The city drastically overstated its progress in implementing the recommendations from a 2016 report that found rampant anti-Black racism in the municipal workforce, leaving one councillor wondering whether the city has done anything since to address discrimination. Last year, the department reported that 87.9% (79) of the 90 recommendations from the Employment Systems Review, or...
Windsor Halloween display opens generational wounds of racist violence
African Nova Scotian community members in Windsor, Nova Scotia say they are facing harassment after speaking out about Halloween decorations displayed by a local family. Kevin Upshaw, an African Nova Scotian man born and raised in Windsor, said he was shocked when he first saw the decorations, which appear to depict figures with black faces […]
Child care workers go round and round with bus complaints
Morning File, Friday, September 20, 2019
News 1. Blackface Writes El Jones: When the furor over Trudeau’s Blackface photos dies down, to be referred to as an “embarrassing incident” or “controversial,” Black people like Abdilahi Elmi will still be facing deportation. Muslim Canadians will still be on the no-fly list. White nationalist editorials will still be commissioned by major newspapers under […]
Photos of Trudeau in Blackface don’t surprise Black people; we live this racist reality
When the furor over Trudeau's Blackface photos dies down, to be referred to as an "embarrassing incident" or "controversial," Black people like Abdilahi Elmi will still be facing deportation. Muslim Canadians will still be on the no-fly list. White nationalist editorials will still be commissioned by major newspapers under the guise of "debate." And immigration will still be referred to as a "crisis."
The closest I’ve been to Justin Trudeau was in January, 2017, when I stood beside former Somali child refugee Abdoul Abdi’s sister Fatouma as she asked the Prime Minister if he would deport his own children. Fatouma was seven months pregnant, and was supposed to be on bed rest. When she heard Trudeau would be at […]
Watching deer while Black: Lynn Jones says she was racially profiled for looking at wildlife
Morning File, Tuesday, September 3, 2019
News 1. Yarmouth ferry “Monty Python was funnier,” writes Stephen Kimber: No. Check that. Monty Python is funny. Lloyd Hines? Not so much. Still, one can understand Tory MLA Tom Halman’s description of the latest twists, turns, twirls and top-this folly from the ongoing, never-ending Yarmouth-to-somewhere-in-Maine ferry fandango as “like a skit out of Monty […]
We the North: Black lives only matter when they are shooting a basketball
In Ottawa, one of the legal advocates for the Elizabeth Fry Society tells me that the Human Rights Commission refused to speak with Black gay women in prison. E. Fry filed a complaint that argues that Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) discriminates on the grounds of sex, race, ethnicity, and mental disability in its programming […]
Dear Prospective Atlantic Schooners Football Players: think twice before coming to racist Halifax
Dear Prospective Atlantic Schooners Football Players, Prompted by news that Halifax police have street checked Black males nine times more often than the general population and the finagling of white men determined to bring a Canadian Football League franchise to Nova Scotia, I’ve been thinking about the day I met legendary National Football League player […]
A White People’s Guide to Black History Month
It’s February, the most dangerous month of the year for free speech and free expression in Canada. A good way to start off the month if you’re white is by a bunch of white people having a conversation among themselves about how important it is to have a conversation about whether blackface is racist or […]
“Racist, Full Stop.”
In his book, Interim Dalhousie President Peter MacKinnon downplays and excuses the wearing of blackface while mischaracterizing and sidelining those who object to it. But MacKinnon ignores the vast scholarship on blackface, so let's hear from the scholars.
INTRODUCTION On Monday afternoon, Dalhousie students protested the welcoming reception for incoming president Peter MacKinnon. As Tim noted on Tuesday, “The students are particularly riled over MacKinnon’s book, University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate & Dissent on Campus.” One of the serious issues students identified in their press release is MacKinnon’s declaration in the book that blackface […]
What Black kids think about cops
It’s been an eventful week in police accountability in Canada. On Monday, the Ontario Human Rights Commission released a report on race and policing showing Black people are “overrepresented in several types of violent police interactions, including use-of-force cases, shootings, deadly encounters and fatal shootings.” The Broken Trust report from the Office of the Independent […]