Profile Kevin Sebastian: Educator disrupting anti-Black racism through community book talk; raising the voices of his students

Press Release, Brampton, Ontario | Kevin Sebastian is the current principal of Earnscliffe Senior Public School, in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
Sebastian is an extraordinary educator who uses his power and privilege to center student’s voices and build trust between parents/guardians and the school. He continually works to reinforce a positive narrative about his community, Bramalea.

With other staff members, Sebastian organized a book talk. There are over 15 members of our group, including students of Earnscliffe, parents/guardians, and staff members.

“Community Talks” discusses the book “This Book is Anti-Racist” by Tiffany Jewell and Illustrated by Aurelia Durand. We learn about identities, actual histories, and anti-racism work in carefully laid out chapters and sections. We will meet 6 times over 6 months. Each “Community Talk” is facilitated by participants in small groups. At our final meeting, we will create an action plan to disrupt and dismantle anti-Black racism at our school.

Sebastian brings Black-owned businesses into focus by purchasing scholastic materials from them. For example, the books for our “Community Talk” were purchase from the Knowledge Bookstore.
The Knowledge Bookstore is an independent Afrocentric bookstore located in Brampton, Ontario that sells African Canadian, African American, Caribbean, and Children books.

Kevin Sebasitan amplifies our students’ voices. He secured funding to create a podcast room in our school where students can interview community members and share their stories with Earnscliffe’s community. These students connected with DJ Wiz to learn about compelling ways to interview guests. The podcast is called “Eagle Hour Podcast,” and our students completed seven different interviews to date. There are at least 3 more interviews that are coming up this year. We have interviewed Jonathan Hood, Tasha T & A.J. Lawson, to name a few.

This year, Sebastian enabled students to organize events for Black History Month. The students created a dance workshop and organized a school-wide poetry assembly. Before the poetry assembly, he arranged a two-day Poetry writing workshop with Amoya Ree. The students listened to a fantastic performance, wrote their poetry, performed it for the group, and received feedback from Amoya Ree. It was a phenomenal experience. The Poetry Assembly was student-led. Our team of students organized, asked questions, and shared their poetry with the school. Amoya Ree was able to perform her powerful work for the whole student body. It was a transformative experience that allowed our students to be seen, heard, and celebrated in their excellence.

We are in the process of organizing “The Youth Summit.” This is a student-organized and student-led event. The Youth Summit discusses essential concepts and strategies about dismantling racism shared through conversations between students and broadcast to the whole school through an online meeting platform. Participants will learn crucial definitions, hear different questions and listen to their peers share essential knowledge. Our leaders guide the whole school towards specific actions that all students and staff can take to end racism. The Youth Summit centers on student’s voices and shows youth’s power to create meaningful change in their community.

Our Principal, Kevin Sebastian, puts students first. He values student, parent/guardian, and community voices. He questions all actions with an equity lens and the goal of disrupting and dismantling anti-Black racism. He enables students to see the power that they have to make a difference in the world. He shows us all that we can make a positive impact in our community. We need to look no farther than what is needed right in front of us. Then we take action and make a difference.

Contact Information:

• Nicole Wilson, Parent – [email protected]
• Anna Acito Ashton, Parent – [email protected]
• Tara Goudy, Teacher – [email protected]