Collective effort needed to eliminate racism: Adjei
Editor’s note: The Black Lives Matter movement has been pivotal in the efforts to raise awareness about racism and other racial inequities, and the year since George Floyd’s murder has amplified this message. This week, Saltwire Network takes a closer look at the racism the Black community experiences in Atlantic Canada and the solutions that could help effect change.
Paul Banahene Adjei was flying home to St. John’s in 2017 from a conference in Winnipeg when he missed a connecting flight due to an airline delay.
But unlike the white passengers on the plane, Adjei and his friend — also Black — didn’t receive a hotel voucher.
“We were the only Black passengers on the plane and the only ones who didn’t get a voucher,” he said. “When we went to the main desk we were shocked to realize all the other white folks travelling with us had actually been given hotel vouchers. … (The airline representative) had treated us differently.”
It’s one of many stories Adjei could tell about unfair treatment due to his race — often here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Adjei — the associate dean of graduate programs and an associate professor in the school of social work at Memorial University — has friends living in other parts of Atlantic Canada with similar heartbreaking stories.
“They refuse to go to work because (people are so racist),” he said. “They’ve sat in their cars every morning and cried because they just don’t know how they’re going to handle it.”
In a time when people are standing up against racism with rallies, finding encouragement with the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement and protesting incidents — like the shocking murder of George Floyd last year by a Minneapolis police officer — it’s difficult for many to believe racism is still an issue in this small region of the country.
Adjei, however, does believe it.
“Racism has always been part of our society. It’s been part of our history for more than 400 years,” said Adjei, who received his undergraduate degree in social work from the department of social work at the University of Ghana and has a master’s degree and a PHD from the University of Toronto, specializing in social justice education.
“So, to even think that just one march, in terms of the way we reacted to Mr. Floyd’s death, would mean racism is over may be asking too much from society.”
WORK TO BE DONE
Adjei, who spoke at the Black Lives Matter rally in St. John’s in June 2020, said it’s common to see major responses after significant events, but that fire often dies down soon after.
“One thing I’ve learned is we are a society with a very short attention span when it comes to the fight against racism,” said Adjei, pointing to many other emotional global responses to other historical racist incidents, such as the brutal attack on Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers in 1991.
“What has happened consistently throughout our history is at the end of every reaction, we go back to things that are normal because we don’t put in place concrete mechanisms to address and respond to issues of racism.”
While activism has helped people have more open conversations about racism, Adjei said there is still much work to be done, because many people refuse to believe it’s a problem here.
The solution is not an easy one, but there are a few things that can be done, he says.
First, he said, there needs to be an effort to educate ourselves about the issues of racism, some of which are embedded in institutions, such as police forces.
“We need some crucial understanding of what it really means when we talk about racism,” said Adjei, adding that training officers about the issue is critical.
EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY
In December 2020, the RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador launched an initiative called the Black Engagement Steering Committee to seek ways to attract members of the province’s Black community to work with the force and to help better understand the needs of the Black community.
The second approach, Adjei said, is to ensure people of all racial backgrounds act together in a collective effort to fight racism.
“Racism is not just one group. It is a problem in our society,” said Adjei, a public speaker, educator and researcher in the areas of social justice, anti-black racism, critical race, critical whiteness studies and anti-colonial theory.
“We all have a moral obligation, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel.”
Finally, he said, people need to take a good look at themselves and personally examine their own attitudes.
“People think, I am a good person. I didn’t commit any racist (acts), therefore I am anti-racist. But it exists in our culture and we have to acknowledge its presence in our society,” he said.
“So, the emotional reaction is very good. It motivates us, but people have to ask themselves, ‘Now that I know racism exists, what do I need to do?’”
Everyone must take responsibility for finding a solution, he adds.
“None of us are responsible for the past because we did not create racism, but we are responsible in how we want the past to shape the present and the future. That is our collective responsibility,” Adjei says.
“If we have to be confronted with the same issues as what happened to Mr. Floyd, then we are not innocent bystanders anymore. We are accomplices. Each one of us has a responsibility to do something about it.”
“None of us are responsible for the past because we did not create racism, but we are responsible in how we want the past to shape the present and the future.” Paul Banahene Adjei, Memorial University associate professor and researcher in the areas of social justice and anti-black racism
MORE REPRESENTATION NEEDED
Precious Familusi, co-founder of Black Lives Matters NL, said he is encouraged to see more conversation about the issue of racism.
But he pointed out there are many who still deny the existence of racism in a province that prides itself on its friendliness and hospitality.
“People in Newfoundland (and Labrador) are very friendly, but there is still racism here. You can’t discount it,” Familusi said.
He said he would also like to see more representation of Black people and other nonwhite people at various levels of government.
“When I look at the political level, there are no places where I can find a space to have that discussion,” he said.
“The message is slowly getting through to people, but there are certain situations around the province that make it feel hopeless.
“I just hope there’s more understanding of the essence of having the conversation. The more discussion we have, the more understanding there is.”