They actually missed that one, but they got a couple. A chap named Macdonald and another one, Ryerson. Apparently they were the brains behind the residential school system, the experiment in cultural genocide that tried for a hundred years but ultimately failed to eradicate Native culture in Canada.
The "event," such as it was, was called by Black Lives Matter - Toronto, with advance notice to all the local media for maximum photo-ops. Have you noticed that when BLM-Toronto organizes anything, hardly any black folks show up?
That's because the working class black folks in Toronto are too busy working two or three minimum wage jobs to have time for protests, while the middle class blacks are in no rush to be associated with the twenty-something white yahoos who will inevitably show up and start trouble.
I would think that issues around residential schools would be more a Native concern than one for Black Lives Matter, but these people seem to see themselves as natural leaders of the BIPOC coalition. My hunch is that BLM is so flush with corporate money now they have the resources to co-opt the more authentic social justice movements.
There could be a personal angle as well, at least in Ryerson's case. Seems one of the numerous co-founders of BLM-Toronto has a degree in "Performative Dance" from Ryerson. I would imagine he's got ample time for organizing protests, and perhaps harbours some resentment over the fact that Ryerson's guidance counsellors forgot to mention that career prospects in performative dance are not that bright.
Who says parenting is not one endless vale of heartbreak and tears... "So tell me son, have you made a decision about your future?"
"Ya Dad, I'm going to Ryerson for Performative Dance..."
That's gotta hurt!
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