Member Jacquie
MemberForum Replies Created
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Knowledge is power. If I learn that children identify as black/bi-racial and they feel they are being targeted at school, I consult with supports within my team (child welfare) as we are collecting data to see what steps need to be taken at the school levels to ensure that all children feel safe at their schools. It’s disheartening at times when families don’t want to get involved in advocating for themselves if they are feeling targeted as they feel that they will be more so if they speak up.
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Anti-Black racism is rooted in ideologies and ideas about blackness (deviant and subhuman) and whiteness (innocent and pure) that are rarely acknowledged, let alone dismantled. These ideas supported the construction of a Canadian national identity, infrastructure, economy and institutions on the back of Black enslavement and Black labour, all while denying the rights of Black people to lay a claim to belonging or having a history in this place. These ideas continue to ‘naturalize’ the gross inequities and discrimination in education, health, employment, the carceral system, child welfare and other institutions. Anti-Black racism exists because it remains invisible within the discourse of a ‘just and multicultural Canada’; inequality is framed through the lens of meritocracy and individuality rather than structural and systemic racism and injustice; and it is not in the interests of holders of power to address it because it is foundational to the way power is held and distributed in our society.
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One powerful phrase that I will take from this module and use in my work is a reminder to colleagues who are not Black: “You can either be a barrier to or facilitator of access to care.”
I think this is so powerful because, even when they are well researched, well-meaning folks still behave according to racist assumptions. So stop and analyze your behaviour: are you helping or hindering?
No more discussions.
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A denial that black racism is historic and systemic. It is not enough to personally as a white person not be racist. Many people believe is they themselves are not racist than that is the end of racism. We need to challenge the structures built to harm black folks.
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Ask questions that address the well-being of the Black youth wellbeing and provide the resources.
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One way I am thinking that I can personally draw on research findings to highlight and challenge the impact of ABR on youth and families is by incorporating this research into program planning and development. Thinking about why we make the decisions we do at our agency, who makes these decisions, viewing if our decision making creates barriers or bridges to care for Black children, youth and their families, and ways to bring the needs of Black children, youth, and families into the conversation. Another way we can start to do this is by bringing Black youth to the table for decision making through the use of youth engagement committees.
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Check out this opportunity to learn about how the Family Navigation Project in Toronto was able to effectively and meaningfully engage youth with mental health and/or addiction (MHA) concerns in a health navigation and research project!
Register to join this free webinar on building integrated knowledge translation into research on Friday, February 3, from 11AM to 12PM ET.
You’ll learn:
- what effective youth engagement entails;
- the ways youth engagement can be applied to mental health and/or addiction services, particularly navigation services; and
- approaches to engaging youth in your own work.
The Family Navigation Project’s Community-Based Participatory Research study is one of two winners of the 2022 Paula Goering Collaborative Research and Knowledge Translation Award. The Family Navigation Project partnered with youth, decision-makers, providers, and caregivers as co-researchers to collect information from key stakeholders and develop a youth engagement framework for MHA navigation services. By partnering with youth and other key stakeholders to develop this framework, key findings and ongoing considerations provide an important example for other youth MHA services and navigation services seeking to engage youth in their programming.
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Despite the beliefs and the construction of our mindset that we live in an inclusive society, there is a blatant lack of equity and access to recourses for Black people – not just in Ontario, but across Canada. The harsh realities of Black people experiencing racism go back to the colonialism and slavery, which resulted in discrimination, unfair treatment, and low expectations of Black communities and created the racial inequalities and the negative effects that impact Black people today. We see the marginalization of Black populations in our criminal systems, educational system, as well as housing and employment. Despite this, systemic racism, intersecting oppression and intrinsic barriers, are not acknowledged. Hence, anti-Black racism is still a problem in our society because institutions and policies lack awareness of the negative effects racism has on Black people and reduce potential opportunities that limit success.
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The systemic issues identified are very real for many marginalized people and as such we need to change the narrative that we share with them. They have heard it all before and it becomes a echo in the background of what they expect life to be. So we have to help in the reeducation of our selfies that we do not propagate the old narratives “if you work hard you can overcome” etc. We have to call a spade a spade and help others to see that we ourselves along with them are carrying on the same way of doing business of treating people with the colonial mentality that we have been taught. Having a critical mind to challenge the status quo to ask questions, not to be disruptive but to say how does this serve our clients are we adding more burden or are we allowing for a more integrated process for the individual. Its not just what is presented but the whole picture of what makes the client with all else that they have been burdened with ( their invisible backpack). Its not a one solution for all. We are not able to have successful treatment if we do not build relationships with clients. Client centered meaning understand the ins and outs. Policies that allows youth workers to help the youth establish meaningful relationships within the community that allows them to see themselves in positive roles. So much more to say on this topic…
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It is having a space where they not only see Black staff, but Black leadership, folks supported to make the change Black and other racialized communities have been talking about forever. It means creating an environment where Black staff and leadership thrive, rather than saddled with the role of “fixing” all the systemic, structural, and interpersonal racism present before they were hired or promoted. It is leaders holding ourselves accountable to change. I don’t think we can create environment that are inclusive of communities who aren’t included in the workspace.
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Such a great playlist to listen to while reflecting on these powerful teachings. Rise Up and Brown Skin Girl are on my faves playlist and they get a lot of play already. I had not heard Baldwin before but it was great. Thanks for this great resource. Music is such a powerful way to connect with others.
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We use a portal to input all the registration forms by creating a youth profile. Once the youths profile is created we are able to add their names to events they have attended. For reporting wise, we are able to see how many youths we have served over the year and youth attendance for each event we have hosted.
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Something we did was to put our evaluation findings in a graph or chart format. We ask youths to fill out a feedback form which generates a graph with their responses. For example, “did you find this event was organized?” We are able to see on a pie chart how many percentage of youths said Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree or Strongly Disagree.
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For our program we collect their demographic information, Educational status, Work Status, and What other support we can provide them with. This way if there are any resources for a specific group of people, for instance like newcomers or jobs for people in the Golden Mile Area. We are able to filter through our list and reach out to the youths with the resources and opportunities. After each workshop, we ask the youths to fill out a feedback form and topics they would like to see in the future. Our goal is for youths to find employment. Maybe if we can ask them for their LinkedIn profile as well to see if they did find employment. There are times we don’t hear from the youth afterwards.
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With our program, we try to evaluate if youths are finding employment after attending our weekly mentor workshops. We find that once a youth finds employment, we do not hear back from them unless they require further resources. I think if we have funding to provide to youths, with some sort of support once they found a job. There might be a higher chance for them to notify us that they did fine employment.
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I think the best way I can centre the well-being of black youth in my workspace is to listen to their concerns, needs and voice attentively. To bring value to what they are saying. To advocate for them, and to speak up on their behalf putting myself out there to protect and make our schools a safer place. I can get involved more in my community, and express the need for societal change in white spaces to advocate for black voices. I can continue to put myself on the front lines while continuing my learning journey to push along the changes necessary to make my community and work space a safer place for children, youth and people of colour. I can find ways to check in regularly with people of colour that are in my life. I can be a safe place for people of colour. I can make it known that I am still learning, and I am open to any criticisms to help further my awareness of my own blind spots, biasness, and racist habits. In the end, I understand that this is a life-time commitment, and I will never stop trying, learning, and pushing for a fair and just society.
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It would be so wonderful if the voices of today’s youth were utilized to help us formulate policies and develop a better framework that supports all of the varying needs of today. I think that the privilege of working with children or young adults also gives us the opportunity to better advocate for those voices. It is so important to make connections with families and communities to better support today’s youth, but I also consider that when it comes to intersectionality the needs become more complex, the risks for that individual are higher, and it does not necessarily mean that any community in particular has all of the necessary resources to best support the person in need. It is because of this that we must listen to the voices of today’s youth to better understand how we can support them, and give them a platform to be heard. There is a lot of risk for marginalized individuals when they speak out against oppression. As a teacher or youth worker the best way for children to feel safe in this ever-changing world is to advocate for those voices so they don’t have to put themselves at risk.
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Moving beyond does take participation, this participation on a active voice should be in the creation process of public policies, servicies, action plans and frameworks. Youth should be taken on this process not only as receivers but as creators. Also including the intersectionality as we create new pathways on this important matter.
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Research is one of the most powerful ways to prove that anti black racism is a true contemporary era problem, that not only affects youth on the social matters but on the mental health matter. Also, trough research is one of the most faithful way to evaluate the extent, the application and the realistic look of Anti Black Racism prevention programs and policies.
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Not only in Ontario it is a problem. Anti Black racism still is a problem in all the colonized territories of the Americas, and its because the identity of our societies is build by the aspiration of whiteness, also is build by a lack of empathy and social justice, and a false idea that racism is something of many many years behind us, something old and that it disappeared when slavery was abolished, when in reality there is contemporary and new anti black racism in our environments.
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I am so happy to enter this space, I truly believe that centering Black youth wellbeing and overall youth wellbeing in our frame works is crucial because youth is that seed that will work and receive the society we built today. Also empowering black youth through the wellbeing framework will support vulnerable groups such as lgbtq+, migrants, others. One simple thing that my organization could do is to give to our youth clients the resources for them to study, analyze and elaborate their own actions plans.
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This is a great question and I’m sure it’s been answered in a variety of ways but I think including the voices of Black youth (co-creating / designing these pathways with them), operating from an asset based approach, utilizing research can help us design better pathways for black you. Further not to say, Black Excellence is what every Black person should aspire to but for those Black people that have achieved excellence it would be worth knowing (1) more about the environment/conditions to support their success, and (2) the skillset and competencies they leaned on the most.
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I came here to say something similar! And to also show that we value their time in the co-creation process by providing them with honorariums, etc. I would want to find the balance between co-creating with them (to center their voices) and making additional work for them. So yes if there was some way to show their time is valued as they are the experts…would be ideal.
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I was surprised to learn in the lectures that there is already a lot of data and recommendations about Black youth but no real willpower to implement it or to do systemic changes. It is a good example of the deep roots of anti-Black racism. This realization encourage me to make sure that I share these research and this data around me, with colleagues. It must be a collective effort to find ways not only to acknowledge this research, but also to put it into action.
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Need to build and invest in people. Skills and resources allocation for the Black youth that empowers them to lead a life they where options and opportunities for them to choose and not feel like they have limited options.
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Yes, I agree Tracey-Ann! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
We strive to connect youth workers and young people to a variety of resources and supports. If you know of any that we can share here, or on our Community Board, or even through our Knowledge Hub, please let us know so that we can further these opportunities for networking and support. ❤
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Thank you so much for sharing. Youth workers often become resource navigators for young people and their families, and I agree that educators, counsellors, and others within school settings can be supported to connect students to the resources they need to thrive (in and outside of the classroom).
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Agreed
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I agree with you Julissa, white supremacy and the individuals who benefit from it need anti-black racism to persist in order to uphold the benefits and privileges it affords them. The reality is even those who acknowledge that ABR is real are often unwilling to give up these privileges and make meaningful change that is felt by Black children, youth and families.
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You’ve identified some really great points Jayal!
