[Jane]

Something that has really stayed with me in terms of the history of our country is how our very shaping of a nation was built on racism, and our institutions (like schooling, policing) were built as tools of genocide. I had no idea of the history of slavery in Canada and the erasure of that part of our history and the erasure of notable Black Canadians in our history. We had a discussion on the documentary Journey to Justice at work and I had no idea the civil rights struggle was in Canada to the extent that it was and how advances have been relatively quite recent (i.e. I thought that we were more advanced, and a lot of that assumption was because of our reputation as a safe place for American slaves to escape to). It’s given me a lot to think about.

[Teja]

Thank you so much for your comment Jane. I agree with many of your points. I also can attest to not being educated on the history of Black Canadians. Unfortunately, Canada tends to dismiss the harm they have caused marginalized groups but yet claims to be taking a radical approach in ensuring that everyone is given an equal opportunity to succeed. I believe its a bit of a paradox to be trying to make changes to current systemic issues but not addressing the history or the rationale for these implementations in the first place.

[Raven]

Thank you Jane for sharing/recommending the Journey to Justice documentary. Me and my friend recently watched it and it’s so insightful. I wish my school had shown us this years ago!

[Khadijah]

That’s a great point, Jane. We often think racial reality is fundamentally different in Canada than in the US but, of course, these are both settler-colonial nations – only made ‘different’ because of a border, which is itself a form of violence! And it is precisely the fact that we don’t know about racism in Canada that makes racism here so toxic.

I don’t think I ever learnt about slavery in Canada during school either! My friend wrote this article on anti-Black racism in rural Canada that might be of interest, as it does dive into these histories and how they connect to presents: https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/black-lives-matter-in-rural-canada-too

I hadn’t heard about Journey to Justice, but will check it out! Thank you!

[Kayleigh]

I work out of Nova Scotia, so I cannot speak much to the Ontario education system, but I have heard from teachers that there is an unpublished/spoken of “banned book list” for teaching in schools, and many of these are books that discuss topics of race. (I know one example is To Kill A Mockingbird, and possibly the Book of Negroes, as they cited one of the reasons being use of any N-word used to describe Black folks). I wonder what BIPOC folks in this thread think about this sort of censorship to the point of not even addressing topics of race in schools? Is this similar practice in Ontario?

If so, I wonder how little, if any education is happening in schools about race. I certainly never learned about anything from Module One when I was in school, and I think that it is so important that we are not only talking about current topics of race, but learning about our history as well.

[Kathe]

Thank you for sharing the title of the documentary, Jane, and for sharing this article, Khadijah!

[Kelly]

The term “democratic racism” was not something I was familiar with but it resonated with me in the sense that describes the Canadian “style” of racism that is prevalent today. We have established a netting of false myths related to our progress in tackling issues related to race and discrimination while ignoring the facts and trends that permeate the Canadian systems. In addition, we fall back on a false sense of being morally progressive and can often justify examples of racism as off shoot events or explain it as “old canadian notions that are wrong, but not a part of the new “Canadian” identity. These perceptions are dangerous because it allows for our systems to be unchallenged and it justifies the status quo when we only choose to focus on false positive myths.

[Chantal]

Hi Kelly, thanks for sharing your perspective! I definitely agree that within Canada, there is this comparison with other countries, like the U.S., that is used to undermine the real impacts of systemic racism in our society. This tactic often results in the silencing and erasure of Black voices who challenge that system, because racism is ignored or is said to be “over” by many who have the privilege to not think about race.

[Kathe]

Kelly and Chantal, your comments really resonated for me, and brought to mind so many difficult conversations that I’ve had with folks, especially during the Trump presidency. I was also reminded of a blogpost written by a former YouthREX intern, Donovan Hayden, back in 2017, which I’ll also share here: Race in the Trump Era – Coming to Grips with Canada’s Own Racial Past and Present.

[Rahma]

In Ontario, despite the decades of research and evidence, we are still lacking a structured response involving different levels of government with clear governance and coordination. Racism is pervasive and felt in many different settings especially within employment, education, health, housing, child welfare and immigration. I think we need better strategies and policies that address the different manifestations of racism that impact the daily lives of Black and Brown bodies.

[Raven]

100% agree. You would think with all the advances to research findings there would be more of a plan and/or response from our government leaders, but unfortunately no. Your right we do need strategies put into place to better address the racism black people face daily. Thanks so much for your insight.

[Jane]

I think what was covered in the lectures is the case: our country is founded on institutionalized racism but because of our history with the Underground Railroad, our focus on multiculturalism, and our tendency to compare ourselves with our neighbours to the south, many Canadians don’t think of themselves as racist. Denying it exists, or being blind to it, allows it to continue. I also think having politicians in office in both U.S. and Canada who are overtly racist and who scapegoat non-white people (to blame them for whatever is wrong with the country such as a terrible economy) has legitimized racists in sharing their views. So maybe it feels worse than ever before because people feel empowered to say this garbage, when before this kind of overt racism might have invisible to a white person (who has the privilege to move through life unaffected by anti-Black racism if they wish to). I can’ t speak to the Black experience as to whether there is an increase in racism but as a white person I certainly have detected an increase in racist hate speech in the last four to five years.

[Andri]

Exactly Jane. It’s in our roots. It is inescapable. And the denial of it’s existence is quite persistent in those same communities that we have seen a rise in hate speech.

[KELVIN]

Unfortunately I have to agree that to a great degree our own racism in Ontario/Canada has been overshadowed, in a negative way, by the same among our neighbours to the south. Statements like “it’s not as bad here” get translated into “it doesn’t exist here”.

[Kelly]

I definitely agree and I think the term institutionalized racism is very accurate. Canada has a history of systemic racist oppression and denial of opportunities developed by political leaders of any given time. I’ve read accounts of persecuted blacks seeking refuge in Canada only to find harsher economic living standards and higher degrees of control imposed on the level of wealth they could attain and the level of access to services or resources.

[Brittany]

I also agree. It’s not so much that it doesn’t happen it is however, the emphasis on the covert nature of racism within our society. We witness and experience it all the time, yet, because it isn’t shouted from the rooftops, we feel as though we need to be silent about it. The systemic oppression is maybe even more dangerous than that of the actual issue of racism because the system is what we run on. IMO.

[Khyonna]

In my opinion, anti-Black racism remains a troubling reality in Ontario, especially during these heightened events, because many Ontarians hold the belief that there is no race based differences and ignores the realities of deeply impeded racism. Also known as colour-blindness.

[Tarja]

I agree with you completely on this point.

[Uzo]

Agree, Khyonna! Yes, anti-Black racism remains too commonplace in
Ontario, because many people excuse the realities of deeply ingrained racism. Our report “Doing Right Together for Black Youth” found that the
#1 issue for Black youth was the persistent racism they and their families experienced across different systems. Check out the report here: https://youthrex.com/report/doing-right-together-for-black-youth-what-we-learned-from-the-community-engagement-sessions-for-the-ontario-black-youth-action-plan/

[Uzo]