Peel school board scraps plans to name Centre for Black Excellence after late activist

An empty classroom is seen in this undated file photo.

The Peel District School Board has scrapped plans to name a new centre aimed at promoting Black student success after a late activist who pushed for systematic change in the board, infuriating many community advocates in the process.

The board made a commitment in June 2022 to honour activist Kola Iluyomade in the naming of the centre.

But at a meeting on Wednesday night, trustees passed a motion to name the new building The Centre of Black Excellence.

A spokesperson for the board told CP24.com that the decision “was made with consideration” to a new policy that prevents new schools, special function areas, and facilities from being named after “identifiable individuals.”

But that explanation isn’t sitting well with many of the community leaders who worked alongside Kola Iluyomade to help dismantle systematic anti-Black racism in the board.

“Schools are still named after racist people, the people whom this policy was supposed to prevent. But when it came to a Black man, our local hero, they said no,” Idris Orughu told CP24.com. “It shows that they (the board) don’t want to work with the (Black) community.”

The new policy, which went into effect in April, was in response to one of 27 directives made by the Ministry of Education following a review which raised concerns about systematic discrimination and anti-Black racism in the board.

However, Orughu said that he can’t help but feel like the policy has been “weaponized to impact a Black man” and override the wishes of the very community that the centre is intended to serve.

So far more than 500 people have signed an online petition calling on the PDSB to reconsider the decision.

“We led the fight (against anti-Black racism in the board) and Kola was at the centre, he embodies the struggle and he died while fighting for it,” Orughu told CP24.com. “What would make sense, if there is anything befitting, is to have his name on that structure. If we can’t have his name on that structure we don’t want it, they can keep it. But then don’t tell me about fairness, don’t tell me about inclusivity because it is not happening.”

Iluyomade was a founding member of Advocacy Peel, which was an organization dedicated to fighting anti-Black racism within the Peel District School Board.

He died in June 2021, about a year after the province moved to appoint a supervisor to take control of the board and “undertake the necessary actions” to eliminate systematic anti-Black racism.

For the last two years Orughu said that the community was under the impression that the new centre, which arose out of the provincial review, would bear Iluyomade’s name.

He said that community members now feel “betrayed” following the eleventh hour change.

The pivot comes five months after provincial supervision came to an end and trustees regained control of the board.

“We're back to square one,” Orughu said, referring to the relationship between the board and the Black community. “If they want to have that building, they can go congregate in that building. They're not going to have any Black people in partnership in that building. All the gains we have made have been eroded.”

The steering commitment responsible for planning the new centre previously held a number of consultations with “Black students, staff, parents, families, and community members to invite feedback on the potential name,” according to a staff report.

Its preferred name was the ‘Kola Iluyomade Centre of Black Excellence,’ though it also shortlisted three other names for consideration, including the Centre for Black Excellence.

In a statement provided to CP24, a spokesperson for the Peel District School Board did not specifically address criticism that the community’s input was being overruled, only saying that the board’s commitment to “centering student and community voice remains steadfast.”

“While the landscape of the Peel District School Board has altered significantly over the past year while we came out of supervision, our commitment to centering student and community voice remains steadfast. We value the time and effort community members have and continue to contribute to our path forward for The Centre of Black Excellence,” she said.