Etobicoke high school investigating after anti-Black graffiti found in bathrooms

A high school in Etobicoke is investigating after anti-Black graffiti was discovered in three of the school’s bathrooms.

On Wednesday, the principal at the Etobicoke School of the Arts issued a memo to students and families about anti-Black graffiti found in three separate bathrooms on the first and second floors of the school.

"It was a 15-hour period approximately. So, discovered in the evening and then again in the morning. Two, again, separate time frames in which one incident was discovered, or one act, and in the other incident two acts of graffiti were discovered," Fawthrop told CP24 on Thursday.

Fawthrop said students discovered all of the graffiti.

"This was a hateful and unacceptable act and we hope for, certainly, swift and quick accountability. And so we're working to ensure there's accountability for this," he said.

"This is not representative of our community. We stand for better, we stand for inclusivity, acceptance," he added.

Fawthrop said that Toronto police have been contacted and are investigating the incidents.

CP24 has reached out to police for a comment.

Maya Thomas, a 15-year-old student at the school, said she was upset, angry and did not want to attend classes after the graffiti was discovered.

"I feel uncomfortable walking in my halls. I feel alienated. There's barely any Black students at my school. And now we all feel so alone and so separated from everyone," Thomas told CP24 Thursday night.

She hopes that whoever was behind the graffiti realizes the damage they have done to the school community and gets punished for their actions.

"I think some people do understand the weight of really what they're saying. But I think some people think that it's just some joke and that it's not damaging and not implementing on how I'm going to feel later in life. But I think that they need to start understanding and being taught that this is going to weigh us down now and later in the future," Thomas said.

Xavier Mclaughlin with Parents of Black Children said his group has received 116 reports of anti-Black racism incidences since the start of the school year. He noted that a third-party investigator should be involved in looking into these incidents within schools.

"I think we've learned as an organization that accountability comes when those who are in positions of power are held to account. And oftentimes, if we look to school boards to investigate incidences that happen within school boards, we don't get the best results," Mclaughlin said.

No suspects have been identified.

The anti-Black graffiti was discovered as the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is celebrating African Heritage Month, which recognizes the achievements and contributions of peoples of African descent to Canada and the world.

Two other TDSB schools have made headlines this week for derogatory and racist incidents.

On Tuesday, a North York middle school reported two separate antisemitic incidents, where students constructed a swastika out of construction paper, and performed the Nazi salute in front of a Jewish student.

At another TDSB middle school, a teacher was put on home assignment after allegedly comparing COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the yellow star of David that Jews were forced to wear as identifiers during the Holocaust.