Today, students and educators in BC will wear black shirts to get conversations started about racism, hate and human rights injustices for Black Canadians for the first Black Shirt Day (Jan. 15).

Schools recognize different themed days annually to help to raise awareness among youth about different issues. For instance, Pink Shirt Day on May 4 aims to speak out against bullying. Orange Shirt Day on Sept. 30 memorializes the Indigenous victims of Canada’s residential school system.

CFUV 101.9 FM spoke with the principal of Spencer Middle School, Darren Russell, and he shared his thoughts on the notable day:

To mark the day, BC's parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives, Rachna Singh, and Minister of Education Jennifer Whiteside expressed solidarity with everyone who had in the past faced or is currently facing racism in a joint statement.

“By learning to identify the language of racism and oppression, we can better respond to discrimination in our communities.

In the statement, the provincial government announces it would be launching an anti-racism awareness campaign as "part of a recent $1.9-million investment to make B.C. safer and more inclusive for everyone." The funding will also go towards other initiatives to address individual and systemic racism.

“We’ve also expanded the Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network and increased support for community projects focused on addressing anti-Indigenous, anti-Black and anti-Asian racism," the statement reads. "Alongside these initiatives, we will be introducing B.C.’s first anti-racism act and disaggregated, race-based data collection.

“The issue of racism will not be solved by these actions alone. We need everyone in B.C. to stand together in this fight and to show that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated," they added.