OPEN INVITATION
Kemba Mitchell, chairperson for the West Island Black Community Association, has invited politicians and police officers to speak about racist behaviour and racial profiling during a virtual town hall Sunday that’s open to all.
The West Island Black Community Association is hosting a Zoom town hall to talk about the realities of systemic racism, racist behaviour and racial profiling. The two-hour session begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
WIBCA chairperson Kemba Mitchell has invited West Island politicians from all three levels of government as well as police officers from Station 3, which serves the territory within which WIBCA is located. Members of the black community will talk about their experiences getting into their various professions, and attendees may ask questions. People from all communities are welcome to participate.
Former Global News anchor Elysia Bryan-baynes will moderate.
Mitchell felt compelled to organize the virtual gathering following the death of George Floyd, the black man who was killed in Minneapolis on May 25 when white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes as Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down. Floyd’s death has triggered violent riots in the United States and mostly peaceful anti-racism marches in Canada, including Montreal.
Montreal has its own history of police violence against people of colour.
“There is so much people want to say,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell has stories of her own. She is a third-generation Canadian. Her grandmother was born in Little Burgundy. Yet she still gets the question “Where are you from?”
“When I say ‘Canada,’ it’s not enough. I have to be from a hot climate somewhere,” she said.
Mitchell said education is key to helping attitudes change. But because school curricula are incomplete, she has taught her two daughters from the beginning that they are more than what is portrayed in textbooks.
“When you go to school, you are taught that black people come from slavery,” Mitchell said. “You see images of cotton fields and shackles. We tell our children that they come from kings and queens. We tell them their skin is beautiful. Their hair is beautiful. And we teach our children that they have to work 10 times harder to get ahead.”
Mitchell is keen to start a dialogue with the politicians who participate in the virtual meeting, adding that political will is crucial when bringing about change.
She noted that Premier François Legault commented on more than one occasion this week that there is no systemic racism in Quebec.
“Either he has no idea what systemic racism is,” she said, pausing, “or he’s part of the problem.”
Problems in the West Island may not be the same as in Montréal-nord, so Mitchell would like to organize a series of virtual forums, focusing on a different part of the island each time.
Mitchell attended last weekend’s anti-racism march downtown. Talking about the experience triggered deep emotion.
“I felt pride. I felt sadness because of what had brought us there,” she said. “And I felt like nothing has changed.
“We try to protect our daughters as much as we can. But when they go out on their own, the first thing people see is the colour of their skin. It’s disheartening.”
The link for Sunday’s Zoom town hall can be accessed via the WIBCA Montreal NPO Facebook page, @ wibcamontrealnpo on Instagram and at wibca.org.
If the meeting reaches capacity, people can also send in questions via the Facebook page.