Principal Who Suffered 'Harassment And Bullying' After Being Accused of White Supremacy Commits Suicide

A Toronto principal Richard Bilkszto, 60, tragically took his own life after being accused of espousing white supremacy when he argued with a so-called 'anti-racist' trainer. He disagreed with trainer Kiki Ojo-Thompson, who claimed that Canada is a more racist country than the U.S. A week later, Ojo-Thompson allegedly used his argument as an example of white supremacy to the class of teachers.

According to The Toronto Star, Bilkszto subsequently sued the school board for "harassment and bullying," taking two months' leave for "mental stress injury" and filing a claim with Canada's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for the two months' pay. However, six weeks into the medical leave the Toronto school board refused to reinstate the principal. He had been with Toronto School District for 24 years.

The initial confrontation took place on April 26, 2021, when Ojo-Thompson, founder of consulting firm KOJO Institute, claimed while holding a training session for educators that Canada could be a more racist nation than the U.S. because it "never reckoned with its anti-black history." Bilkszto, having taught before in Buffalo, New York, refuted this telling her it would be "an incredible disservice to our learners" to teach them this theory. In his lawsuit, he claimed Ojo-Thompson reacted "with vitriol."

The trainer reportedly chastised Bilkszto for seeming to undermine a black woman. She allegedly told him, "We are here to talk about anti-black racism, but you in your whiteness think that you can tell me what's really going on for black people,"

In the lawsuit covered by the National Post, Bilkszto states that he tried to deescalate the argument conceding that there was racism in Canada but arguing the point that evidence suggested "we are a far more just society" than the United States, an assertion that many American scholars would vehemently disagree with. This was, however, to no avail and at the next session the following week Bilkszto alleged that Ojo-Thompson brought up the incident to Bilkszto and his teaching colleagues as a "real-life" example of a person supporting white supremacy.

From there, the bullying caused "severe emotional distress" to the principal. The Canada Workplace Safety and Insurance Board found that Ojo-Thompson's behavior was "abusive, egregious and vexatious, and rises to the level of workplace harassment and bullying."

Lisa Bildy, Bilkszto's attorney announced Thursday on Twitter that Bilkszto took his own life. She posted a statement with his family's permission saying in part: 

"Unfortunately, the stress and effects of these incidents continued to plague Richard. Last week, he succumbed to this distress. His family and friends have been left feeling and wishing they could have had the chance to convince him that he was loved, respected and needed here."