Anti-Black Racism in Canadian education: A call to action to support the next generation

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15273/hpj.v1i1.10587

Abstract

The systematic brutalization of Black people has persisted since colonization, but police murder, global anti-racism protests, and a pandemic that has disproportionately impacted racialized communities have brought anti-Black racism to the attention of the global community. The insidious nature of White supremacy has given birth to anti-Black racism, which has shaped institutions of public and post-secondary education across Canada. Institutional racism is harmful and continues to negatively impact the trajectories of Black lives. For example, Black children are more likely to be enrolled in under-resourced schools, receive harsher punishments, and be streamed into non-academic programming regardless of academic potential and capability. Moreover, Black students are less likely to attend university, despite wishing to, and Black educators remain under-represented and undervalued, despite their immeasurable contributions to academia and the Black community. These examples represent a concerted effort to guard White spaces and keep Black people from accessing equal opportunity through basic access to education. This paper is a call to action for all educators, allies, and institutions to begin to make reparations and end the racial hierarchy and systematic anti-Black oppression across Canada because Black Lives Matter.

Author Biographies

Emma Stirling Cameron, School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University

School of Health and Human Performance

Dalhousie University 

MA Health Promotion Candidate

Keisha Jefferies, School of Nursing Dalhousie University

School of Nursing

Dalhousie University

PhD in Nursing Candidate

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Published

2021-05-05

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Commentary