21st Century Racism in Canada
Professor Collett Tracey
English
21st April 2014
Canada: A Racist nation has not changed
Racism in Canada is one of the least publicised problems modern Canadian society has faced in the Twenty First Century. With the majority of the Canadian and world public holding the census that Canada through its lax immigration policies and political reform, is far from a racist state. This belief is a falsehood that has either been achieved through white lies from history textbooks or a lack of endeavor to uncover the real racial issues that permeate through out Canada. Canada has been and is a racist nation that continues to not face the fact that racism is alive and well in Twenty First Century Canada. Racism towards slaves coming to Canada in search of solace from the racist United States was not an uncommon occurrence in the mid 1800’s before the American civil war. Halifax was the last stop on the Underground Railroad, although what African Americans were coming to was a whole different story. The popular depiction is of slaves that were granted freedom and loved and welcomed into society, as evidenced by this television advertisement. (YouTube) The truth was a lot harsher. In Halifax the majority of freed black slaves resided in “Africville”, the atrocities of which are not widely known but are still keenly documented. In order to turn “Africville” from poor black slum to profitable industrial land, the city of Halifax erected a hospital for diseased WWII veterans nearby along with leaving massive mounds of toxic garbage to be incinerated in the same vicinity. (Taylin) “Africville” is not mentioned in Canadian history books nor do most people across Canada know of its existence. It was nothing short of genocide of people that Halifax felt did not deserve the rights any other Canadian citizen would take for granted.
Racism towards black immigrants and natural-born Canadians was not and is not limited to “Africville” or even Nova Scotia for that matter. Don
English
21st April 2014
Canada: A Racist nation has not changed
Racism in Canada is one of the least publicised problems modern Canadian society has faced in the Twenty First Century. With the majority of the Canadian and world public holding the census that Canada through its lax immigration policies and political reform, is far from a racist state. This belief is a falsehood that has either been achieved through white lies from history textbooks or a lack of endeavor to uncover the real racial issues that permeate through out Canada. Canada has been and is a racist nation that continues to not face the fact that racism is alive and well in Twenty First Century Canada. Racism towards slaves coming to Canada in search of solace from the racist United States was not an uncommon occurrence in the mid 1800’s before the American civil war. Halifax was the last stop on the Underground Railroad, although what African Americans were coming to was a whole different story. The popular depiction is of slaves that were granted freedom and loved and welcomed into society, as evidenced by this television advertisement. (YouTube) The truth was a lot harsher. In Halifax the majority of freed black slaves resided in “Africville”, the atrocities of which are not widely known but are still keenly documented. In order to turn “Africville” from poor black slum to profitable industrial land, the city of Halifax erected a hospital for diseased WWII veterans nearby along with leaving massive mounds of toxic garbage to be incinerated in the same vicinity. (Taylin) “Africville” is not mentioned in Canadian history books nor do most people across Canada know of its existence. It was nothing short of genocide of people that Halifax felt did not deserve the rights any other Canadian citizen would take for granted.
Racism towards black immigrants and natural-born Canadians was not and is not limited to “Africville” or even Nova Scotia for that matter. Don
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