Progressive Conservative candidate Matt Whitman has apologized for his “Chinese fire drill” stunt. Whitman posted a YouTube video last week of himself yelling the racially-charged phrase before exiting and then running around his car. In a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon, the Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets councillor said he wasn’t aware of the term’s racist connotations. “I […]
Racism
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ted Upshaw’s dedication
Ted Upshaw is gigantic. At six-foot-six, the 60-year-old towers over the average person. But his sunny disposition is more reminiscent of the Big Friendly Giant than the “fee-fi-fo-fum” variety. Robert Graham (Ted) Upshaw became the first African-Canadian to be a commissioned inspector by the RCMP in 1999. Now working as a public safety advisor with […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
King’s student union addresses racism after cancelling Wu-Tang Clan night
The University of King’s College Students’ Union is holding a public forum on racism after a popular campus bar event, Wu-Tang Clan Night, was cancelled due to concerns about white students singing along to racial slurs. An October 23 Facebook post on the event page by black King’s student Julia-Simone Rutgers quickly garnered attention from […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The realities of dating as a queer minority
[Image-1] Growing up, Mateo Ferguson knew that things wouldn’t be easy for him as a gay black man. He’s part of a minority in a minority, living in a town that can be ignorant and sometimes even hateful of both. The 19-year-old has remained “optimistic,” though. Like many other gay students, he uses Grindr. For […]
Posted inArts + Music
Hurt, hope, healing and the NS Home for Colored Children
“It’s a difficult read,” says Wanda Taylor, the author of The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, a comprehensive history of the structure that stood in rural Dartmouth for over 70 years. The Home was the site of extreme abuse and neglect for hundreds of African-Nova Scotian children in the protective care of the Nova […]
Posted inArts + Music
Black Dragon Mountain’s problems lead to understanding
Thanks to a play that has never been seen, Halifax’s theatre community has been called upon to take a hard look at how it can move towards cultural sensitivity and inclusivity in its theatres. Roy Ellis’ Black Dragon Mountain incited an impassioned discussion on social media when promotional materials went out showing non-Chinese actors in […]
Posted inArts + Music
AFF Reviews: Bound, Undone, The Stanford Prison Experiment
This weekend, several selections at the 35th Atlantic Film Festival explored human psychology through various narrative styles. On Friday, I rolled into the Lord Nelson Hotel at 1:30am to catch 1980 sci-fi musical, The Apple, which was one of the best worst movies I’ve ever seen, a terribly awesome, tacky romp through the exploitative music […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Consul General Richard Riley won’t meet with protesters
[Image-1] American consul general Richard Riley won’t be joining today’s Halifax solidarity march, organized in response to the ongoing crisis in Ferguson, MO. “Probably not,” says a media contact at the U.S. consulate when I ask if Riley will take part in the peaceful gathering, noting that he hasn’t been invited to anyway. The solidarity […]
Posted inArts + Music
Pardis Parker fights real pain with really good comedy
Halifax comedian Pardis Parker is fast becoming a star, but still hecklers call him a terrorist. Alison Lang finds out how real pain fuels the funny. When you ask Pardis Parker how he managed to perform in front of thousands of industry bigwigs at the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in London, England earlier this month, the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Fire chief Bill Mosher summoned to council closed session
At this hour, fire chief Bill Mosher is speaking with the Halifax Regional Council in a closed-door secret meeting. Mosher was summoned to council after councillor Sue Uteck learned that a human rights complaint has been filed against the Halifax department of Fire and Emergency Services. I’ve been working on this story exclusively for a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Black firefighters file human rights complaint
When word leaked out this week that a group of black firefighters had filed a complaint against the Halifax fire department with the Human Rights Commission, fire chief Bill Mosher tried to frame the issue as an overreaction by two unduly sensitive employees. “We had met with [black firefighters] and came up with an action […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax’s hidden racism
It’s almost impossible to see signs of racism in Halifax. Not because they aren’t there—because they’re hidden in plain sight all around us. Sure, we can convince ourselves everything’s just tickety-boo. We’re a cosmopolitan city with a healthy respect for Charter rights, aren’t we? Lynch mobs, last I checked, don’t roam the streets. So on […]