EXPAND OUR SENSE OF WHO WE ARE
I recently received an email from a friend, a nice guy, which spread a message complaining that only white people get accused of being racist. A dishonest claim of victimhood — a way of denying real calls for justice, equality.
Over the past few hundred years, through industrialization, using fossil fuels and human slavery, a small minority of people became the richest and most powerful on the planet. By having a skin colour and facial structure in common with this group, myself and my family take for granted at least some privilege from it, including freedom from being an object of suspicion, whether by other privileged members of the public, businesses or by law enforcement.
I belong to a group that can finish the song about Aunt Martha, that don’t need a translator for Buddy Wasisname. There is a concept of who we are as Newfoundlanders. The government sells us as “people living out on the edge of North America, having spent many years isolated from much of the world.”
Quaint, but we need to broaden our sense of who we are. We have always been part of the world. From supplying fish around the world to building ships for the slave trade, people on this land were always integrated into world history.
We need to broaden the songs and stories we have in common. As a start we need to include stories from Miawpukek, Nitassinan and Nunatukavut. Words like Tshakapesh should be part of our common Newfoundland and Labrador language as much as Screech-in. Maybe the lieutenant governor could host an annual Newfoundland powwow, with dance and cultural classes on offer to all by respected Mi’kmaw elders. Maybe Artsnl could commission verses to the Ode in different languages — how beautiful would that be in Arabic! Starting with the school curriculum, we need to diversify authors so that names like Chinua Achebe, Ken Saro-wiwa, Naguib Mahfouz, James Baldwin become as well known as Cassie Brown.
A small group may cling to a narrow sense of who is a Newfoundlander. This holds us all back. Expanding our understanding of who “we” are improves this place, improves our standard of living here, certainly improves out cooking.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Actively promoting evolution of our shared culture by those in positions as authority, as well as by individuals, is as important to a better future for our children as any promotion of economy or industry.
Harold Chislett
St. John’s