Anti-Racism Training Module 4

Identifying Systemic Racism in Canada Today

Topics:

• Canadian Narratives about Racism
• Stories of Racism in Canada
• Colonialism and Assimilation of Indigenous Peoples
• Slavery and Segregation of Black People
• Racist Immigration Policies

Note: Student comments were removed for privacy reasons. Click the box of arrows to expand the video.

Videos were shown during the workshop to shared lived experiences. The videos were not recorded for copyright reasons. Click on the following links to watch the videos.

What Racism in Canada Looks Like

How to Change Systemic Racism in Canada

Robyn Maynard - Policing Black Lives

Notice racism in Canada: 

Acknowledge how the institutions and structures you live in have been shaped by racism – who has benefitted from these systems, and who has been oppressed? ​

• Read Macleans’s story Welcome to Winnipeg: Where Canada’s racism problem is at its worst​

• Consult the Environics Institute survey Race Relations in Canada 2019​

• Consult Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change Fact Sheets 2019​

Continue your research: 

Consider what information was new from today’s session. What information do you need to go back and revisit? What do you need to learn more about to show up in the world informed about issues of racial inequality in Canada? ​

Make a plan to learn more, using some of the resources below: ​

• Listen to CBC podcast The Secret Life of Canada (including The Bay Blanket, The Secret Life of the North, The Indian Act, What's the Deal with Blackface, and The Mounties Always Get Their Land)​

• Read Robert Joseph’s book 21 Things you May not Know about the Indian Act (ID and password required)​

• Watch the Firsthand documentary The Skin We're In (ID and password required)​

• Watch the documentary The Impact of Colonialism in Canada (ID and password required)​

• Watch the NFB documentary Journey to Justice (ID and password required)​

Discuss with Others: 

What evidence of institutional and systemic racism in Canada do you see now? By connecting with other people and openly talking about race we can overcome the obstacles that prevent real progress. ​

• Watch the TEDTalk How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race, Jay Smooth​