No escaping pervasive racism
I acknowledge I’ve had a privileged life, with successful and supportive parents, good private school and university education and an excellent career. (I was the first Black female deputy minister in the Ontario public service.) When I was growing up, my mother made it clear our comfortable lifestyle would not shield me from racism, and that, as a Black woman, I would need to be tough in mind, body and spirit to get anywhere in a world built for white men.
My Black friends, who have also done well, all have similar stories:
Battling it out with schools that were blatantly racist in their treatment of us and our children.
Being relentlessly followed while shopping or being obviously ignored when needing assistance.
Driving while Black and fearing any interaction with police.
Experiencing overt racism and micro-aggressions in the workplace.
Resenting the amount of energy and effort required to make white people feel comfortable dealing with us, and feeling lonely and tired being the only Black person at executive tables.
Black people, whatever their situation, do not escape the impact of pervasive anti-Black racism.
Angela Coke, Thornhill
It’s encouraging to see political leaders and government officials acknowledging the existence of systemic racism in Canada.
In historical terms, racism in Canada started with the colonization of Indigenous lands by European settlers and then the transatlantic slave trade.
The European colonists systematically tried to erase the cultural and ethnic identity of the people they colonized. They made people shed their own culture and adopt the culture and religion of the colonizers.
The results are obvious: deprivation among, and breakdown of, Black and Indigenous communities.
Policy reforms and anti-racism education are required to eliminate racism from society.
Anti-racism education should objectively present historical and cultural accounts of oppression of Indigenous and Black people at the hands of colonizers, even if that might seem uncomfortable for some.
You cannot understand racism unless you put yourself in the shoes of someone who has been a victim.
Khurram Musti Khan, Milton
I have never really come close to criminal activity beyond some very immature events suffered before the age of 10. But I cannot count the many uncomfortable interactions with white members of the Toronto Police Service.
In my opinion, a citizen has a better chance of suffering awkward meetings with white police officers if he or she is not also white and does not reside in a neighbourhood considered polite.
The third factor is the misfortune of dealing with a person lacking Christian feelings toward races beyond his or her own.
We are not going to change the colour of our skin and ethnicity. Wealth and comfortable living conditions may not be in our futures.
The simple solution might be to somehow make our police force a collective of better-educated good citizens, who are made to understand that they are not an occupying force. Jerry Hom, Toronto
Re Wintour apologizes for race-related ‘mistakes,’ June 12
There is no group within this country that has been subject to more discrimination, brutality, injustice, deprivation and exclusion than our Indigenous people, yet the current dialogue deals exclusively with systemic racism against Black people.
Corporate executives, politicians, educators and celebrities are confessing, on bended knee, to their insensitive and discriminatory behaviour toward Black communities and promising acts of contrition to remedy the injustices. They have embraced the movement’s slogan: “Black Lives Matter.”
What do the first peoples of this country have to do to garner the same attention, the same support, the same commitments from these same people?
When will they likewise embrace the idea that Indigenous Lives Matter? Greg Sheehan, Mississauga
The primary reason police are called to assist with those experiencing a mental-health crisis is because, in the early 1980s, it was decided to “defund” the mental-health system.
It began with the defunding and elimination of mental-health institutions. The talking points to support this move was that those suffering from a serious mental illness should be treated in the community.
While the concept looked good on paper, the plan began with the closure of institutions, with no plan for how to fund and support these individuals in the community.
The result was, and continues to be, families and police have needed to pick up the care for many of these individuals.
I am not advocating for a return to those very impersonal institutions. I do however believe, before we move toward more defunding, it is imperative we consider what services we believe do not belong with the police and establish proper funding and protocols within those agencies best suited to take on the role we wish for them.
Only then should we be removing funding from police services. Jan Bowen, Peterborough, Ont.
Re Less hardware, more talking, Editorial, June 14
I appreciated your editorial that questioned the need for military-style equipment for the police force.
It brings to mind the purchase of water cannons and military-style vehicles during the G-20 debacle. The police appeared to use the protests as a reason to spend a ton of money on this equipment.
Unfortunately when you give people new, shiny toys, they will always want to use them, even when they might do more harm than good. Jim Jackson, Oshawa
Re Confederate flag sparks calls for ban in Collingwood, June 15
I have one question for the tone-deaf gentleman who displays the Confederate flag, a symbol of Black oppression, claiming it’s because he is a Civil War buff who values U.S. Southern pride.
If he were a Second World War buff, would he be flying a Nazi flag? Arlene Marks, Collingwood, Ont.
Re Montreal mayor vows action against racism, June 16
This is very welcoming news.
But the mayor should be reminded that the law forbidding wearing of religious attire also falls under systemic racism and discrimination.
Will she address this issue? Raza Kara, Richmond Hill
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