Glossary of Key Terms

This glossary provides clear definitions for key terms used throughout the Strategy. These terms support shared understanding among students, staff, families, and community partners and reflect language informed by Ontario’s Human Rights Code, Ministry of Education guidance, and established equity and human rights frameworks.

Young black student in classroom sitting at desk writing in notebook

Adultification: A form of bias in which Black children, especially Black girls, are perceived as older or more mature than their peers. This often results in harsher discipline, reduced empathy, and fewer supports.
Anti-Black Racism: Prejudice, discrimination, or unequal treatment directed at people of African descent. Anti-Black racism is systemic and rooted in Canada’s history of enslavement and colonialism. It shapes policies, practices, and interactions in ways that disadvantage Black students, staff, and families.
Barrier (Systemic or Individual): A policy, practice, structure, or attitude that limits access, opportunity, or participation. Barriers may be visible or hidden, intentional or unintentional, and can disadvantage individuals or groups protected under the Human Rights Code.
Bias (Implicit and Explicit): Attitudes, assumptions, or beliefs that influence judgment or behaviour. Bias can be conscious or unconscious and can affect expectations, decisions, and interactions in ways that reinforce inequities.
Black People / African Canadians / Black Canadians: Terms used to describe people of African descent, including those with ancestral roots in Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, and other regions. These terms include people of African descent regardless of citizenship or place of birth.
Cultural Safety: Learning and working environments where individuals feel respected, affirmed, and free from identity-based harm. Cultural safety requires educators and staff to reflect on their own perspectives and practices to avoid diminishing or invalidating others.
Culturally Relevant, Responsive, and Sustaining Pedagogy (CRRSP): An approach to teaching that affirms student identity, reflects diverse histories and experiences, and supports rigorous and meaningful learning. CRRSP draws on students lived experiences, promotes critical thinking about equity, and supports high expectations for all learners.
Discrimination: Unequal or unfair treatment based on personal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, citizenship, disability, or gender. Discrimination can occur through actions, decisions, or patterns that disadvantage individuals or groups.
Equity: Fair treatment that considers people’s unique identities, experiences, and needs. Equity requires the removal of discriminatory barriers and the provision of appropriate supports so that all students can succeed. Equity is not the same as equality.
Identity-Affirming: Practice Actions and approaches that validate and reflect the identities, cultures, experiences, and strengths of students. These practices support belonging, well-being, and engagement.
Intersectionality: The understanding that people experience the world through multiple, interconnected identities such as race, gender, culture, class, and disability. These overlapping identities influence experiences of opportunity or disadvantage.
Microaggressions: Everyday comments or actions that are subtle and often unintentional but rooted in stereotypes. They send negative or dismissive messages about a person’s identity and can create harmful environments over time.
Oppression: A systemic pattern of disadvantage that marginalizes certain groups while privileging others. Oppression is reinforced through policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural norms.
Racialization: The social process through which groups are categorized as races, often based on perceived physical or cultural differences. Racialization affects how people are treated and how systems respond to them.
Racialized People: A term used to describe people who are non-White and non-Indigenous. The term recognizes that race is socially constructed and that experiences of racism differ across communities.
Restorative Practice: A relationship-centered approach that addresses harm by repairing relationships, fostering accountability, and rebuilding trust. Restorative practices strengthen school climate and support well-being.
Streaming: Practices in schools that direct students into specific academic pathways. Research shows that Black students have been disproportionately placed into lower academic pathways, which can limit future opportunities.
Systemic Racism: Inequities that arise from institutional policies, practices, or structures that appear neutral but result in unequal outcomes for racialized groups. Systemic racism can occur without intent and often reflects long-standing patterns.
Trauma-Informed Practice: An approach that recognizes the impact of trauma on student well-being, relationships, and learning. It emphasizes safety, predictability, empathy, and supportive responses.
Well-being: A holistic measure of students' social, emotional, physical, and cultural health. Supportive and identity-affirming environments contribute to improved well-being and learning.

Digital Resource Companion

Additional background information and practical resources that support Grand Erie's Anti-Black Racism Strategy are available by accessing the links below. These materials provide further guidance for educators and school leaders and will continue to evolve as new learning and resources emerge.

The companion will be updated periodically to reflect new learning, research, and classroom resources.

Historical Context of Anti-Black Racism

Culturally Relevant, Responsive and Sustaining Pedagogy

Black Joy and Identity Affirmation

Black Student Voice

Additional Resources and References