About 50 protesters against the criminalization of black
youth marched from the Halifax Common to George Dixon Centre last
Saturday. They were led by two of the youth involved in altercations
with police at Auburn Drive High School in May. The two held a large
banner reading “Education Not Incarceration.”
According to one of the youths, the police intervention was an
overblown response to a minor argument between two students during a
fire drill. “It was worked out by the time the police started swinging
bats and spraying pepper spray,” he said. He is awaiting a potential
hearing in July on charges including breaching the peace and assaulting
a police officer.
Flyers were also handed out saying that police targeted black
students during the incident, “insulting cultural hairstyles” and
yelling, “Get the fuck back; look at that little bitch with his ugly
braids.”
Co-organizer Isaac Saney, a member of the newly formed Black
Independence Network Nova Scotia, stressed unity and inclusion. He said
the march was in solidarity with the youth of Auburn, but also about
seeking “new forms of organizing the community and unifying it.” He
said all youth are being criminalized, especially black youth.
Protesters were concerned by the vicious cycle of connections they
see between Nova Scotia’s racist social, education, economic and
justice systems. “Fifteen years after the Black Learners Report, the
conditions of black learners are worse than ever,” Saney said. The
Black Learners Advisory Committee report was an analytic effort by
prominent African Nova Scotian educators to address systemic racism in
education.
Saney said that the racism students are facing is rooted in a long
history. “The so-called democracy of Democracy 250 is built on the
genocide of the Mi’kmaq people,” he said. “It is also built on slavery,
which Canada refuses to acknowledge its dirty involvement in.”
Participants in the march gave passers-by handouts outlining
violence by police against black youth, and noting that 14 black youth
were arrested at Auburn High, some of them dragged from bathrooms and
classrooms. Four were eventually charged. They argue that “schools are
becoming more like prisons: metal detectors; security guards; enclosing
students in during the day,” and that black youth are
disproportionately victims of such zero tolerance policies.
According to BINNS literature, black people are three times more
likely to live in poverty, four times more likely to be murdered, seven
times more likely to experience an unfair stop by police and have
disproportionately high dropout rates. Such racial targeting,
organizers say, is shutting black youth out of economic and social
opportunities and driving them into the hands of the justice
system.
The protesters grew in numbers as they marched east across the
Common and Rainnie Drive and turned north onto Gottingen. Before the
HRM police department headquarters, spoken word artist and coorganizer
El Jones recited her poem, “Justice.” Some in the crowd
responded, “Speak the truth!”
After her poem, Jones called for support for HRM Police Sergeant
Robin Atwell, a black policewoman who has filed a human rights
complaint against the police department. “Not only are they mistreating
youth, they are mistreating their own staff based on race,” Jones said.
“We can’t leave Robin Atwell out hanging, and we can’t leave these
youth out hanging by themselves.”
As the marchers continued up Gottingen, onlookers waved and cheered.
When they encountered a solstice fair in front of the George Dixon
Centre, a cheer and laughter arose as a pagan organizer shouted, “Thank
you for supporting paganism!”
During closing remarks, David Sparks, founder of the Martin Luther
King Project Association of Nova Scotia, implored that the march be the
beginning of a new movement for social change. “The NDP government
provides a new opportunity,” he said. “We must challenge Darrell Dexter
to eradicate racism and hold legislature accountable.”
Sparks also urged a value shift away from things and toward people,
and direct non-violent action to support those values.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2009.
It was great they cut through the Midsummer Faire. I’m glad they did so we could cheer and show our support, too. Discrimination happens to those of different races and religions, too…so it felt great to know we could lend our support to people marching for a cause we can really get behind as a community.
As a side note, before denoting someone as ‘one of the organizers’ of an event please ensure your information is accurate. The individual in question was an attendee.
Thanks
There is so much drivel in this article, I had trouble picking a place to start. I’ll try this:
“According to BINNS literature, black people are three times more likely to live in poverty, four times more likely to be murdered, seven times more likely to experience an unfair stop by police and have disproportionately high dropout rates. Such racial targeting…”
Poverty is not racial targeting. Murder rates are not racial targeting. High school dropout rates are not racial targeting. An ‘unfair’ police stop can be an example of racial targeting, but I would be interested in how they arrived at this number.
Change comes from within.
While this time it may appear that race is but a part of this discussion … the greater issue is that youth all over HRM are treated like crap by the police…unless….
Painting everything as a race issue has its own agenda that often backfires in the point trying to be made…. would this happen to a middle class youth going to private school….NOPE …so as soon as we ask and answer we know it is no longer a race issue….just like Africville is really not a race issue but an urban renewal issue based on class and ability to pay for legal reps…..
This school issue is about the fact we have a dangerous police force with a scared mayor PERIOD….who then treats certain demographics a certain way…YOUTH…..then it is in a known community with historical issues…… and then we bring in race…..
If you want to foster intelligent discussion and action then present it intelligently and they will come.
It’s not race, it’s age.
It’s not age, it’s gender.
It’s not gender, it’s class.
How about: it’s the same f’ing system holding us ALL down?
How about some unity for that?
YEAH dicotomy…….. ABSOLUTELY….. if we follow the origins of man/civilization….you can see the ‘progression’ of each ‘ism’…..it started within the same race/creed different caste system ( class) then went down hill from there….but we are all a stats somewhere in some time….
….race and age and gender and ability to produce became the ‘justifications’ of the SYSTEM to excuse why certain folks were kept in class… bondage of people is not new…. the excuse for it changes over time and government….. some are double/triple jeopardy…belonging to several umbrellas at one time….
But class is the ultimate decider it always has been…… and by folks misunderstanding that they are not understanding the dynamic in totality which leads them confused in the direction for action and reaction….
Youth regardless of creed and age from well to do communities do not endure this…..people are not afraid of wealth being contagious they are afraid poverty is…… so the quarantining/social alienation-isolation continues….
This is a youth story….too familiar in HRM in less than comfy communities…..poverty or near poverty is taken as permission for some in power to do what they want because no one will care…..just ask the homeless….
The police have done such a great job at demonizing youth (with poorer youth being demonized the worse) in our province knowing the emotional confusion of the masses will fuel this lie…this needs to be an inclusive youth issue to maintain ground for battle….
Police intervened in a violent altercation and arrested the offenders. That’s what we, as citizens, pay them to do. Somehow, despite all logical thinking, some people have attempted to turn the situation on its head and blame the police.
Systemic racism, class warfare, and the criminalization of youth are serious issues. When these ideas are co-opted by the BINNS to support participants of a violent schoolyard brawl, it cheapens their use. Moreover, it muddies the real issue of violence in schools, for which there’s no excuse.
BINNS had their say when they paraded through the city, and then a second time when Chris Benjamin mindlessly parroted their slogans without exploring the issue or showing his readers any hint of contrasting opinion. I wonder who will stand up for the police, who stand up for us every day?
Hey Joan, don’t forget about the black firefighters. Will see what Darrell Dexter is all about in the short time to come. Racism must end in this prehistoric province.
Maybe they should have been protesting about the preponderance of black criminals who have caused this in the first place.
The police have never stood for me any day….they have never done dang thing for me but have done plenty to me…..
There will always be people and platforms pimping social issues this is not new…. but these police still escalate situations that otherwise would not escalate had the officers been intelligent, educated, mentally healthy, ethical and mature….that is a tall order that is severely lacking in the HRM police…
Dont let previous matters justify police induced mayhem …police did have to step in but given the situation….were they the best to do it….
force incites force
We need a specialized task team NOT FORCE….that are trained to deal with sensitive issues… I was not there and I am speaking to the bigger issues of excessive force and youth targets….it would not be the first time someone played victim when they are the thug …it aint the first time racism was shouted when it did not belong……. meeting force with force =trouble…regardless of who started the ‘fight’….
Too many single mothers…. Bill Cosby
Where are your kids…. Bill Cosby
Little gangsters …. Bill Cosby
Too many excuses…..Bill Cosby
Won’t take responsibility….Bill Cosby
Adult men refusing to take responsibility… Bill Cosby
Black boys killing black boys…Bill Cosby
etc
etc
etc
Bill cosby speaks an Inconvenient Truth. We need to bring Bill Cosby to Halifax to speak the truth.
Or Colin Powell, who detests the foul mouthed and low lifes of the male persuasion who refuse to acknowledge the achievements of the black community and act as very poor role models.
Bring them both to Halifax … to speak the truth.
Larry Elder of LA uses the term that I love…VICTICRAT….people who make a politick out of being victims….. he, Bill Cosby and Debbie Dickerson have all been attacked for bringing the real issues of disability in the black community to the forefront…. Locally speaking I have been part of discussions that out victicrats in the HRM that keep the black community disabled, victimized and hostile….that pro-black empowerment does not mean anti-white rhetoric………
HRM/NS is not ready to have mature conversation about this topic because it benefits too much from being caught up in the racial hostage taking….it is easier to be called a racist than to actually do something about our deplorable race disconnect … some of the worse offenders are not white or male….
Colin Powell lied to the people about the truth at G-Bay…. no thanks…..
McG – Do you not have anything better to do than ramble on about vague “discussions” you’re involved in, with made-up words, whining about how “everyone” is the victim of racism while simultaneously trying to silence those who are, in your words, “crying” racism? Let me take out my tiny violin. Your…….privilege…..is……….showing………..
Mister rat: it would only be rambling to someone who lacks the ability to pause, marinate and process…. you seem easily confused or excitable and for that reason why don’t YOU stop being a victim and ignore my posts..I would not want you to learn something at my expense……
as for privileged…. now that is comical….LOL
Please put your tiny violin back in your zipper…
I apologize for the double posting…..the computer delayed the first post so I thought it was lost in cyber….the point is the same despite the edits
This whole “you’re being a victim” thing is pretty convenient, eh? You can just whip it out at any time.
Identifying that racism does in fact exist and privileges certain races over others, whether young or old, isn’t “being a victim.” It’s called being realistic.
BTW, “Mole Rat” is a non-gendered username.
Is there a post on this website that mcgayle has not made some sort of incoherent rambling about?
Race issues again ??? didn’t we have a race conflict in some schools few months ago ???, seriously wtf is wrong with HRM, are you people mentally ill in Nova Scotia or something ? no wonder people call it the mississippi of Canada. it’s 2009 not the 50s or 60s.
I cannot believe the comment
“Poverty is not racial targeting. Murder rates are not racial targeting. High school dropout rates are not racial targeting. An ‘unfair’ police stop can be an example of racial targeting, but I would be interested in how they arrived at this number. Change comes from within. “
It sounds to me that change will never come when we are justifying the obvious problems in Halifax between Blacks and the system. It also sounds very familiar with the problems in every U.S. city. There are many issues when it comes to some people living in poverty acting out against a system they feel is holding them down and only allowing the strongest to survive. for some, it feels so unfair to work hard in a society that can discriminate against a person based on skin colour and only be able to squeek out an existance when others can exist with less work and effort and have better results financially. The problem starts with poverty and is heightened when a group can easily be identified and victimized based on skin colour.
I work very hard for everything I get. People ask me my ethnic background and look at me questioning my race every day. The question is why does it happen and how does it effect my success. If I were to speak differently and wear clothes more like my ethnic background maybe I would never be asked about my background and I would just be judged by others because they could figure out I am black.
My unique perspective allows me to see the built in prejudices most of us have as I am not easily identified as black. I also see the prejudices we have as blacks as I am sometimes not accepted within the black culture myself. We all have prejudices and biases. Denying them is unproductive and will become the downfall of all communities.
Good luck Hali. I would never move there for a million dollars based on the guys who can only justify what is obviously happening. You say “Change comes from within”, well I think that you need to change your perspective. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Or maybe you think the black community needs to change when you make that comment. If so, that sounds like the type of generalization that is at the root of these problems.
well said andrewl.
First off, I applaud you for expostulating in a fair manner, maintaining decorum and limiting spelling mistakes. A rare find on the internet these days indeed!
So let’s have a look.
First off, I was talking semantics; the author’s diction. I am a linguist. I believe in the power and beauty of the English language and I don’t like seeing it abused.
My gripe was with the word ‘targeting’. Poverty obviously effects the African-Canadian population at a disproportionate rate; but it is not racial targeting. Mr. Money Bags doesn’t walk around and pick who is rich and who is poor.
If the police pull you over for the express reason that you are black, that is racial targeting. But that’s a hard thing to prove in any city, especially in Halifax which doesn’t track that statistic.
Claiming something is racial targeting when it is not is counterproductive. That was my point.
“it feels so unfair to work hard in a society that can discriminate against a person based on skin colour and only be able to squeek out an existance when others can exist with less work and effort and have better results financially. The problem starts with poverty and is heightened when a group can easily be identified and victimized based on skin colour.”
Ok. Fair enough. That is terrible. Poverty is a root-problem. The panacea for economic paucity is a good education and then a good job. So what’s that path like for African-Canadians in Nova Scotia?
1- Elementary and Middle School. Support workers are in place. I am admittedly pretty ignorant about this stage.
2- High school. Nova Scotia high schools have African-Canadian history. Many metro schools now have an African-Canadian English course. High schools have support workers and counselors. Almost all high schools have African-Canadian teachers and many have African-Canadian administrators.
3- University, first degree. Preference given to African-Canadians over others for entry. Entrance scholarships which are explicitly for them. A recent explosion in courses geared towards African-Canadian content. Support workers in place. Funding in place.
4- University, graduate school. Significant preference given, especially in law, medicine, nursing and education. Financial and personal support throughout the program, targeting especially African-Canadians.
5- Job market. Significant preference. Everyone loves African-Canadians in their company; because it shows they are not racist. Just turn on the TV, look at the number of the African-Canadian news, sports and weather presenters, much higher than the 2.2% that African-Canadians represent in Canadian society.
Or look at education jobs — being a teacher. When a new job opens to external applicants the principal is legally bound to hire African-Canadians first. I see this as being beneficial to African-Canadians, not prejudice.
On top of all this we have the NS Human Rights Commission to address any slight a minority may feel. You don’t even have to be a victim to file a complaint, re: Kirk Johnson 2004.
Complaints are free to lodge and you get a lawyer (defendant doesn’t). Rules of evidence and procedure do not exist (so hearsay is acceptable, for example).
Truth is not a defense. The judges are not judges, some aren’t even lawyers; they are social activist who support minorities. This system is in place for African-Canadians and other minorities. It works against anyone ever entertaining the idea of being prejudice because they know they will be hauled in front on a tribunal which is eschewed in favour of minorities. Additionally, they will have to pay for they own lawyer and the usual punishment is a fine. It’s expensive to be prejudice in Nova Scotia.
I honestly don’t know what else can be done to ease this path for African-Canadians. Admittedly, I am not black and can only view this from outside.
I have degrees, I read books, I read websites and articles, I follow the news, I travel, I talk to diverse groups of people. I try to be emphatic. Enlighten me where I am wrong.
After a while the “it’s all whitey’s fault” gets a little tiresome. Most reality TV shows with crime as a topic, First 48 as a poor American example, show blacks killing blacks mostly over a triival issue. There rarely appears to be a father in the picture. Any trash TV show, Maury etc. it’s normally about some unemployed black sperm donor who has several bastards to his credit, and does not have the mental capacity to be a positive role model, that’s if you axx me
you don’t want racism, neither do I. Here is part of the problem, as I see it, you put race in your name. Black Independence Network Nova Scotia. Try having a White (or other group) Independence Network of NS. Or a White (or other group) Education Centre. It would not go over very well. If you want racism to end you have to start with yourself. Why not call it “Race Free Independant Network NS” people of all races would then be able (and comforitable) in joining together to support against racism of all kinds.
yorkke has written the most balanced and articulate posting on this subject.
mcgayle continues to think Halifax is Gotham City and he’s the Caped Halfwit
Ooh, an endorsement from Basil Fawlty. Red letter day!
Mama9, your cries of reverse racism suffer from a painful lack of perspective. The reason why there is no “White Independence Network” is because there is no NEED for such a thing. Whites receive more than enough support in society because we have constructed whiteness as the norm, and all people of colour as “the other.” You don’t need to be a person of colour to notice this. Valuing equality in society doesn’t mean we have to pretend that equality has actually been achieved, and that we’re all on an equal playing field and we’ve all received the same historical advantages. When people cry reverse racism about organizations which are specifically meant to help marginalized groups, it sounds like you’re saying “hey, STFU about your concerns & sit down, let’s get the focus back here over on me where it belongs.” I’m going to go there, and say that is racist. If you really care about not being racist you need to learn about a more nuanced view of the world or else please feel free to put your head back in the sand with your “caring.”
I haven’t read all the posts here so I may be repeating what someone else already stated.
Do people really believe that school grades are based on race??? Are you telling me that a teacher marks John Smith with an A because he’s white and Tyrone Washington is marked a D because he’s black? Get real!!
As for declarations of police racism during these events at the schools……well, folks, if you don’t give the police a reason to be there, there wouldn’t be an issue would there? Look in the mirror!!
funny how most of the violence and illegal activities are commited by black youth,look at the stats,but this might be viewed at racism…any contary veiw is simply viewed as racism,bulls@$t..the underlining problem is the lack of respect for both sides…these problems don’t begin in a vacuum,thay are a cause of a bigger problem,the lack of parenting skills and moral teachings,period!!!!!
I seem to have given mcgayle a sex change by referring to her as a him, my apologies; so, now instead of being a dick, you’re a twat.