[Yasmein]

Using data and research to showcase ways that anti-black racism exists in the system and how it harmfully impacts the well-being, choices, and opportunities made available or in better words limited for the youth. We must be proactive in trying to implement best practices in the infrastructure to ensure equal opportunities for Black youth, families, and communities.

[Megan]

I think anti-Black racism continues to exist as it is built into many systems, structures, and policies in Ontario, and Canada as a whole. It is more comfortable for white people to take the evidence from research, knowledge, or data, and apply it to people they see as “outside” themselves (eg. “other white people are racist, but not me”). Similarly, for policy makers and leaders, targeting anti-Black racism at only the personal bias/prejudice level means they can avoid the more difficult, complex and often painful process of looking at how embedded racism is in our structures and histories.

The section on White Fragility and Emotionalities had a line stating that “there is a dangerous presumption that in owning one’s shame or naming one’s Whiteness, one has overcome the thing one feels shame about or has named” – to me, this represents an important barrier in dismantling anti-Black racism in Ontario. When we (as white people) stay within the personal and interpersonal levels of racism, it can become a self-congratulatory process of box-checking that we have done, said, or believed the “right” things. What is more difficult and necessary, is to challenge the systems we have relied on, or succeeded because of, and accept that they also contribute to anti-Black racism.

[Yasmein]

It will be naive of us to think that politics and political rhetoric that frames Black identity as dangerous or unacceptable in public spaces has nothing to do with anti-Black racism still being a problem in Ontario.

It stems from white supremacy and what the ‘ideal’ Canadian should look like and how they ought to think, act, behave & present themselves in public. It’s because of the notion that whiteness is default and anything outside of that is not the norm that sustains anti-Black sentiment.

Now, is it then surprising to know that there are people across the country that share this belief?

That is something we have to grapple with or we will continue to see tragedies against Black people.

It is our collective responsibility to stand against hate.

[Gary A]

I have found that the simplicity of a question like who am I paired with the complexity of whose am I? begins to center an individual’s experience while connecting them to the collection of relationships they knowingly and unknowingly own, including non-healing centered institutions. It’s beautiful when you listen to the individual through their stories and narratives.

[Norma]

I am writing as a past manager of healthcare services for incarcerated youth in Ontario and one who is striving to complete the certification in Black Youth well-being.

One of the main ways to center youth’s well-being is to explore why incarceration fails. Also, why are there so many Black and minority youths who are jailed? I have seen firsthand how confinement damages young people’s physical and mental health, impede their education and career success and exposes them to abuse. I feel it is because of racism!

[jayal]

I have supported some other youth/artists with writing grants over the years and learned alot in that process and had some informal mentorship and generally seek out learning opportunities when I can. Many young leaders/folks I think lack time and limited funds for in-depth evaluation, maybe skills/access to knowledge or support for evaluation/evaluators. Some collectives may not have a board established or as many volunteers/changing alot, so core members are delivering program, doing administrative work and alot while trying to learn and continue in the processes of re-applying for funding etc. Another barrier might simply be not understanding different benefits of evaluation or depending on who is doing/to do evaluation is maybe like a distrust or feeling the process is just extractive.

[jayal]

For my personal proposed youth program (related to media/art) , it isn’t funded and it is more a personal project that maybe I would grow into something larger and therefore I do not/haven’t collected any information. Mainly in the past collaborative projecr, it would be registration/names, date of workshop delivery, number of participants, some general survey/feedback forms informal written and verbal guestbook/log, social media engagement statistics for audience/listeners provided alot of data actually about demographics etc.

[jayal]

In the program that I work full-time with, we have external research team of evaluators who developed and conveyed data needed by funder to the program Manager and other program supervisors, and discussions/engagements with myself and other co-workers. This is part of the reason I became very interested in evaluation process and provided feedback and considerations at different stages in terms of applying resilience framework, and working collaboratively to help give input to usability of forms for collecting/reporting. And discussions of what details/information is necessary and why.

[jayal]

In the past, my collaborators and I hosted a ‘wrap-party’– a community feast/gathering to share the work completed with podcasting project e.g. workshop delivery, groups/places engagement and outreach, some highlights, opportunity to ask questions, and also time and space to socialize, connect and build further relationships with audience, participants, stakeholders, supporters, mentors and other folks in community with similar interests/goals of working with youth and anti-racism/decolonization.

[jayal]

A few more points come to mind:

-clear easy to understand purpose of the evaluation

-multiple ways to participate/accessibility e.g. consider literacy, access to technology, etc.

-giving clear understanding where information/responses go or used e.g. visual quotes in reports, helps tally/percentage

-consent and how anonymity is important

[jayal]

Here’s my metaphor for Evaluation — a guided tour of an art exhibition. An individual or a group of folks welcomed into a space/process with some signifiers such as visual/multimedia information that has been carefully curated or shaped to tell a story or evoke something in the viewer. What is taken away from the experience of this is a exchange/dialogue (spoken and unspoken) while participating in the tour but also maybe afterwards. It is sensory information. It is also contextual and relational viewing. Interesting exhibits consider many things like accessibility, their audience, their themes, engaging questions and objects/artworks etc.

[Jacqueline]

Becoming aware of and sharing information about support services designed specifically for Black Youth. And not just informing youth of their options but also sharing them with my peers (I’m a student).

Something else is being responsive and challenging racism in any way it presents and doing so quickly. I most often encounter this as challenging language and micro-agressions. This also comes hand in hand with my own willingness to listen and learn for the rest of my life and career.

[Charissa]

Community-based research is so important! We need to challenge what white supremacy tells us is “valid” (i.e. what is produced by academics, colonial institutions and non-profits, and what is written down). The knowledge, experience, and leadership that comes from communities directly impacted by the research needs to be centered not only in the topics but in the creation and implementation of the research project itself.

[Satabdi]

I think evaluation is like a board game because the community consists of rewards and deterrences that guide youth through the game of life. Although we cannot simply prevent all of the bad outcomes from happening, we (stakeholders) can provide more positive outcomes such as a lucky card that will help them (youth) throughout the game (life) 🎲

[Andrew]

I agree with what Tracy-Ann said earlier. In my field of practice, the service provider is generally positioned as the ‘expert’. Part of decolonizing our work might involve stepping out of this mindset and repositioning ourselves as supports. It is crucial to listen to and centre the voices of Black youth and families, to seek to understand them, and to serve as resources that they can access to meet their own goals. Recognizing the impacts of ABR on wellbeing, workers can also seek to understand how the intersectionalities of youth and families are received by and embedded within their social contexts, and develop a collaborative understanding of how related experiences might pertain to their goals and their access to services.

Some of the recommendations indicated by research can be approached, in part, through clinical skills and frameworks. For example, a strengths-based approach can provide services in a non-stigmatizing way, and it can support both workers and Black youth/families to recognize and celebrate strengths. Client-centred care – for example, supporting youth/families to identify their own goals – can mitigate power imbalances and centre the voices of youth and families within service provision. Where workers lack cultural competence, a practice of cultural humility can help them to better understand the experiences of youth and families and to create more culturally appropriate spaces. A practice of reflexivity can also help workers to critically examine the beliefs and assumptions, including those behind their professional frameworks and methods, and help them to provide services that are more tailored to the needs of youth/families.

[Ivy]

As someone who is always listening to music, evaluation to me is kinda like a song? A lot of different instruments and vocals (i.e., all the different components like youth, stakeholder feedback) coming together to form one song (i.e., one evaluation). Separately, they don’t really sound like much, but together, they tell a story in a very beautiful way!

[Tana]

We should use the research findings to do more than support youth and their families. While I think that it is important, it seems that the real issue is stems from society. These findings should be shared with all communities so that they can begin to understand the plights and internal struggles that happen within the Black community. Microaggressions happen everyday to BIPOC people after years of discussing its impact. Share the research findings as much and as often as possible until the message is clear to all.

[Georgette]

I believe Anti-Black Racism is not being addressed collaboratively by all stakeholders in the educational system. Teachers need to develop more competency in addressing Anti-Black Racism and use not some but all the resources that they can to enhance their practice and help to dismantle this issue.

[Tana]

The first thing I could think of with the Black youth that I do work with is providing them with additional supports. I am finding that the other clients I work with are so well connected with family and other agencies. My plan is to connect the Black youth with supportive activities and communities in the area to ensure that they are receiving every opportunity available to them. Often times, opportunities go unused because they were not shown to be available, or they were not thought of. As a case manager, my ultimate goal is to ensure that my clients are taking advantage of every opportunity available.

[Venessa]

First off, we need better ways to collect data, create questions that are not coded and come from a trauma-informed lens when collecting data. It’s important to identify the demographic the information is coming from and what institutionalized effects are in play in the way the data is collected, how questioned are asked, what non-verbal cues are present and what language is used.

We can use good, decolonized research to remove any Canadian superiority over the US re: slavery and educate all youth on the real historical impact that the Black community has on Canada. We may share the positive statistics and research that exist and show how they have been hidden by “the people who wrote the history books”.

More opportunities need to become available for Black woman to occupy C-level positions, and make it a norm. Provide opportunities for women so young girls can have positive role models. We need to identify the overrepresentation of Black youth in CAS and juvenile detention centres and challenge that reality.

[Norma]

We seem to have more anecdotes rather than accurate research data on what is happening in our society in Canada. A few schools, such as the TSB, focus on using research data to make changes and engage students and families, engage in hiring different practices, such as hiring a Black Director and more Black teachers. Do they plan to gather stats on whether this makes a difference for students over the next few years?

Does York U collect data about racism among students, and what is done with this data?

[Tracey-Ann]

We can reimagine or work with young people and their communities from a trauma informed approach that focuses on individual arm and injury to a healing centered practice that Fosters possibility and advances holistic and Collective well-being by promoting services and being inclusive. Services need to be centered to the need of the community and its members the need of the members being the driving force to care. Additionally, services need to be promoted Within communities as too often Youth and their families are not aware of available resources. Finally, once administering care it is imperative that the intersectionality of the individual being cared for be the driving force to the services provided.

[Allison]

Anti-black racism is very prominent in Ontario as the invisibility of white supremacy and anti-black racism is powerful and difficult to dismantle. The learning journey is necessary to find ways to change society as we know it. Being able to identify your own biases and racist habits is extremely important and difficult in a society that encourages “keeping the peace” or keeping the status quo.

Powerful institutions, even on a local level are difficult to change. The over-policing of people of colour is awful, violent and unjust. Due to the “brotherhood” of police officers bad behaviours are protected and encouraged. To not comply brings on ostricization and mistreatment amongst colleagues. Therefore the individuals climbing the ladder to obtain positions of power are more times than not doing this for their own self interests. Institutions become saturated with people of this behaviour creating a continuous cycle of nepatism and a culture of favours. In this case, you will see, individuals aligning themselves with anti-racist learning experiences and messaging, to help them in their career.

[Brianna]

Racial microaggressions, in my opinion, are one way that racism and prejudice are committed. Microaggressions are everyday insults, humiliations, and humiliating messages sent by white people toward Black, Indigenous, or coloured individuals. The latter may be uninformed or oblivious to the damaging consequences of these verbal assaults. Saying things such as, “You’re pretty for someone who is dark skin” or “You don’t act like a normal Black person” illustrates how others perceive coloured people. Racial microaggressions can make people feel depressed and isolated from society

[Jasmine]

It is relatively easy to learn the theory, much harder to put it into practice due to several factors, many of which revolve around a certain level of unwillingness to act. That being said, perhaps instead of insisting over and over again that part of the problem is a lack of action, we should begin having concrete steps for how action will take place including timelines. By breaking big changes into incremental, smaller changes; organizations may be less resistant to implementing ABR policies/actions.

[Justin]

well, we could start by ensuring that youth workers are adequately trained on anti-Black racism and its implications for the services they deliver. This training should not be a one-time experience but an ongoing process of deepening understanding and practice of anti-racist approaches to youth work. In addition, youth organizations should provide meaningful pathways for Black youth to become involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of their services.

[Catherine]

I think it is clear that the myth of Canada being a welcoming and open society and the erasure of Black people from our history play an important role in the denying of systemic racism. People who are benefiting from White Supremacy can claim to be committed in diversity, equity and inclusion practices, but it’s often a way to erase anti-Blackness and racism, and make them feel better about themselves.

[Caitlin]

I agree and you make a lot of great points here. I’d like to add that understanding how White Supremacy embeds itself in innocence, particularly among white women is essential to unpack within any helping profession. The welfare state in Canada was constructed by white women to uphold the project of colonialism. Whiteness in this instance constructs the innocent white woman that upholds the violent white supremacist state that protects her and her interests. This is not to discount the influence of the patriarchy because we are relegated to this domain by patriarchal oppression.

[Tana]

This is great. I know some people may see this as superficial but it is definitely a confidence boost! I can’t think of anyone who did not feel invincible when they believed they looked their best. I would love to connect my clients with the right products and services to make sure they are feeling their best.

[Justine]

This is such a cool illustration Ryan! I see it as the complexity and importance of the roots of Black people in history and how those roots are still alive today and will continue to grow into the future. I couldn’t agree more that youth, Black youth in particular, need to feel heard and safe. A big part of that is schools, educators, and admin needing to develop an awareness and acceptance of the reality of anti-Black racism and engaging Black parent and youth voices in their responses to addressing the issues these students/families face and ways in which to make curricula and responsive to their needs and inclusive of their stories.