Edmonton mother banned from her son’s school still waiting for an apology
Hamdi Issawi
By Hamdi IssawiStar Edmonton
Tues., Oct. 29, 2019timer3 min. read
EDMONTON — An Edmonton mother who was banned from her son’s school is calling for a review of school policies regarding headwear, after her 11-year-old boy was asked if he was gang affiliated for wearing a durag.

Tuesday evening, Una Momolu spoke at a press conference to update the incident that saw her barred from Christ the King School in Edmonton for the remainder of the school year, which has impeded her ability to take her son to and from school, and in effect, his ability to attend class there, she said.

Momolu’s son, Emmell Summerville, was questioned by a Christ the King School official for wearing a durag in September. However, when Momolu met with the school principal to discuss the incident, the meeting ended with a call to police. Edmonton Catholic Schools (ECS) claimed she was acting aggressively to staff.

Momolu approached five different schools in the Edmonton Catholic Schools district before she found another school that could accept her son. She is still barred her son’s former school and says that has created complications for her family.

“The ban still impacts me in a way, because I still have nieces and nephews that go there,” Momolu said. “There are times where their mother isn’t able to pick them up … and I have to compensate for that, so I still have to be at that school.”

She says she is still waiting for a complete apology and hopes to resolve the issue with the school board this week.

On Sept. 23 Momolu met with Christ the King School principal Phebe Switzer to discuss the incident.

In a 10-minute recording of the conversation, released by Momolu online, Switzer confirmed that the school’s “stay adviser”— a retired police officer who was hired to advise and empower youth at school — asked her son, Emmell, to take off his durag, which was red in colour, and asked if it indicated that the boy was affiliated with a gang, given that a red durag has been connected to active gang activity in Edmonton.

In the exchange, Momolu noted the cultural significance of the durag, a head garment originally worn by African American slaves in the 19th century and has since evolved to become an emblem of Black culture.

In the recording, Switzer explained to Momolu that school policy prohibits students from wearing headwear including hats and durags.

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However, Momolu was more concerned with the stay adviser asking her son if he was connected to a gang, which she called discriminatory and an act of racial profiling.

Momolu’s conversation with Switzer ended with a call to Edmonton police, leading to Momolu’s ban from school premises for the duration of the school year.

Bashir Mohamed, who helped organize the press conference on Tuesday, explained that the durag is more than just a piece of headwear for the Black community, and it’s important to recognize the distinction.

An Oct. 17 statement by ECS said it did not intend to suggest the child had any gang affiliation, and apologized for the use of the word “gang” in the incident. However, the statement added, ECS stands by the ban, claiming school surveillance shows the mother acting aggressively towards staff and the police when they arrived, which was confirmed by Edmonton Police Service.

Momolu takes issue with the apology, which she said was incomplete, given that she was looking for an apology from the school, and the stay adviser, for the way in which her son was approached.

She said she will be meeting with ECS on Friday and is hoping the board will review her ban, and its policy as it appears to apply to durags.

She’s also organizing a rally at the Edmonton Catholic School building Friday evening at 6 p.m. to raise awareness for this incident.

“We need to get justice,” she said. “We need to let the public know that enough is enough and things have to change.”

With files from Nadine Yousif

Justice must be served

I bet you all wondering what a durag is?

Its the blue thing on his head!

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