Kearie Daniel – Unapologetically Speaking

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“And I am proud.  I am proud that I can look at my children and tell them that no one, not even a teacher, will get away with saying something hurtful to them, with disrespecting them because of their race. That educators will face consequences if the humanity of Black children is not respected.” Kearie Daniel

She is one of the founding members of Parents of Black Children, an advocacy group that began as a way to fight racism at the public and Catholic school boards in York Region, but has now expanded province-wide. She has helped to organize one of the largest marches for Black students because she strongly feels that bolder action is needed by the Ontario government to improve the school experience of Black children.

Our Woman Empowered unapologetically speaks out about the fact that provincial actions have not gone far enough to address systemic issues for Black students within the education system. It is the main reason why Parents of Black Children group work to address and dismantle anti-Black racism and systemic barriers within the education system, aiming to ensure that Black children can access an equitable and peaceful education.

As a mother, a writer, a podcaster, and an advocate, she understands the importance of providing a safe and supportive place for parents and Black students to share experiences, discuss issues, develop strategies and draw up recommendations to improve the experience of Black students within schools. It is why it was such an honour for me to sit down with our very busy Woman Empowered, the amazing, extraordinary powerhouse, Kearie Daniel.

Kearie Daniels will tell you herself that she has come a long way. Despite some of the barriers that she has had to overcome, Kearie remains steadfast in her resolve. She has done some great work in her past as: an International Assignment Editor/Associate Producer for NBC News, an Assignment Editor at Global News, a current Freelance Writer for Today’s Parent, Chatelaine, and Flare, the Founder and Lead Consultant at KAMA Communications, and of course, a Founding Board Member at Parents of Black Children.

When I first approached Kearie about writing a Woman Empowered Feature on her, her first reaction was to nominate someone else. It just goes to show you the type of person that she is. When she humbly accepted, I learned more about the woman behind the vision.

“My parents are both from Barbados, I was born in England and came to Canada when I was six years old,” Kearie begins to share with me. “I lived in Jane and Finch, and when my mom was told that Catholic schools were better. So we got baptised and sent me to Catholic School. I used to be the only Black child in the class, and my mom used to come there to make sure the teachers were not mistreating us.

My parents decided to buy a house in the Jane and Finch area, even though people were telling my parents not to buy a home there. My parents did what was best for them, and for me, it was a great area to grow up in. It was a great community. I never understood why people would say it was a bad place to live.” 

Kearie reminisced with me about her experiences growing up. She shares her appreciation of being enriched with such diverse learning at such a young age. “There was a large South Asia community there when I was growing up. It was not just Black. It was very multicultural. It was beautiful to see the sights, smell the smells. It was home!”

As an assured young woman, Kearie knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life, and despite what was being said to her, she remained steadfast.

“I wanted to be a journalist. I enjoyed the idea of communication; that ability to share information. I was determined, so I began to apply for schools, some that were further away. My guidance counsellor in High School told me that I shouldn’t apply to schools so far away because my parents can’t afford it.”

“How did you deal with that statement?” To me, the comment from her guidance counsellor seemed weighted.

“I was very intentional, and I got into Carlton. The first year was a learning curve, and to stay in the journalism program, you had to have an 80%. I ended up with a 79.5%, and I could not continue the program.  I was devastated that I didn’t get back into my second year, all because of 0.5%. I remember asking teachers for help, ways in which I could make up that 0.5%, and they didn’t help me at all.”

Kearie ended up switching into the communications program. It led her to doing her Masters Program in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield in England.

“It was the best thing that happened to me,” Kearie tells me. “I moved into communications, and it has been my career path for many years.”

As with many mothers, a shift happened when Kearie had her first child. Now, she was looking at life as a parent, and things looked a little different.

“When I had my son, we lived in Newmarket, and on the first day the teacher told me that she thought he was hyperactive. I looked at him, and I said, ‘It looks like he needs to use the bathroom, has he used the bathroom all day?’ The teacher responded with a less than discerning answer, and I responded, ‘Well, did you take him to the bathroom today?’

After that it was always something else. She told me he had a speech impediment, which was incorrect. She even had a speech pathologist come in to speak with him without our permission.”

“Wow!”  I responded. “It was like that?”

“Yes, but there is more. One day he was in the back seat saying something that I couldn’t quite make out. As I strained my ears to hear him, I finally clued in that he was saying ‘Blackie, Blackie, Blackie….

That was one of the moments that made me realize that I needed to be more intentional about the spaces I put my child in, and I thought about Black mothers who were navigating these things on their own.” 

It was during this time that Kearie met Claudette Rutherford, who would play an important part in her life, in the near future and she started her podcast “Woke Mommy Chatter.”  It was also during this time that she lost her job at Cancer Care Ontario.

“I was let go, and it bothered me, I can’t lie. I remember that night when I came home, and I saw a posting for One Vision, One Voice. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted this job. I messaged Kike Ojo, and it was the only job I applied for after I was let go. I must say, it was the most life changing experience since I had my children. It gave me the opportunity to be mentored and tutored under Kike. It put a language to all the things I knew intuitively. 

My son was in grade two at the time.” Her son was beginning to disengage with school and spend a lot of time in the principal’s office or roaming the hall. The teacher’s perception of him was so off, and she called for everything. “We were coming down on him, to the point that he became very anxious. We had to use weighted blankets at night to help him sleep. He didn’t feel safe going to school.”

“I was supposed to attend a meeting with the school Superintendent, and I refused to go. I felt that if I had gone, I would have validated their reason to want to have one with me. Parents of Black Children came from the fact that I didn’t go to this meeting. That would never happen again.”

Since then, Kearie has been responsible for turning the school boards on their heads. Parents of Black Children continue to advocate for the rights, and fair treatment of Black children, as well as helping parents navigate the convoluted school system here in Ontario.

I said it at the beginning; she is a powerful woman. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and check out the 10-15 other articles written about this amazing soul. Keep it up Kearie, you have our support!