Photo by: Thomas de LUZE (via Unspash)
In May 2020, the killing of George Floyd by police in Minnesota prompted the mobilization of black activists and allies across the world, demanding accountability and change from institutions that disproportionately exclude or harm people of colour on a daily basis. Inspired by this movement, Brian Amadi, Precious Familusi and Raven Khadeja recognized the lack of black voices in the growing conversation about race and social justice in Newfoundland and founded the official NL chapter of Black Lives Matter Canada in June 2020. In an interview on the occasion of Black History Month, Raven and Precious discussed their experience with creating BLM NL, systemic racism in various institutions (including academia), and their goals for the organization.
While allyship is important, Khadeja says, there is no substitute for black perspectives in this abolitionist movement. “The majority of the black population in Newfoundland are students, meaning we are temporary residents— I felt as if there was no consideration for that. Our goal is to be a voice for and highlight the needs of all marginalized people.” Discussing the difficulties of starting BLM NL as a grassroots organization and the risks associated with activism for immigrants, she also acknowledged the support of the Anti-Racism Coalition of NL founded by Dr. Sobia Shaikh, and faculty members such as Dr. Delores Mullings, Dr. Sulaimon Giwa and Dr. Paul Adjei.
Institutional discrimination affects every aspect of people’s lives, including access to housing, education and healthcare. In terms of systemic racism on a federal and provincial level, Khadeja says that improving access to public facilities, diversity in the workplace and encouraging multiculturism in the province are important steps for working towards equality. “Racism occurs everywhere, and I want to amplify everyone’s voices. On a larger scale in the province, it’s important to focus on MCP access and healthcare access for all, especially in these times,” Khadeja says, about the need for easier access to medical care and vaccines for immigrants. “If retaining more immigrants is the goal, then why are there so many bureaucratic issues preventing people from finding stable, meaningful work and having access to the same facilities?”
Job-hunting in NL can be a challenge, particularly for new immigrants who are not permanent residents, and who do not have access to a car. “When it comes to employment, in most organizations, there is a disproportionate number of people of colour in entry-level jobs as compared to positions of power. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we are not qualified, but there needs to be a re-defining of hiring practices.” Khadeja says. She believes that this resistance to immigrants/people of colour viewed as competitors for jobs is a reflection of the cultural separation of NL from other, more diverse parts of Canada. “While Newfoundland is a warm and welcoming place and I have learnt to love its culture, I also love my own. I feel that multiculturism, in its true essence, must have an anti-racism component in order to address the harms perpetuated in the past and that continue to be present today.” Although the province has a majority white population, Khadeja believes that issues faced by minorities must never be dismissed. “When people say ‘minority’, I feel they think that a smaller number of people means smaller significance. Even if there are 100 or 100,000 of us, our blackness still matters, and must be accepted.”
So how can we solve systemic inequality at a provincial and federal level? For Khadeja, the answer is simple. “Hire more people of colour. Not just in entry-level positions, but at higher levels where they can do meaningful work. There’s this idea that affirmative action means lessening the amount and standard of work, but that is a racist assumption. Just because I am racialized does not mean that I am less qualified”. According to a 2021 study by Statistics Canada, unemployment among Black Canadians was higher than among non-visible minority people, despite them being more likely to hold a university degree. “When you have more of us, we can answer these questions at the time instead of having to revisit these issues and fix them. We need to be included in a meaningful way to give our perspectives.”
However, the responsibility of an institution does not end with having more diverse employees. “Lived experiences and perspectives of people of colour have historically been excluded. As they have been missing from the public discourse for so long, it is that much more important to include them today. Institutions must confront biases in their systems—they must be transparent about how they address racism in the workplace. They must share how they deal with racist incidents, protocols, or channels to resolve these issues, and how they ensure safety and anonymity for employees in need.”
Academia is not immune to structural inequalities. According to Khadeja, Memorial University, as an important institution in Atlantic Canada, has a special responsibility to work towards social justice. “MUN needs to be very transparent in how incidences of racism are going to be handled,” she said, in reference to the recent incident involving a professor using a racial slur in the classroom. “The university needs to go beyond just recruiting professors and giving them temporary job safety, and invest in hiring more tenure track black/POC professors.”
During the pandemic, with multiple reports of police brutality towards unarmed black people, many people experienced higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Khadeja spoke about how she tried to remain motivated and optimistic during these challenging, overwhelming times. “The world is always going to keep hurting black people and people who have less power than the dominant group. This is not going to stop unless there is a big change, and that may not happen during my lifetime. I go back the tenements of what made me come here – my sense of social justice.” On her hopes for the future of the movement, Khadeja says “It is important to me to focus on creating black spaces of healing, liberation and affirmation. Even if I cannot fix these issues in the outside world, creating these spaces in my personal and professional life as well as my activism is how I find my balance. This is how I deal with being an immigrant in a country that is not my own.” As for her role models for the work she does, Khadeja says “I am inspired by the people who came before me. Black women inspire me the most, like Jean Augustine—the first Canadian black female MP and the one who led the effort to establish Black History Month in Canada, and Ravyn Wngz— an activist and co-founder of BLM Canada.”
Speaking about her part in the movement towards equality, Khadeja is conscious of her role as an advocate for black liberation, even when people are not in favour of protests for radical change. At a time when racist sentiments and white supremacy are on the rise, Khadeja and Familiusi recognize the importance of raising awareness for their cause. “If we trace through history, we do see that times of tension and social upheaval are when people are the most reactive. Organizers are responsible for these movements being productive.”
As a message to all our readers this month, Khadeja reiterates the importance of fighting for reform and practising responsible allyship, “Black History is not about celebrating the fact that you have a black friend. It’s about acknowledging how far we have come, and recognizing how far we have to go. Until we confront all of the monsters in our society, we are going to keep replicating them. In order to have an effective change, there needs to be a redistribution of power.” Familusi noted, “We are in the process of reclaiming things and acknowledging anti-black racism. We don’t want our work to be buried by ignorance. Celebrate black history every day. Black History Month is not just about our history, but also our future.”
BLM NL will be hosting several events to mark Black History Month and throughout the year. This week, they will be organizing an online movie night—‘Celebrating Black Filmmakers’– with films by the National Film Board of Canada on February 27th, and a Coils Curls and Conversation event – ‘Redefining Our Standards of Beauty’—on February 26th.