Got an opinion about racism? Here's what you can do with it

As issues of racism take centre stage, some New Brunswickers of colour are sharing their strategies for confronting it. 

Many people have been adopting a zero tolerance policy for racism, telling others to "unfriend" them on social media if they don't agree with their views. Clinton Davis said he can't disagree more with that tactic.

Open communication

The Moncton business owner and musician said it's important to share content that challenges ideas or gets people to think about something in a way they haven't before.

"That's exactly who we are posting for … people who may be on your feed needing to be educated, disagreeing with you."

"They need to see other ideas. It might plant a seed. That's where conversations need to take place."

Open eyes

Louisa Seales is a middle school teacher, and sixth generation Black Canadian from Saint John, where the new police chief recently said he'd never witnessed any racism as a police officer.

That's "easier for someone to say who doesn't have to walk in this skin," said Seales.

"Racism exists."

"If you sit in that position of power or white privilege, you're not going to see it."

The chief's statement was almost like rejecting the experiences of Black people, said Seales, or suggesting racism is something they are making up.

"If there's a lot of people who are telling you this and saying it is true, you have to examine it. You have to look at it. And go beyond your blind spot."

Challenging questions

Fidel Franco is one of the creators of the Black in the Maritimes podcast.

He recently noticed a lot of white people complaining that Quaker Oats, which is a subsidiary of PepsiCo, is getting rid of its stereotypical Aunt Jemima branding. Franco's response is to ask the complainers to think about why they are outraged and to do a bit of research into why the change is happening.

"When you've never been oppressed, you don't know what it is," said Franco.

"I try to educate them. It doesn't affect them at all. It's just that they're used to it and it's changing."

Learning and unlearning

Seales said she hopes more Black and Indigenous history will be brought into school curriculum. That would lead to better understanding of what's been sacrificed and overcome, she said.

"We can't escape the fact the first people here were Indigenous and we seized their land … and we brought the Africans over here for cheap labour."

That's never been addressed, she said, and now is the time to do it.

"You can't run away from history."

On a personal level, Seales tries to be a role model in the classroom that disproves stereotypes "that have inflicted our community for years beyond years."

"When … they describe black women to be a certain way or people of my community to be a certain way, I hope my students are taking note and saying, 'You know what? That doesn't describe Ms. Seales and who she is and what she stands for.'"

A good metaphor goes a long way

Josephine Watson is a bilingual poet and spoken word artist. 

Her work has been featured in "Talking Book", published by Cumulus Press.

And her translation of the children's book Africville written by Shauntay Grant will be available in September published by Les Editions Bouton d'Or  in Moncton.

Watson said one explanation of systemic racism that stuck with her described it as a dinner table. Everyone at the table had a plate of food except a guy named Bob. When Bob mentioned he didn't have food, another person at the table said, "We all deserve food." Bob said he was hungry. The others responded, "We're all hungry, Bob."

"We have to be able to say Black lives matter without saying all lives matter," said Watson.

She also likened it to a birthday party, where everyone is singing "Happy Birthday" and someone gets up and says, "I have birthdays."

"Let's talk about the issue one thing at a time," said Watson. 

"Once we realize Indigenous lives and Black lives matter, then we can get to that point."

Logic and compassion

Davis said he tries to counter some of the ignorance and hate he finds in widely circulated social media posts with questions, logic and calls for compassion.

One recent discussion he decided to join followed a post by a man who said he'd grown up in a racist cult. The man was calling for people to examine their own biases. Another man commented that the post was "fake news," posted a video of police killing a white man and asked why people weren't speaking up for that.

Davis responded that the Black Lives Matter movement was indeed responding to police brutality against persons of any colour. He told the man he would gladly stand with him against that kind of violence. And asked whether he would likewise stand for George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.

The exchange went on a bit longer and finally Davis left off telling the man he'd keep him in his thoughts and prayers.

Systemic justice

Seales said what hurts even more than being called names or dealing with historical baggage is when you report it to someone in authority and the ball is dropped.

That's the "double-edged sword," she said.

"You don't feel you're getting that sense of justice or that the other side feels it's that great of an issue for them to put it on the table and actually deal with it."

It's a difficult thing to carry or internalize, she said.

"I hope now with everything that's happening, Black students or other students of colour or of different faiths feel they can voice how they are feeling because it's legitimate and it exists."

Self-care and self-reflection

Watson said as a person of mixed race who was adopted into a white family she has dealt with racism all her life. She has good people around for support, but to protect herself from pain and being misunderstood, she does a lot of self care. That means talking her feelings through and trying to express herself.

"Writing has saved me," she said.

Know when to walk away

Franco said sometimes it's obvious a person has entrenched beliefs or exists in their own little social media bubble with a very limited world view. Sometimes he'll wait for an opportune time to broach a point of contention. Other times, he'll opt not to engage at all.

"Sometimes there's never a right time," said Franco.

"They will see you as a trouble maker."

"That's one of the reasons I do the podcast."

When people show interest in what he's produced, Franco said he'll engage with them, whether they agree with him or not.