Hi, my name is Demario Chambers. A lot of people may know me as the 15 year-old youth who got assaulted by the police in Bedford. I am here to tell you who I am. I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When I was a baby I moved to Vancouver, BC. After a few […]
Senator calls for action from Halifax councillors with presentation on anti-Black racism
Senator Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard is calling on Halifax regional councillors to take action to combat anti-Black racism in the municipality. Bernard, an independent Canadian senator appointed in 2016, gave a roughly half-hour long presentation to council’s virtual meeting on Tuesday morning. The presentation, titled “Unpacking Anti‐Black Racism in the HRM: Creating Sustainable Change for […]
Ice cream and the Long Hot Summer
The worldwide Black Lives Matters protests against police brutality and racial injustice have prompted me to meditate on (among other topics) … vanilla. For vanilla — one of the most expensive spices on the planet — loomed large in my youthful witnessing of a quiet act of resistance against forces that have kneed the necks (literally […]
How Halifax council can (and must) regulate police use of force
As has already been reported, at today’s Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Budget Committee meeting, every councillor with the exception of Steve Adams voted to approve an amendment to the budget that cancelled the purchase of an armoured vehicle for the Halifax Regional Police (HRP) and instead reallocate the funding. Specifically, after an hour in camera […]
Police brutality? Think globally, act locally
We're right to speak out about the murder of George Floyd and about the global pandemic of state violence against black people, but we — white people — also need to act locally. There's plenty for us to do right here in our own backyard.
Call it the dance of the dodge. • We need to wait, we need to respect the process, we need to make an informed decision based on the appropriate investigation…” — Halifax Police Chief Dan Kinsella, Jan. 20, 2020. • “After some initial investigation, it has been determined, based on medical records, the matter meets […]
Halifax cops and Black people: the Rodney Small case
Morning File, Thursday, June 4, 2020
News 1. Police and Black people in Halifax The police murder of George Floyd is highlighting what Black people have known forever: there is too much policing. On Tuesday, Sarah Dobson drew our attention to the Halifax case of Rodney Small, then a 15-year-old living in Uniacke Square. An appellant court ruling explained the (alleged) […]
“This is my beautiful family. They are not the same colour as me.”
Morning File, Wednesday, June 3, 2020
News 1. “We need answers and justice. This tragedy cannot have been for nothing” The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Jennifer Henderson speaks with Erica Surette, whose mother, Patricia West, died in Northwood Centre nursing home after contracting COVID-19. On Tuesday, lawyer Ray Wagner filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of […]
One day in the streets doesn’t stop injustice, but it does show how Black lives matter
I’m standing in front of the Black Lives Matter banner at the protest for Regis on Saturday when my phone starts ringing insistently. It’s the jail. I walk away from the crowd and answer. A young Black man is calling from segregation at Burnside. Along with other prisoners, he filed a habeas application challenging their […]
Racism, cops, media, and performative bullshit
Morning File, Monday, June 1, 2020
News 1. Sure, budget surpluses are great, but have you ever experienced investments in long-term care? Stephen Kimber’s column this week points out one of the many obvious but under-discussed aspects of how COVID-19 has caused so much death and suffering for people in long-term care homes: that the state of LTCs is the direct […]
Letter from Black community to Premier and Chief Medical Officer has been vandalized with racist comments
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Organizers of an open letter from the Black community to Premier McNeil and Chief Medical Officer Robert Strang say that the letter has been vandalized with racist comments. The letter, which collected over 250 signatures in two days, calls for an apology for the […]