Member Khadijah
MemberForum Replies Created
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If we do not identify that anti-Black racism is a problem here in Ontario, or Canada even, then it will continue to prevail. Canada is known as the friendly, polite, apologetic country. Racism tends to be thrown very subtly and it is spoken in a very soft whisper and served with a well intentioned smile. The comments about “those people” and “I am not racist but”, comments that is supposed to excuse anything else that comes after that disclaimer phrase. Those who are experiencing it tend to ignore the racist as best as they can, to keep moving forward in spite of. While the racists do not see anything wrong with their behaviour, as their privilege affords them certain power.
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I believe anti-Black racism continues to prevail in Ontario and more greatly, Canada as Canadians cling to the ideals of multiculturalism, cognitive dissonance and the notion of “white exceptionalism” as mentioned by Dr.Vidya Shah in lecture 1.3. As Canada is continually compared to our southern neighbors (arguably the less racially intolerable part of North America), the United States, the branding of Canada as “friendly, progressive, democratic” really feeds into the prides of Canadians. Similarly, with the finely curated history shown and taught to Canadians, many fail to see how our current systems oppressed and benefitted from the efforts and lives of Indigenous, Blacks and other racialized groups. In turn, the Canadian identity of “niceness and politeness” provides many with a sense of comfort and ignorance. Sure, we [as Canadians] might have systemic racism and sure, we might inherently hold biases both conscious and unconscious, but as long as we are not “overtly” racist and the world continues to celebrate our commitment to “multiculturalism” and our “accepting demeanor,” than racism will never be a “Canadian” problem (or at least a large enough, visible problem that needs to be addressed). The “Canadian identity” will be enough of a protective factor in the face of cognitive dissonance that Canadians in the face of racism will simply reinforce the notion that “I’M not racist like that, our country prides itself on our diversity!” This singularity feeds into the idea that racists are anomalies, the mediation/exemption of racism within oneself as we tend “not” to engage in overt racism as we are “nice,” and the belief that “multiculturalism is somehow equivalent to inclusion” as stated by Dr. Andrea Davis in lecture 1.4.
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One simple thing I can do is provide an inclusive and safe space for Black youth to be able to use their voices without anyone overpowering. As an organization, we can revise policies so they are up-to-date in terms of racism and discrimination (and what it looks like) and also providing opportunities for Black youth to participate with the community.
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I feel as though anti-Black racism is still a problem in Ontario because people continue to acknowledge it exists but don’t commit to making changes. I think back to a workplace I was once at and we had ongoing educationals at staff meetings about anti-Black racism. There were employees who would complain and say things like ‘we already know this’, ‘why are we talking about this again’? We had some really good conversations around knowledge being powerful but not helpful without commitment for action and change.
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Thank you! Great playlist, inspirational while I’m working away.
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Thank you! Many of these artists are new to me but I loved all the music snippets and love that you’ve put the playlist so I can listen more!
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Because there is a knowing/doing gap. We know there are inequities. We know anti-Black racism is a problem. There is a lack of political will to do what community leaders have called for to create change. I liked that this was reflected in the module on data. Black, Indigenous and other people of colour have been consulted so many times. If you’re going to consult, be prepared to actually do something with the data collected, and do it from a bottom-up approach, in true collaboration with Black communities.
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I recently finished watching the second module which focused on “Engaging with Research About Black Youth”. I learned from the research that black youth experience extensive wait times to accessing mental health services, generally almost double the wait times than their white counterparts. A statistic that I found alarming, while not surprising given the ways in which anti-black racism policies and practices are institutionalized. One thing that I can do to center Black youth wellbeing in my work is that I can listen to the experiences of anti-black racism, violence, and trauma that Black youth express and validate their feelings and experiences. I can ensure that when connecting youth to counselling services, that I make every conscious effort to connect Black youth to services within reasonable timeframes and continue to advocate for Black youth to receive appropriate care.
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As a white career development professional, the simplest thing I can do is ask black youth I work with about their lived experiences and how they would like me to support them.
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I think a key thing focused on in the lectures and that I have heard repeatedly in my community is to make it a priority within ones organization to employ Black individuals within your organization. Additionally inviting Black youth into the circle to share their experience and needs openly and to make an active and long standing effort to enact the changes necessary to make their needs a reality. As much as allyship is important I think it is critical to understand that we can never fully comprehend another persons reality and will never have a better idea of what a marginalized group or individual will need/want better than they will.
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In my opinion, anti-Black racism continues to be a problem in Ontario, as government and society are unwilling to acknowledge the years of oppression that the black community has faced and continues to face. The government refuses the make the many suggestions brought forth by black leaders, statistics and government findings that would stop in the oppression of this marginalized community.
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2/2 of my response: My organization would benefit from building partnerships with Black communities to attain a better understanding of the needs within the community I work in.
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Using Race Based Data as a Tool is important to bridging the gaps that are found within the data. This data, if used appropriately, will bring attention to systemic racism but will also give the black youth and their families an opportunity to receive services that would address their needs. It will also challenge the educators, health providers and society as a whole to use reflective practices on how to change how they interact with black families and the youth.
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As a Child and Youth Councellor it is important for us to first focus on Leveraging Space for our youth. I would focus on building a trusting relationship and walk at their pace so that they can feel safe. “Hanging in” as opposed to “hanging out” is important as it will allow you to get to know their interests, hobbies, goals and allow them to be part of their treatment plan. Promoting self advocacy for my clients is important for it will validate their feelings and emotions and thus allowing us to work in a partnership to formulate a treatment plan that will allow them to have a buy in.
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I Just Wanna Live! Title says it all, too many people existing in this world, not enough people thriving and living. Survival is not a way of life, one chooses, it’s imposed!
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I have found that it is very crucial to have qualitative analysis in research to address and highlight the negative impact of anti-Black racism on the communities. However, I do not think having the only scholarly research finding is enough to highlight the current anti-Black racism influence on youth and their families. I found there is more need to use social media and create webinars to acknowledge the existence of racism toward Black people. I found allyship is very crucial.
It is very important to be aware of creating possible stereotypes and misinterpreting the Black population during the research.
I have found digitalizing the barriers that each Black youth experiences will help to address the impact and challenges of anti-Black racism in the community.
It is very important to include a comfortable and safe space for Black youth to express their difficulties and feelings. More researches should be addressed for the anti-Black racism in society and be aware of creating the possible prejudice toward the Black population. It is important to include more perspectives from the Black youth and put less influence on the researchers’ perspectives.
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As a social work student, I have learned that there are many systematic barriers that the practitioners and program developers do not address much to interact with the Black youth.
By referring to the webinar called “Engaging youth expertise in substance use program and policy development” I have participated in last week, I have found that many of the service providers focus more on the intakes and requirements to enter the program which disengages with youth.
I suggest instead of keep adding new information for the services, it is better to put more effort to engage with youth and try to make a program in youth’s standard.
I have learned that many youths disengage from the program because of its difficulty and having less inclusion for diversity.
I think all practitioners need to start being aware of the influence of intergenerational trauma on Black youth. The practitioners must understand the youth’s trauma and oppression to engage with them.
I think in order to go beyond the systematic oppression that Black youths are facing, I found it is important to gain trust through having communication and show humanity.
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I think you make many good points, Jae! The one that stood out to me most was when you said that programs should be crafted using youth’s standards. It can be easy to put a lot of time into designing a program that we assume youth will enjoy, but it makes more sense to co-design programs. That can be an empowering experience for Black youth, who are so frequently positioned as the receivers of services as opposed to being seen as valuable contributors to services.
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Anti-black racism remains a prominent concern in Ontario because of the historical violence against black people stemming from colonialism and slavery. Anti-black racism is embedded within our institutions and everyday practices. It is manifested in every aspect of our social systems (education, justice, healthcare) and is often implicit in policies that serve to disadvantage black people while reinforcing white supremacy. This is exactly why representation is so important. To even attempt to change institutions, we need to start with black representation and voices in positions with decision making authority.
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In my opinion anti-Black racism is still a problem because Canadians as a whole are in denial of its existence and lack the education to better understand the complexity of it. When I was in school we were taught the “myths” of the Black community, as in Canada saved the slaves. When in fact we were never properly informed that Canadians too were slave owners and that Canada attempted to erase their heritage. To move forward together we must acknowledge the atrocities done onto the black community and begin educating our children from a young age so that they become informed citizens as opposed to grow in ignorance to anti-Black racism. It should no longer be acceptable to be “tolerant” of the black community. Our leaders must pave the way and begin educating in elementary school, which is often contradictory to the opinions of Canadians that oppose government action to address this issue. There have been many studies pertaining to this issue but very little done to address the findings. This vortex of ignorance will continue if the findings of the numerous studies are not addressed.
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Wow! Well said Erika.
I 100% agree with this. We have to start educating our children from a young age on the TRUTH about our history. What has and still is going on in this world to get them better equipped for certain situations they will encounter. They need to acknowledge that their only doing our youth harm when they try to hide and cover up the truth.
You stated your opinion very beautifully.
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Love this playlist. I listen on repeat!! My favourites are Change and Glory however, Preach is not far behind. Thank you for compiling this list.
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While this sounds like a simple thing to say, I do believe this is the bare minimum that we should do, in order to keep empowering those black youth who are seeking services and encourage those who want to but haven’t yet.
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I agree, Alicia! I think that’s a really important step to reverse the more paternalistic approach to programming, where Black communities are told what they should want or need as opposed to being asked and as (if not more) important, having those requests granted. Because there are times where Black communities are asked, but their concerns and recommendations are not actually implemented.
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Thanks for sharing your plan for a Black Youth Voices Matter group, Harold. Such a good idea! Yes, getting youth involved from the beginning of the planning and listening to them is key to success. If you are interested, you can ask YouthREX to pull together an evidence brief on best practices on setting up youth groups for BIPOC youth. Preparing customized evidence briefs is one of the cool services that YouthREX offers Ontario’s youth sector. You can schedule a 1-on-1 call with the Knowledge Mobilization team: https://youthrex.com/get-in-touch/. Hope you will stay involved in this CoP and share lessons from developing the Black Youth Voices group – both things that worked and things that did not work that well. Good luck!
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“Move at the speed of trust”… so much wisdom in this advice! Thanks for sharing, Kristina.
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Hello, Katarina
I have checked the factsheet you have shared in your post.
I found it is very very helpful to how to engage with youth who are using cannabis. I agree that fearing the youth to use cannabis and making abstinence-based drugs are not helpful for the treatment.
However, I started to wonder how should I tell the youth if they want to know what could be the possible outcomes if they overuse the cannabis.
I remember when I was in my second year, I was writing a paper about cannabis usage. I could not find many negative outcomes by using cannabis except that may harm one’s memory and brain, but the research could not find the direct evidence for it.
Thus, I remember that some youth argue that there are no negative outcomes for using cannabis. I am sure there will be more researches looking for the potential outcomes for cannabis, but I could not find them yet.
It is very interesting that cannabis is less addictive than any other substance and people often think cannabis is safer use. However, overuse of cannabis can harm one’s health even though detailed research has not proven cannabis’s negative outcomes yet.
I think there should be more harm reduction approach for cannabis use. It is important to provide a healthy alternative for youth to prevent addiction.
Thank you,
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As an openly Transgender teacher, it’s surprising what you hear from colleagues, that claim that they have sat with themselves and checked their privilege. I reflect almost everyday on how the system is still positioned for my success being a white man. My transition, really drove home my privilege and amplified it as I became a man. This process will never be over and the fight to dismantle the education system has just been scratched on the surface. Everyday is reflection and work to change the outcomes for my students.
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Well said Efe,
That’s very true!
Unfortunately policymakers do have an important role in combating anti black racism, yet choose to ignore the signs and continue to operate in that manner. Them having such power and control it should have a bigger responsibility to think and behave in a way that will protect people of colour in all aspects.
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Hi Gera,
It’s great to hear that you felt the recent modules were informative and brought realness. I completely agree with you on that!. Black voices continuously get shut out or ignored and their stories/experiences aren’t taken into account. Your point is so true, in order to actually combat anti black racism we need to start by believing in our black youth.
