Member Alexandra
MemberForum Replies Created
-
Evaluation is like an onion because there are many layers to it, and more layers than you anticipate there will be!
-
I just finished watching the first module lectures, a lot of that information I was only taught once I got to university. Imagine having to wait, in my case until you are 25, to know the depth of black history in Canada. Some families might have had the privilege of knowing long before I did, and I truly love that for them. I know that I will do my part to teach my children, and their children about as much of our history that I know. It can be hard working on loving every fibre of your identity but still having questions while still asking yourself about the journey your ancestors went through. I often find myself researching this journey wishing I had known when I was younger. Wondering if it would have made e more confident in identity growing up in predominantly White spaces to know all that we as Black people have gone through. I think it is very important, especially for the youth, to know their history and be continually reminded that they are their ancestors wildest dreams.
-
All of the responses thus far are extremely useful!
I think that these good practices begin much before even meeting with youth participants involved in an evaluation. Good practices are something that must be considered, valued and intentional from even the planning of the evaluations (considering things like what is the significance of this information and findings? Who may be affected through these findings? Are community voices heard and included throughout the process?).
In saying this, when the evaluation process moves forward consent and communication, as many also mentioned, are CRITICAL parts. As evaluators we should be committed to communicating and checking in with participants throughout the processes of evaluation, answering any questions, and providing support if necessary.
-
Explore ways to better collect and analyze data that highlights intersectionality of Black youth/families as well as incorporate different methodologies for collecting/analyzing data with greater openness to data that is not quantitative in nature.
-
Anti-Black racism in Ontario is the direct product of anti-Black policies, attitudes, and beliefs that were present at the onset of colonial settlement, and which have contributed to the development of its institutions – from the education system, to the medical system, to the legal system, workforces, and so on. ABR has been perpetuated, in part, through the erasure of Black folks in Canadian history, the stereotypes and power dynamics conveyed through media, and exceptionalist attitudes (for example, how we tend to view ourselves as ‘better’ than Americans), and ABR denial. White supremacy is reinforced when White folks act on, ignore, or fail to acknowledge and confront their biases, or when they project their fears (internal or external) onto Black folks. The operation of White supremacy through non-White bodies – for example, in how some folks align themselves with Whiteness for social and economic gain or survival, or when anti-Blackness is internalized – has further supported ABR.
Rigorous and honest action is needed to undermine ABR at a systemic level. I believe that a significant barrier to this is a lack of general education about the construction of race, racism, and ultimately, White supremacy. “White supremacy”, for Canadians, can drum up images of specific, nameable, assumed-as-foreign actors, rather than a system of power dynamics that drives racial disparities. This is both an example of Canadian exceptionalism and an incomplete understanding of White supremacy. <font face=”inherit”>White folks, when confronted with evidence of racism, can experience discomfort on multiple levels, including challenges to this exceptionalism and the cognitive dissonance associated with democratic racism. To shift some of these ideas into a more psychological understanding: while white supremacy teaches us schemes of racial purity and division, it is also generally understood that racism = bad. The shame of seeing oneself as “bad” can trigger cognitive barriers to a deeper exploration of Ontario’s racial hierarchy, and ultimately, to what actions might meaningfully challenge it. Further to that, this</font><font face=”inherit”> exploration requires the recognition of ABR as both a systemic issue – that is, an issue that is beyond the individual – and as something that operates through biases, schemes, and relational power dynamics – that is, in ways for which we are personally responsible. These hurdles to the recognition of both individual and systemic factors contribute to ABR / ABR denial. </font>
-
I believe that anti-black racism is still a serious problem in Ontario for a number of reasons that are all underpinned by the fact that the people who hold power are not willing to make real and impactful changes. Our systems are still based in whiteness and problematic perspectives that harm BIPOC individuals. Politicians, large organizations, school systems, corporations, etc. are not willing to do what would need to be done, including altering hiring practices, prioritizing ABR training, questioning their policies and practices, rebuilding from an ARAO perspective, etc. This is because the status quo benefits them and it would take money, time and difficult conversations to make these changes. I expect it is also due to the fact that many people are not willing to face anti-black racism personally or on a larger scale and understand how pervasive it is in our systems, our people and our organizations.
-
Moving beyond identifying the service needs and gaps Black youth face to proactively designing pathways to inclusion in the youth sector needs a holistic approach. Additionally, social professionals need to be inclusive by collaborating the knowledge, ideas, requests, etc, of Black youths into services provided. This is essential for providing services to Black youths, because Black youths are experts of their own experiences.
-
I feel as if in certain contexts, the data is there, it is a question of maximising its value in the analysis stage or of better designing the survey. Schools in Ontario are mandated to collect yearly data on school climate, from students, staff and parents. Various demographic questions provide information regarding ethnicity, orientation, gender, etc. The survey includes questions regarding safety at school, bullying, disciplinary practices, perception of equity. Yet, we do not receive any statistics that present the school climate responses in the context of the demographic data. I would like to know how particular group of students, including Black students, feel about these issues so our team can work more intentionnaly and precisely to make things better. As well, the response rate for staff and parents is very low. This limits our ability to draw valid conclusions given potential response biases. We obviously have to do better work as an organisation to make the survey more accessible and to motivate all stakeholders to share their feedback. This data has huge potential to help school boards and individual schools react, design and plan from an anti-racist perspective.
-
I believe this work must start as early as possible and working intentionally from a strength-based perspective. Black children must have their feelings, thoughts and opinions validated by the all their caring adults, including teachers, childcare workers, coaches, club leaders and family members. We must help the child figure out how they are most confortable expressing themselves, be it through spoken language, writing, visual art, movement, etc. and help the child discover how empowering this communication can be. We thereby help to create self-confident and effective communicators. If we combine this with the development of leadership qualities through mentorship and training opportunities, once these kids reach adolescence, they are well-equiped to participate actively in the planning and design of supports and services that truly meet their needs. They will be empowered to participate in discussions with peers, educators, health-care providers and community leaders.
-
As a school principal, I work closely with many families to support their kids. Dr. Carol Wade’s presentation in Module 3 resonated with me, especially when she discussed the importance of moving away from a eurocentric definition of family, to make room for a more fluid, “village” definition of family. Identifying and working with the caring adults in the extended “family” network may sometimes be a much more effective means of supporting certain kids. This must be done while respecting the student and parent’s right to confidentiality and the parent’s ultimate decision-making power. However, by working together to include other important caring adults, we may have more impact on the child’s well-being. I will also be reminding myself and our staff that we must always maintain a non-judgemental approach when a parent does not respond to our concerns as we would expect. So many factors may influence their response (language, previous experience with the education system, financial concerns, etc.), and it should not be taken as a lack of interest or concern for their child’s education or well-being.
-
One thing that comes to mind for me is educating my co-workers who are not black and letting them know why it is so important for us to make sure our black youth are equipped with the tools they need to succeed. I’ve worked with black youth and their families. I think the biases part is very important. As staff, we need to reflect on how our biases can affect our approach to black youth. I think it is important to acknowledge that our biases can turn into harsh judgements. The module mentions the concept of how people carry themselves and can be judged for that without the person who is judging knowing the full details of what is happening. The stereotypes of black women and black fathers being absent. Until you build a rapport with someone to understand what is happening, it’s not fair to judge. I think young people sometimes sense the judgement of staff and that closes them up to wanting to share or seek help. Where I was previously working, I felt like the organization did a good job at making black youth’s well-being a priority. I think they could do better by supplying more funding to allow staff to do more with youth who attend our programs. I think that would allow black youth to experience things outside of their norm.
-
I think it stems down to getting youth input. Surveying and asking black youth what programs they feel are needed and that they will use that they feel are beneficial. In this module, we learn about listening and hearing what youth have to say instead of imposing our biases on them. With listening, we retract the need to share our experiences, which can take away from the youth’s experiences. Also, listening would allow us as youth workers to hear what program could be beneficial to the black youth population. Implementation is a big part. We can create all these programs but we need to make them attractive for black youth to use them and understand how they can benefit from them.
-
I feel as if more research needs to be done and completed. I remember taking a research class last semester and I did my research topic on black LGBTQ+ youth in Canada, and I remember searching for articles and it was a very small pool of peer-reviewed articles that I had to choose from. I think more qualitative research needs to be done with black youth. This module mentions how black youth resort to social media influence and that hyper-masculinity, as that’s what they know and can almost rely on, because those black professionals who are successful don’t go back and explain their journey. I think by having more qualitative data, researchers could dive deep into what these black youth are specifically looking for when it comes to role models and breaking stigmatization when it comes to being black and breaking barriers, exploring options to better themselves.
-
I think an important factor when it comes to re-imagining our work with young people and their communities to provide a healing-centred practice would be more promotion of resources within the community. Not a lot of communities know or fully understand the resources that are in their neighbourhoods or what funding is available for them to access resources. These resources and or community resources need to go into schools, workplaces, etc. to speak about their services and how to use them. What I found in my family was that there is generational trauma that is passed down and nobody likes to acknowledge and talk about mental health and how to get help. I was hesitant about going to therapy at school, but after finding a good therapist, I found it to be an amazing tool to use and to work through my traumas. Sometimes the stigmatization of things can be a barrier for people until they try them themselves. Circling back to promotion in schools, I think this would give young people the opportunity to ask questions without a family/caregiver’s influence and allow privacy for them to explore resources in a non-judgmental way.
-
I feel as if anti-black racism remains a significant and troubling reality in Toronto because the various different groups within society don’t take the time to educate themselves and run with social media or news headlines. I also feel Ontario or Canada in general doesn’t take the time to have individuality, in the sense of being our own culture. I feel as if most things are mimicked from the states and that gets us nowhere. With the emulation of what is happening in the states, I feel as if people don’t know exactly what they are fighting for or why they are protesting. After taking this first module and hearing the history and actual definition of terminology, I feel as If I am more equipped to make stand-by statements. During the module, it mentions how the wrong groups (ex. White people) bring up issues that someone who is black has been speaking on and white people tend to follow the leader with a white leader to get on board with discussing issues and “trying to make change”. I think these modules need to be taught within the school system to help educate staff and students on what is actually happening and broken down into languages they can understand. I think adding this type of content would allow black students to recognize their stake and how they can overcome the stigma.
-
One simple thing my agency could do, and is effort of doing, is more training. We also have a Black African Carribean Canadian team that advocates for the youth and their community.
-
I believe that hiring more black individuals would allow for more diversity and inclusion, and a sense of safety for black youth. I also believe that training non-black individuals on black individuals history, current struggles etc. will support positive change.
-
At my current work place, we are working on gathering previous data on strategies in hopes that this will support our youth. It is very important to remember the past and allow for voices of black youth and their families to be heard.
-
The dismantling of anti- Black racism requires a collective approach. Social professionals and Black youths must work together to implement strategies to support Black youth and their families. Black youths are experts of their own experiences. Therefore, their knowledge and lived experiences are key for their betterment. However, for betterment to occur we must deodorize our colonial teachings. Additionally, we must implement an anti-oppressive, cultural appropriate and holistic framework to care.
-
How can we work towards dismantling anti-Black racism in Canada?
-
I believe anti-Black racism still being a problem in Ontario can be owed to individuals in privileged groups. It is evident that society’s dominant class thrives on the privilege they possess, having easy access to high income jobs and overall better treatment in social institutions. For people outside of the dominant class, society has this preconceived notion that they are to blame for the society’s downfalls, such as, high crime rates and high unemployment rates. This is an unfair depiction of folks in minority groups, for it is clear that they are being exploited by the dominant class. Individuals in dominant classes depend on the downfall of people in minority groups to ensure that they remain in a high socio-economic position in society. The answer to this question is an upsetting overview of the reality of Ontario’s systemic abuses.
-
It is clear that the systemic interlocking of oppression and privilege contributes to why anti-black racism is an ever-present aspect in Ontario. I believe that individuals in more privileged/dominant groups are exploiting minority groups to advance in society. There are people in the “dominant class” who will work diligently to retain their privilege as it gives them access to high-income jobs and social institutions. In my opinion, when there are dominant groups such as these, it makes it easier to glorify them, at the expense of people in minority groups, further demonizing them in society. While people in privileged groups are seen as the model citizen, society has a preconceived notion towards minority groups, associating them with high crime rates, unemployment rates, and other disparities. The answer to this question is an upsetting overview of the reality of systemic abuses within Ontario.
-
Despite decades of research and escalating evidence of racial inequities anti-Black racism remains a significant and troubling reality in Ontario because the laws that governs are rooted in whiteness. Additionally, Black People continues to be disproportionately marginalized systemically.
-
I do agree with you. I also believe the intergenerational trauma has a huge effect on our current youth as well, therefore continuing the cycle.
-
I agree, systemic violence towards Black individuals are leading to the disparities they face in society.
-
-
Thanks for catching this. It looks like the original source has deleted the PDF. Here is a similar resource that covers the same ideas!
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/how-to-write-a-child-friendly-document/
-
I agree with what you have written Rachelle! I would also extend your comments to the global platform; it’s challenging to think of ABR in the context of only Ontario as this province, country, continent (etc.) is part of a much larger world where ABR is very much alive and thriving, as is the harm done and perpetuated through white supremacy.
-
I agree with Chantele and Madina that the historical roots of ABR must be taught in schools to create the context necessary to address the current state of ABR. While some schools and some boards do teach some elements of this history, especially during Black History Month, it should not be relegated to one-off “theme” lessons. Rather, it should be interwoven into the various relevant curricula. We must be careful to avoid teaching this history in a paternalistic manner. Rather, the goal is to create the empathy and understanding needed to then tackle current issues of ABR in our schools and communities, empower our Black students and their families, and highlight their import contributions.
-
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.
-
Hi Ryan! I agree with you in the sense that although discussions are important, action is what’s necessary to dismantle anti-Black racism. Your illustration is beautiful!
