The $10 bill and beyond

That is without a doubt a spectacular looking new $10 bill. The design in itself has gone beyond convention, and the featuring of Viola Desmond’s image indicates we’ve come a long way since that forerunner of civil rights activism took her determined stand against some backward thinking.

The story is a familiar one, particularly in Pictou County, the locale where in 1946 Desmond refused to give up her seat in a whites-only section of a New Glasgow movie theatre — only to be forcibly removed by police and jailed overnight.

Desmond’s courageous act wasn’t that widely known across Canada years ago. But with her portrait on a bill going into circulation later this year, the story will be more widely shared and enter the grassroots lore of this country.

The road to greater civil rights and better understanding among different peoples has been a long one. The milestone represented by Desmond’s act is one to celebrate. Her representation on a bank note is a testament to the contribution of people of African descent to Canada.

But at the same time, sadly, recent incidents show that, despite the progress in race relations, we aren’t quite where most would like to be.

We learned this week of a nasty, disheartening incident in Monastery, N.S., in which racist slurs targeting Indigenous and African Nova Scotians were spray painted on buses and a sign at the school.

Also, in the Halifax Region, as reported by CBC, a young African Nova Scotian girl has been subjected for years by some classmates to what should be unspeakable racist names and taunts.

These instances of scrawled slurs and name calling can’t be simply lumped in with the foibles of youth. Attitudes such as these originate somewhere, whether from family or supposed role models, and reflect persisting, pernicious attitudes about non-whites by some people in our midst.

We would hope parents, friends, anyone in the community would recognize such negative utterings in people — young, old or in between — and enforce the understanding that they are unacceptable and in no way amusing.

We’re living in a time when our social fabric is becoming more diverse. And that’s a good thing, but the change has to be accompanied by open minds that strive to understand cultural diversity.

We expect the people who flaunt these attitudes — or spray paint them under the cloak of darkness — are in the minority. Unfortunately, when we’re hit by such glaring instances of racism, they get, and are given, a lot of attention, possibly making it seem that those ugly attitudes are more prevalent.

What’s needed is for the silent majority to step up and speak out along with those who do vocally challenge these incidents and champion mutual respect and understanding. A broad display of unity condemning instances of racism and supporting the rights and decent treatment of everyone would go a long way toward erasing those attitudes altogether.