Member Young
MemberForum Replies Created
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Its always been this verbalized idea by majority I would think “white people” in an effort to express that they do not look at people in racialized ways. In doing so this “saying” or jargon is minimizing black experiences. Everyone sees colour, everyone is subject to white supremacy while living in this western country, of course how it impacts you is what is different. This concept of being blind to race is one of a privileged position of power, how “comfortable” and convenient for “white” individuals to be blind to the racism, I truly don’t think it was intended to be racist (I could be so wrong though), the opposite in fact but it truly is a reflection of white privilege. It minimizes the black experience and attempts to void the individual expressing that notion responsibility to acknowledge there own place and contributions that have negatively impacted the black community. For a Youth Worker to say they do not see colour to a young black client is disrespectful to that persons culture, ethnicity, community, personal and historical experience and most importantly there race. It is an outdated concept, as we evolve and grow it is time to acknowledge such concept for what they are, another attempt by “white people” to avoid difficult conversations. In module 3 (3.3) the strategy of Broaching is a perfect example of the opposite approach to this concept of “colour blindness”. To engage in conversations, create a safe space supported by the Counsellor to address racial dynamics and how they impact the process, the practice and the experience of the client. To go there and support/empower the client to speak about how this dynamic plays out in there relationships, there institutions and there life not avoid these conversations with the intent the experience with the Counsellor will be different.
Stacey
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I completely agree with your point of view on this question. I love how you emphasized on the fact that white privilege acts are strong factors in this type of thinking or question. It does allow that particular group of individuals to escape difficult, uncomfortable conversations.
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I recently finished watching this webinar and I encourage everyone to check it out. It was very insightful and the video by Soch Nwakaeza & Eben Odonkor was very impressive. I feel like it really shed light on the generalized perceptions young black men have of their lives.
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I wanted to open the floor for discussion on a question someone earlier this week asked me. We had a pretty good talk about it, so I just felt it would be nice to share with the group and see if others have any insight they would like to share regarding this particular question. 🙂
Question: Is the phrase “I don’t see colour” a positive or negative
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I have found it’s helpful in building an alliance with new youth (clients) to take an interest in any special clothing they might be wearing, hat, because sessions have been virtual this year, noticing and asking questions about art or artifacts in their surroundings (home or bedroom). I learned so much about them (places they’ve been, gifts from relatives etc…). Not only did it help break the ice, but it was sooo interesting.
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The Jamaican Canadian Association and partners are hosting a COVID-19 vaccination information and pop-up clinic for African, Black & Caribbean communities on July 3-4 at the JCA Centre at 995 Arrow Road. Ages 12+, OHIP not required.
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A piece that really stood out to me in the final lecture of Module 2 was the fact that Black Youth are regularly connected to supports through the police and often have to wait longer for resources. This caused me to reflect on my own work. Most of the younger youth I work with (0-11) are white. When I worked with teenagers the services that had a lower intensity (weekly counselling for example) were populated with white youth while the higher intensity (such as classroom programs) were more populated by black youth. This module made me realize that this was a trend and that the likely cause of this trend is that the community (schools, my services, doctors etc) may not make a point of connecting black youth to services until things reach a point that more intensive services are needed. White youth get to be helped early on when issues are easier to work through with less invasive services, while black youth are likely being ‘managed’ by punitive measures such as detentions.
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Thanks Christine, this is an important point. Please bring this up during the next Virtual Seminar, this is a crucial observation!
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Something I just wanted to highlight from the organization that I work at. They recently conducted a one time focus group for the clients in our live in treatment center to get a clear understanding of what the actual clients would benefit from in all aspects of the organization. I felt that this was a great example of that whole concept of actively listening to youth and implmenting policies and programmings that pertain to the youth it’s directed to.
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I’m reflecting on the ways in which my workplace can better encourage people of colour to seek our treatment services. I work at a youth treatment center where we provide youth with therapeutic/basic needs. I am definitely open to suggestions others may have on how I can take part in encouraging Black youth to become more engaged in these programs.
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It’s been very interesting to read through everyone’s thoughts. There has been a lot of highlight on the structural and systemic embeddedness of racism – I’d like to contribute another thought that falls on a more individual and personal level. I think many of us, myself included, have had to reckon with the fact that accepting the truth of ABR in our society means accepting the fact that we participate in it. For myself, I think that I have been afraid that I might discover that I too hold prejudiced beliefs – some conscious and some unconscious. It’s one thing to call out racism in others/systems and it’s something much more uncomfortable to call it out in oneself. Doing genuine work of anti-racism means that I might bring into consciousness a racist belief that was unconscious in myself up until now. I might discover that I, too, participate in racism (even if I wish it were not true and even if it is painful to discover this truth). This is a scary prospect. And a necessary process. I need to come to terms with the history, the system, and the trends, and I also need to come to terms with my personal participation. I think this fear may play a role in why deep and pervasive change is still a work in progress.
Thanks.
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I am really impressed with your honesty Trina. I think every one of us should stop and think about our own actions!
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Wow I commend your openness and willingness to be so truthful and expressive. That was definitly an eye opening statment you made there about self reflection. It’s very true, it’s one thing to speak on racism in other parts of society, but to actually take a step back and reflect it back onto ourselves is a whole different story and different struggle for some people, which is a main factor in why change still needs to be made.
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This is crucial…. thanks for sharing this.
As a Black man I am actively combatting anti-Black ideologies that have been so embedded in this culture. The institutional dehumanization of Black peoples is so entrenched that it impacts us all in some way – though Black people face the consequences twice over.
The desire to be seen as politically Correct sometimes overrides one’s openness to difficult self-reflection on how they could be Wrong – particularly in the Ontario/Canadian context.
Ironically, the desire to only be seen as benevolent makes the impact of harmful actions much worse, whereby the person who is called “racist” (by their intentional or unintentional action) may claim to be injured more than the person who felt assaulted by the misdeed.
We have much work to do in respecting how others (and sometimes ourselves) can be fully seen and appreciated for all their soul’s true worth.
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I really appreciate this framing…the desire to seem politically correct or to appear benevolent can actually interfere with the openness required to truly be an ally. And it can create greater harm.
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The Readiness Indicators Project is looking to engage youth, ages 18 to 33, with experience growing up in the child welfare system.
The Ministry of Children, Community & Social Services, Ontario Children’s Advancement Coalition, Youth in Care Canada, and Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada are leading youth engagement sessions on readiness indicators. The engagements will help the Ministry to establish a new framework to determine when young people are ready to leave the care of children’s aid societies and transition into the community. Readiness indicators are the ways we know we are ready to transition from care.
Twelve Brave Space Engagement sessions will be held in July as 90-minute moderated consultations with youth with lived experience. These youth will get an opportunity to share their advice on readiness indicators.
Youth who are interested in participating must complete an online application by June 23, 2021. You can access the application online, and you can also access a Communications Toolkit with more information to help you spread the word and engage the young people with whom you work.
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Share opportunities for meaningful youth engagement across Ontario.
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I’ll be joining Dr. Joseph Smith (Co Founder, Generation Chosen) and Jemmelia Morgan (Co-Founder, My Girls Night In) for an online workshop on June 21st: 5 Keys to Program Development. Register online to participate and learn about the tools necessary to increase program participation, intended program outcomes, and overall program sustainability. 😀
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https://cinefam.ca/blog/five-questions-for-nadine-valcin/
I wanted to share a quick clip called “Whitewashed”. This clip sort of answers that question on how research findings can help highlight and challenge the impact of anti-Black racism on black people as a whole. Through this clip Nadina V used an accumulation of research findings to gather information on the topic of slavery in Canada. Nadina uses film as a form of activism which I find to be very inspiring and clever, especially during this era. The film highlights slavery in Canada using black women’s skin colour and texture as the focal point.
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Join YouthREX and Ontario Caregiver Organization for an engaging conversation with young caregivers about what they want YOU to know. Register online to join us on Zoom! 🙂
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Did you know that over half a million young people in Ontario are providing care for family members or friends with a physical or mental health challenge, all while balancing the demands of school, work, and life? Imagine the many ways that this pandemic has made the need, and the demands, for young caregivers even more challenging.
Earlier this year, Ontario Caregiver Organization launched an online hub for young caregivers: Young Caregivers Connect.
How can we support young caregivers and what are the opportunities for adult allyship?
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@kathleen and I connected right here on REX Virtual Café, and we’re so excited to partner for a conversation with young caregivers on June 24th. Register online to join us on Zoom!
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Join YouthREX and Ontario Caregiver Organization on Thursday, June 24th from 12PM to 1:30PM to learn about the experiences of young caregivers and what they want YOU to know. Register online to connect with us on Zoom!
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The Ontario Non-Profit Network (ONN) is hiring a Data Strategy Manager. The ideal candidate will bring policy skills, a collaborative style, project management experience, and a passion for leveraging data to support learning and decision-making.
The ONN looking for a leader with knowledge of the public policy process in Ontario, data policy, and/or data-sharing projects. The Data Strategy Manager will develop and lead the implementation of the Data, Evidence-use, and Learning (DEAL) Strategy, a (minimum) two-year project, in collaboration with a steering committee and our partners, Ajah/Powered By Data and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
The successful candidate will engage with nonprofits and government on issues like data integration, privacy legislation, open data, methodically sharing program evaluation reports, and nonprofits’ secure access to administrative data to better understand the positive impact of the sector. The Data Strategy Manager will engage a range of nonprofits on questions related to the ethical use of disaggregated data (e.g., by race, gender, and disability), and data ownership and control.
Applicants will be reviewed on an ongoing basis with the expectation of the candidate beginning work by July 5, 2021.
You can find the full job posting here.
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Self reflection is key and very important in any work being done with and for Black youth.
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Very true, yet very sad. The fact of our country being built of who is more superior than another definitely ties right into the reasons why this is a problem. For decades black people seem to have been at the bottom of every list in this country.
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Great goal Shelly 👍🏾
We can not be shy, quite or afraid of making others uncomfortable when it comes to anti black racism anymore. We need to be open to have these uncomfortable discussions, especially our educators.
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That sounds like a great task to implement in your daily routines. Self reflection is key to self awareness. At this time I don’t know of any self reflective workbooks, but I will for sure look out for them and share with the group. 🙂
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Thank you for sharing. This is no game.
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Well said Mercedes, everything you’ve stated needs to be better implemented and mentioned to our younger generations. Their mindset aren’t like other generations; the things we may think they don’t understand or know about, their very much aware of because their experiencing it more and more every day. Educationally, our roots need to be better taught within the school program because it’s very easy for Black people’s roots and heritage to be overlooked within society. Our culture is fantasized by other groups but our heritage and roots it uncared for. I also want to stress that we need to encourage and implement more unity internally (within our Black communities). Not only are we struggling in a battle with non-Black groups, but within our own groups/communities, which in a sense makes it 10x harder for us to achieve the things we want.
I also love your comment on becoming our own government. Unfortunately this government isn’t 100% for Black people so that only thing we can do is create our own, build together so we can better meet our needs.
