Children Removed from Racist Parents: A Step Forward?
In March of 2008, a 7 year old girl in Manitoba went to school with a swastika drawn on her arm. When her teacher noticed the symbol, she took the child to the bathroom and washed it off. The next day, the girl came back with more symbols of white supremacy drawn on her body. It was then that the teacher found out it was the girl’s mother that had helped to draw them on.
Here’s where it gets more interesting… the teacher then calls Child and Family Services (CFS) to investigate the wellbeing of the girl (who also has a younger brother) at home. Lo and behold, when the CFS workers get to the girl’s home, they find all sorts of repugnant crap – anti-Semitic flags, white supremacy literature and posters hanging on the walls, all in all your basic “turn me into a total racist bain on society” environment. The CFS workers removed the children.
Now, this is huge! This is the first case of child protective services removing children from a home based on racism. Is this a legitimate action? There is currently a custody hearing taking place to answer that very question. The girl’s stepfather has filed a constitutional challenge, claiming that his freedom of speech was violated. Is it his right as a parental figure to choose what to teach his children? What are the reasonable limits of that freedom?
Oh, I’ll be making several posts on this one!
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About Stacey: Stacey is a University of Regina grad in political science. She's interested in electoral politics, poverty, and how we all interact. In her day job, she works closely with industry in Saskatchewan. Personally, her interests range from critical race theory to particle physics and cooking. When she grows up, she wants to change the world! |
I would be very interested in the outcome of this hearing!