Denise Hansen examines the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada—and why there’s cause for anger and hope here, too PROTESTS AND MARCHES AND SIT-INS have never really been my chosen course of social action. I can remember my dear family friend Kathy, a valiant social justice advocate, trying over the years to introduce my tender, […] More »
Why don’t people just admit their privilege?! It can get pretty infuriating hearing people of privilege say oppression doesn’t exist, that anyone who says otherwise is too politically correct and/or sensitive. That meritocracy is totally how the world works. A cartoon by Ronnie Ritchie explains this nicely, with the example of feminism. The heading is, […] More »
This past Saturday, an important clip was made public on TMZ. The audio captured Los Angeles Clipper’s owner Donald Sterling telling his sweetheart, V. Stiviano, that he does not want her “broadcasting” her associations with minorities, specifically black people. For context, Stiviano is of black and Mexican decent. I’ll let that fester. Sterling’s reaction was […] More »
That wild bolshevik magazine Time has had the gall to question the notion that America is the best country in the world. The March 14th cover story, by Fareed Zakaria displays a red foam finger the reads “We’re #1” pointing downwards. “Yes, America is in decline,” reads the caption. Some could argue that the U.S […] More »
Nggrfg. For most people, the title of Vancouver actor and playwright Berend McKenzie’s play is nearly unsayable. But for McKenzie, naming his one-man play after the two slurs that plagued his childhood is the best way to understand and neutralize hatred. Audiences seem to agree: his play was a hit at the Edmonton and Vancouver […] More »
In today’s podcast I talked with Tomee Sojourner, a Montreal-based activist, educator, and consultant who concentrates mostly on workplace diversity. Tomee is also the founder of the Embracing Intersectional Diversity Project, a group that aims to connect people from different backgrounds and experiences so that they can talk openly and honestly about their differences and […] More »
Canada is no longer the Great White North—except at the boardroom table. Consider this: the population growth of racialized or non-white groups continues to outpace that of white Canadians. This has created a shift in the demographic balance of the Canadian mosaic, with our population on its way to becoming a “minority majority.” According to […] More »
He was branded Canada’s very own Black Panther. In 2004, Gary Freeman, born Joseph Pannell, was arrested by Toronto police at gunpoint outside of his workplace, the Toronto Reference Library. It turned out that this friendly library assistant, father, and husband was harbouring a secret past. In Chicago in 1969, he had shot a cop […] More »
Though you can count the joys of graduate school on one hand—without even using all of your fingers—spending an evening with like-minded friends just chatting is definitely one of them. As the drinks flow and discussions stretch late into the night, it’s easy to feel the glow of both comfort and belonging. But as much […] More »
The golden age of the welfare state wasn’t that golden. The real solution is economics that actually promotes equality Remember the good old days when Canadians used to think the government was supposed to help everyone share in economic prosperity and prevent anyone from shouldering the brunt of economic adversity? We thought we’d learned the […] More »
When one writer found herself sinking into a mire of prejudice and resentment, she set out to find a cure. But maybe 12 steps aren’t enough. The first step to getting help, they say, is admitting you have a problem. That part took me years of halting, painful introspection and self-doubt. Later, I told friends—just […] More »