Anti-racism centre delay is unacceptable
City should have consulted before pausing project, needs to communicate on the future
On Feb. 14, 2019, the City of Hamilton abruptly announced that the less than a year old Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC) was being temporarily paused. The news release indicated that it anticipated a 12-month delay before reopening and vaguely stated that the pause would allow the resource centre’s partners to review and renew plans to achieve its envisioned goals. This article does not intend to discount the importance of such a relevant and necessary process, particularly for a new organization such as the HARRC. The problem is that the reasons for the temporary pause remain completely unclear. Considering that the resource centre was created for the purpose of serving the community, why were community members not consulted before the city decided to take such a drastic step? Especially since these were the very people whom HARRC was built for and meant to serve.
What is even more baffling is that the decision was announced after the motion to pause the HARRC was approved or passed in a secret city council meeting. Given the gravity and impact of such a decision the city was obligated to hold a public meeting. This way people could participate and vote on the issue of whether the HARRC should in fact be temporarily paused during such planning phases.
Moreover, it has been over two months since the news release. There has not been any further news or updates regarding community consultations or when this temporary pause is expected to end. It may not be necessary to state the obvious but acts of racism in the city will not pause while the various partners convene to review and renew plans for envisioned goals.
On April 4, 2018, HARRC officially launched its services to the City of Hamilton. It was introduced as a three-year pilot project which intended to gather information regarding issues related to racism in Hamilton to better inform city council on how to eliminate racism in the city. The launch was met with excitement and much anticipation from stakeholders, partners, and most importantly residents of Hamilton. Not only was the launch a celebratory moment after over 10 years of tireless efforts to implement the resource centre, it instilled a sense of hope among community members. This hope allowed them to envision that their concerns regarding racism would be heard and appropriately dealt with. It also projected a sense of commitment from powerful stakeholders in our community who endeavoured to take concrete steps to tackle racism. These entities were acknowledging that racism does indeed occur in our city and that collecting such data from victims would assist the city with finally doing something about it.
It is also relevant to note that in less than a year, approximately 75 persons came forward to reveal and share their experiences of racism which occurred within the city. This is a significant number of people who chose to come forward and share their difficult stories of trauma. The city should be accountable to these individuals and ensure that its actions going forward are completely transparent. The community needs to be informed and consulted about critical city strategies that will inevitably have a big impact on the personal lives of its members.
While news of the temporary pause did not seem to result in an outcry or a strong public reaction the city should be aware that it did raise many unanswered questions from concerned community members. Continued confusion over the HARRC shutdown will only result in ongoing community mistrust of the powerful institutions which are meant to serve and protect the interests of its members. The first step to dismantling this confusion is to ensure that the City of Hamilton clearly and publicly communicates its intentions with the HARRC. Secondly, it is important to reach out and collectively discuss relevant issues that can have a profound impact on systemic or personal incidents that impact Hamiltonians. Particularly for the benefit of vulnerable community members who are encountering and suffering from ongoing acts of racism in our city. Once the HARRC plans have been reviewed and goals redetermined, there is a responsibility to ensure that promises are immediately delivered and implemented. Yes, there may be setbacks and challenges along the way. That is to be expected. It is also anticipated that well thought out solutions can overcome these barriers as they arise especially if we can all work together to resolve these problems.
At the very least community members in Hamilton need to be informed so we can ensure that the HARRC will never pause again. Not until it has met its ultimate goal of eradicating racism in the city of Hamilton.