Is America The Promise Land For People Of Colour?

When I think about Canada I become numb there are serious social inequities in Canadian society that the media casually ignores important social issues such as institutionalized racism.According to a black professor Joseph Mensah he wrote a book called “Black Canadians“ the racism in Canada is  bubbling ready to explode.

The social constructions of race, class, gender, religion, age, and sexual orientation are left unexamined. Black lesbian feminist Dionne Brand has written a couple of powerful books about Canadian racism “Bread Out of Stone“ and  “A Map To The Door Of No Return“. In these books Brand examines why there is so much hypocrisy in Canada in relation to discussing the issue of race. Race is a taboo word in Canada the Canadian media tends to shy away from discussing race because the ugly truth emerges. Canada is not better then the United States in terms of race relations. Dionne Brand is one of the few black Canadian writers that has the courage to speak out about the racism in Canada and I love her attitude she points out her strong views in her work.

My perspective is in America whites, blacks, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics have a more open and honesty dialogue about racism.  In Canada there is this “atttiude“ of trying to ignore that racism exists.

The white Canadian press tends to focus on this mythology called multiculturalism which is  such bullshit.  The police chief in Toronto is always a white heterosexual man and the mayor of Toronto is always a white heterosexual person. In the 1990s two white heterosexual women June Rowlands and Barbara Hall managed to become mayor of Toronto but they still followed the status quo.  Wow I think we see a pattern here! It is obvious in Canada when the mythical norm is in control that means everyone else is just supposed to accept it.

I think one of the amazing things about America is the insistence of civil rights activists push for social change even now in the 21st century. In America people realize racism still exists and now toxic and powerful social injustice is against people in relation to class, race, sexual orientation, religion and gender.

In Toronto there are educated immgrants that are taxi car drivers and working in low skilled jobs because they don`t have enough “Canadian experience`according to the racist employers.

What is the federal and provincial governments doing about this social inequality? There is so much hot air up here about social injustice people “say” the right things and nothing changes. There is too much hot air and lip service in the great white north.

Yes America has social problems but in America  a black man can be president and this`s means something!

In Canada we accept whiteness and we don`t even question the status quo. We don`t say anything we remain silent meaning we accept white supremacy.

I remember when I attended York University the vast majority of my professors were white. I also remember a racist white Jewish professor attempted to give me bad grades because I wrote an article about the racism at post secondary institutions.

When I think about President Barack Obama and the inauguration today think America is a place where anything is possible for people of colour. Most of my relatives live in New York City or in New Jersey these areas tend to have a large Jamaican population. The only good thing about Canada is the medical system there is universal health care here meaning it does not matter your class, race, sexual orientation, age, or religion you can access quality health care.

However, in terms of culture Canada is still  basically whitewashed. The hypocrisy about Canada is the fact if people dare to challenge white supremacy or question the power structure in Canada we are told to be “be quiet“ or to “be proud“ to be Canadians. However, let`s get real here in Canada people are a bit pretentious when it relates to race relations.

The supremacy in Canada is more subtle yet also obvious. For example,  on New Years Eve in Quebec on the CBC a recent French Canadian program exposes the issue of Canadian racism. On a French television show called `Bye Bye“ several crude racist comments were broadcast against black people. For instance, on the comedy program one racist joke  compared Barack Obama to a popular black Canadian entertainer Gregory Charles saying they looked the same just because they are black men. In America this nonsense would never take place.

Another racist joke on the French Canadian program on the CBC was the usage of the word “negre“ when translated means “negro“ which is an insult to black people.  The word “negro” would never be broadcast on American television but of course on French Canadian television it was not an issue at all until the black community in Quebec complained to the CRTC.

Thank goodness the blacks in Montreal and Quebec complained to the CRTC.  I never liked Quebec anyway to be honest the racism in Quebec against blacks and other people of colour is so disgusting it makes me want to vomit. I also find the French Canadians to be a bit hypocritical they complain about how English Canada oppresses them yet have no problem promoting racism on the CBC in Quebec. The French Canadians scream and yell about how their French language and culture is being diminished yet they don`t mind discriminating against people of colour.

Have you ever bothered to watch the Canadian television? I swear it is  total bullshit. Have you ever visited the bookstore and wanted to read books on black Canadians or about other people of colour in Canadain history? I guarantee you will find a very small section.

The history of the African American people in the United States is truly incredible they have worked together, created their own colleges and universities. Black Americans have risen from the days of slavery and now a black man and his black wife wil reside in the White House. I never thought this day would come yet this is real. I know a Barack Obama would never exist in Canada for a number of reasons. Although the Canadian media make a big deal about Obama the same Canadian press would never be uplifting if a black man did want to become Prime Minister of Canada. Canadians are more hypocritical and racist then the rest of the world realizes.

My view is black Canadians we aren`t political enough and are a bit apathetic to the covert racism that exists in Canada. The South Asians in Canada are organizing they are getting involved in politics because they understand you can `change` society by getting involved. The South Asian community in Canada are now the largest  visible minority group according to Statistics Canada. Black Canadians we are the third largest visible minority group in Canada.

I think Canada will “change“ when more people speak out about the social injustices taking place against Native Canadians, blacks, women, homosexuals, religious minorities, and about class issues.

The quandary in Canada is that there isn`t enough “fire“ here people are cowards and apathetic to racism. There simply is not “enough“ of a social concern to the detrimental consequences of the institutionalized racism. If we remain silent nothing is going to change. I am proud that south of the border in the United States that social activists of all races realize that people need to keep on fighting for their rights.