Racism In Canada

The article Canada’s Racial Divide: Confronting Racism in Our Own Backyard by Tavia Grant discusses the ways in which racism towards Black residents is evident in Canada. By comparing the events that have occurred in the United States of America, the author concludes that individuals should not undermine the level of racism that also occurs in Canada which is hidden both in data as well as in media (Grant 6). With this information, I argue that Grant challenges the notion of racism through the organization of her article and by targeting the paucity of public data.
To start off, Grant strategically organizes her article in a way that would allow her to reach her conclusion and challenge the notion of racism in Canada. The words used in the
title of the article itself, “Confronting Racism in our Own Backyard” makes the assumption that moments of racial discrimination are occurring within our own neighbourhoods, even if we may be oblivious to it. The term “backyard” can be interpreted to describe an area as small as a public road, or as vast as an entire nation-state. As the reader scans the article, they can also take note of the sub-headings utilized by the author which reveal the problems that have been prompted by the stereotype that Canada is a multicultural and welcoming nation. The sub-headings can be interpreted to describe the information we know regarding the stereotypes, the evidence that we have yet to retrieve, the challenges that would result from the new evidences, and a solution that may overcome them. Finally, Grant’s use of images is able to highlight her main conclusion. Placing a picture of biracial Nova Rutherford posing at her home in the very beginning of the publication (Grant 1) accurately illustrates the title of the article since Rutherford is posing in her “own backyard.” The reader immediately realizes the proximity of racial discrimination present in Canada. Also, by ending her article with images of not only American civil rights activists but also Canadian leaders (Grant 8-13), Grant makes the assumption that Canadian leaders must also be recognized to better educate children that slavery and racial segregation has also historically existed within Canada.
Furthermore, Grant targets graphs, statistics, and data to make various assumptions in her analysis of racism. Grant has attached particular graphs into her article that illustrate the implications of racism on health and crime both in Canada and the United States (Grant 3-6). By choosing to present these specific information, Grant makes the assumption that health and crime are the most significant consequences of racism, more than social services and employment opportunities. Despite this information, Grant argues that there is a deficiency in data that is collected in Canada since participants are hardly organized by race or ethnicity the majority of the time, but rather in more broad categories such as “visible minorities” or “non-whites” (Grant 5). These homogenous categories may portray the perspective that inequalities do not exist within distinct ethnicities. By acknowledging the absence of effective data, Grant recognizes the lack of representation of markers of difference or power which may impact the levels of social welfare and levels of inequality that exists within Canadian societies.
Relating the article to the ideas discussed in the course thus far, in the first lecture, it was acknowledged that we live in a racialized world where racial hierarchy matters and exists. We also discussed an irony in which we condemn individuals such as Carolus Linnaeus for distinguishing individuals based on race (Davis: Contesting “Race”, Sept 21), yet even in the twenty-first century we act as if these groups are real in order to understand where inequalities lie the most and where we can come for assistance. Collecting information for surveys and data based on specific racial or ethnic identities perpetuates this notion of racial groups. However, since we acknowledged that racial hierarchies exist, the data can be utilized to reduce inequity and minimize the harmful implications of social hierarchies.
In the second lecture, we discussed the notion of social or cultural citizenship which reflects the degree of belonging by in individual with the country they are born or reside in (Davis: African Slavery, Sept 28).
Although the notion of binary opposites may legally not exist due the realization of civil rights, the actuality of racial discrimination substantiates that the ideas pertaining to the notion still perpetuates. In other words, those that discriminate still view Black individuals as the “others.” Lastly, in the third lecture, it was discussed that the image of Canada in relation to Trans-Atlantic slavery illustrates a safe haven where slaves can escape and find their freedom (Medovarski: Forms of Resistance, Oct 5). However, as Grant argues, African slavery also existed within Canada and this has rarely been acknowledged, especially by school
curriculums.
Finally, relating the article as well as the course material to a broader social context, I agree with Grant that steps must be taken to change the national narrative that Canada is morally superior to the United States.
Instances of racial discrimination do occur within Canada that take advantage of the identity of Black individuals. New forms of racism have emerged within new historical circumstances and children must not only learn of historical racism but also modern racism. In conclusion, by identifying the assumptions Tavia Grant makes within her article, it is evident that she effectively challenges the notion of racism. Both through the organization of her article as well as her use of data, Grant is able to make the clear assertion that stereotypes of Canadian society regarding racial discrimination must be put to an
end.