The City of Windsor met with Black leaders in June 2020 following BLM protests and promised ~some~ action. More than a year later, a proposed anti-racism initiative is going to Council tomorrow (on consent!) and well... I have thoughts. A thread: windsorstar.com/news/local-new…
1. This initiative was a result of advocacy from *Black* leaders yet you cannot tell from the proposal. There's little detail on what consulting with Black leaders/orgs looked like.
2. If, again, this was the result of advocacy from Black leaders, why did this initiative not follow a public bidding process? Why not give the opportunity for a Black community organization or Black-led consultant group to take the lead on this project?
3. The initiative proposes a public awareness campaign, story-telling and training. The Mayor acknowledges in the new article this won't ~fix~ racism. I agree. So why not spend time reviewing what the City itself can do instead of out-sourcing this work?
4. For example, the initial concern of BLM activists was with respect to the disproportionate use of force against Black people, and mainly Black men. That is not mentioned in this proposal at all. What is the City doing to review and address these concerns?
5. Also, part of the initiative involves asking community members and organizations to "take a pledge" to support inclusivity. With all due respect, what is that going to do without follow-up on changing systemic policies and gaps within said organizations that are problematic?
6. I also have concerns with the focus on diversity being implied as immigrant in this proposal. It glosses over the experience of historic Black residents (and Indigenous). There is overlap in what needs to be done for both but conflating the two can be problematic.
7. If you have time, I would encourage reading the survey results (page 35 onwards). It is... interesting to say the least. The survey is unsound (at best) with respect to its methodology and the majority of respondents did not watch or participate in the BLM roundtable (lol).
8. For example, this survey should have been a safe and confidential way for *Black* and racialized individuals to share their experiences with racism in Windsor. Yet in a response to q's on experiences with racism or next steps, these were some of the top answers:
9. This survey was disseminated for less than a month and had a low response rate with no details on respondents. There were odd q's (like asking what "non-people-of-colour" (lol) can ~do~) but also good feedback on City/police policies/practices which are not in the proposal.
10. Lastly, I'll just add there could be more information on how involved the City's Diversity Officer and Diversity Committee are with this proposal. What does their involvement look like and how can they be leveraged (resources?) to further support such initiatives?
11. Anyway, this goes to Council tomorrow and is on the *consent* agenda. There definitely should have been - and still can be - more opportunity for feedback if we want to seriously address anti-racism in the city - and especially within the Corporation of the City of Windsor.
Hey, county Windsor-Essex peeps, Come get your man. This is a sitting councillor for the Town of Essex spreading blatant racism a year into a deadly pandemic that is not only directing killing people but also harming *many* others as a result of awful xenophobia like this.
This is who to contact at the Town of Essex. I’m thinking the Mayor (lsnively@essex.ca) and Deputy Mayor (rmeloche@essex.ca) should hear about this for sure.
He previously sought the Ontario PC nomination for the riding of Essex. He didn’t get the nomination but this should absolutely be remembered if he seeks the nomination again (or at the federal level).
With respect to the story: I certainly empathize with folks separated from family or having their business out on hold due to the border closure.
I think we also need to acknowledge the layers of who has never had an issue with a border in their life and who has.
I mean, it takes a heck of lot of privilege to not think something is a problem until it personally affects you. Like this dude getting mad only when he was added to a no fly list.
While we wax poetic about Windsor-Essex being one of the "most diverse areas" in Canada, this is what Black students face. We can't address this if we continue to pretend racism doesn't exist in our region.
"[The frat members] are part of our community & we have to take responsibility for what they did, which was racist, homophobic, etc. And so for [UWindsor president Rob Gordon] to then... push against this, I think is really disingenuous." @Sujith_Xaviercbc.ca/news/canada/wi…
Important commentary on Ontario's largest school outbreak (49 cases) right here in Windsor re: low-income vulnerability, social circumstances, and not having current demographic data. Ft. @annekersmit and @Frazier_Fathers via @jennlagrassacbc.ca/news/canada/wi…
The school board (and health unit!) not keeping and/or releasing demographic data of schools + neighbourhoods is an issue. Toronto clearly demonstrated there is a correlation between certain neighbourhoods and COVID-19 cases. We would probably see the same if data was available.
Demographic data would be a powerful tool for many reasons - including online learning, as demonstrated by the school board itself: 391 students are attending Begley in person while 146 opted for online learning or paper packages, one of the lowest rates for the board.
If you're going to publish a piece on migrant workers, maybe speak to a local farm worker or two before you throw out a bunch of stereotypes about said group and use these assumptions to imply their sickness/death has to do with their actions alone. Infuriating.
I know this is an opinion piece but come on. The author was a whole university professor. He should know a thing or two research and not making arguments based on conversations with a couple friends who happen to own greenhouses.🙄
Perhaps the most cruel part of the column is the tone used to describe two "unfortunate" deaths and a number of infections as only a "small" number? So, what would be a palatable number instead? Are these people disposable?