2022 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Even though Black Canadians have been making important contributions to Canada’s history for over 400 years, their history is not currently included as part of Ontario’s curriculum roadmap and action plan, and therefore, have not been a priority for policymakers.

Why is the inclusion of Black History so important?

History sets the context for our world as we understand it today. Based on our collective education and understanding, we believe we know who we are as Canadians and how we got here. But currently, that historical context is skewed to only one voice: the predominantly white men who wrote our history textbooks and curriculum. When we leave out the important contributions of Black people in our history, we fail to see them as part of our collective heritage, and they continue to be seen as “other” in today’s world, which isn’t true.

The goal was to get Ontario education policymakers to see the issue of the lack of Black History education as a concern they should be alarmed by and need to address immediately, by delivering the message in a way that’s impossible to ignore.

In order to show how skewed our history curriculum is, The Ontario Black History Society took a Grade 8 textbook currently being used in Ontario schools and “blacked out” all of the non-Black history. Of the 255 pages, only 13 remained.

Packages that included the “blacked out” textbooks were mailed directly to key policymakers, activists, and members of the media. This included Premier Doug Ford, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Leader of the NDP Jagmeet Singh, and several opposition MPPs in Ontario. Also included in the packages were a letter from the OBHS demanding Black History become a mandatory part of the curriculum, a CTA to participate in the conversation online using #BlackedOutHistory, and a link to the PSA they launched to support the campaign.

The campaign was an unequivocal success. It was covered by The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Yahoo, City News, BT, CBC, Narcity, CP24, and made the front page of the Toronto Star. Online, the campaign got over 5.6 million impressions and had a 90% positive sentiment score. Educators and teachers unions across Ontario requested their own copies of the Blacked Out textbook, and used it to teach students about prejudice and bias. Nielsen, the textbook maker, began a review of its company’s policies and process for writing textbooks. And most importantly, policymakers took notice. MPPs shared photos of themselves posing with the blacked out textbook, MPP Jill Andrews made a speech about it in Parliament, and the Official Opposition began a push to change the curriculum.

Credits

Entry Name: #BlackedOutHistory
Client: Ontario Black History Society (OBHS)
Advertising Agency: DDB Canada
Executive Creative Director: Craig Ferguson / Erin Kawalecki
Associate Creative Director: Allie Keith / Dan Szczepanek
Copywriter: Dan Szczepanek, Rebecca Skinulis
Art Director: Allie Keith, Mariam Alqasim
Designer: Allie Keith
Group Account Director: Laura Rodriguez (Account Team)
Account Supervisor: Alexa Prest (Account Team)
Integrated Producer: Vivian Poon (Producer)
VP, Head of Strategy: Graham Candy (Strategy)
SVP, Managing Director: Megan Hardisty (Account Team)


Production House: Alfredo Films
Executive Producer: Alexander Henry
Executive Producer: Holly Rowden
Director: Alexander Henry
Post Production House: Sauce Digital
Editor: Shivam Pandya, Nick Brooks


Music/Sound: Vapor Music
Creative Director: Ted Rosnick
Executive Producer: Lindsey Bates
Recording Studio: Vapor Music (music & sound)