Biracial couple mark first anniversary
Hate crime in Port didn’t drive Rudy Benner and Jayden Hannigan apart
Six months after Tim Benner found the words “n--ga lover” spray-painted on the walls of his teenage daughter’s room, racism continues to rear its ugly head.
On Feb. 15, Benner discovered his home in Port Colborne had been broken into. The vandals had defaced family photos and destroyed floors and furniture.
The target of what police said was a hate crime was Benner’s 16-yearold daughter Ruby Benner and her boyfriend Jayden Hannigan, who is black.
Since the attack, Hannigan said people have been concerned with how he and Ruby are doing. The couple didn’t let the incident affect their relationship. They recently celebrated their one-year anniversary.
He said people constantly ask whether the vandal or vandals have been caught. Unfortunately for the couple the culprit hasn’t been found.
Hannigan’s mother Shannon said they have a good idea of who committed the crime, but there isn’t enough evidence yet.
Jayden and Ruby, who are students at Lakeshore Catholic High School, hadn’t experienced racism with regards to their inter-racial relationship until the vandalism.
Jayden said their friends and classmates don’t comment on the relationship. At school, Jayden said he has never felt discriminated against for being black. The vandalism was a harsh reminder for Jayden and his family of the hate and racism that still lives in the world.
For Shannon, the impacts of racism can be felt almost daily. A white woman raising a black son, whom she said proudly is her biological son. The reason she declares this is because of negative experiences she has had at the Canada-U.S. border.
When Jayden was eight, Shannon tried to cross the border with Jayden. Shannon said she had his birth certificate and identification, but the border guard did not believe Jayden was her son.
“They said to me, ‘There’s no way that a white lady has such a black son,’” she said.
Shannon has not only felt the effects of racism when it comes to her children, but also with her romantic relationship. When Shannon and her boyfriend of five years, Edson Edouard, who is black, go out in public together, they usually see people staring at them.
“When we go places, people will make comments,” Shannon said.
Despite the looks and comments, Edouard and Shannon don’t let it come between them. Edouard said experiencing hate and judgment isn’t fair, but it’s a reality.
“If I want to be with her, I’ll be with her ... it’s on me no one else ... I just try and educate people,” he said.
Karl Dockstader, co-chairman of the Niagara AntiRacism Coalition, said remaining silent in the face of racism makes people complicit. He said it might not be intentional, but people need to work together and stand up to racism and hate.
“It’s not enough to not be racist,” Dockstader said. “A lot of people don’t want to call out racism or actively work to eradicate racism.
“There is a large group of people that vocally supports anti-racism, but there is also a very large silent majority.”
When it comes to the region, Dockstader said racism is real and it is present. Dockstader said when people acknowledge what happened to Jayden and Ruby in Port Colborne they can clearly see there is an issue.
Niagara residents gathered Wednesday night in St. Catharines to show solidarity with the victims of Charlottesville, Va. The rally was a response to last weekend’s white supremacist rallies that turned violent in Charlottesville.
Last Saturday a car drove into a crowd of people who were protesting against white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other right-wing groups. A 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 others were injured.
Shannon and Edouard said they are concerned the racism and hate people are witnessing in the U.S., such as the recent violence in Charlottesville, will spread to Canada. Edouard said he doesn’t think there is as much racism in Canada and Niagara as there is in the U.S., but it’s still a concern.
“Slavery is over, but we have been brainwashed to think everything is OK, but in the background it’s not,” ... I guess because of Trump, racism is starting to come out, everything is starting to come out,” Edouard said.
Dock sta der agreed there is a heightened concern that Niagara will see more racist incidences due to the rise in white supremacy, neo-Nazis and other right wing groups in the U.S.
During the St. Catharines rally, Dockstader said about 10 members of an anti-immigration and anti-refugee group called Sons of Odin were present. Dockstader said the Sons of Odin are known to be a white supremacist group and they were rallying against Wednesday night’s solidarity.
For the Hannigan family and Docksader, the best way to fight racism is to educate people.
Dockstader said all people need to declare themselves as anti-racist, especially people of privilege.