contract by humiliating, harassing and defaming their staff principal. Although Mr. Bilkszto, a contract principal, returned to work following six weeks of sick leave, he was not reinstated to the position he held prior to the DEI confrontation.

His work with the school board has been curtailed and another contract for a principal term was revoked. He is now seeking $785,000 in damages. It is clear that the school board, fearing they will be held liable for the hefty damages against them, will sue for a like amount from the DEI consulting firm to cover their liability.

But the court filings for these lawsuits render a birds-eye view of relentless workplace DEI training, that relies on coercion and ridicule to ensure that employees are forced to accept a litany of charges of racialist, ahistorical contentions. Any who fail to appropriately submit to the charges might find themselves being ordered to attend re-education sessions.

KOJO Institute is a leading consultancy that partners with organizations to unlock their potential by navigating the challenges connected to equity, bias, diversity, inclusion anti-oppression and anti-racism.

For over 20 years, KOJO Institute has designed scalable transformation frameworks that cultivate employment equity, cultural change, education and organizational development that drive positive social and business outcomes. Inclusive Change Drives People We deliver innovative solutions that achieve equitable outcomes, improve culture, and produce transformational results. KOJO web page Kike Ojo-Thompson, Founder & CEO