Progress is on the Backs of Blacks
A Reflection on the Inaugural International Day for People of African Descent
Today, the United Nations is observing for the first time the International Day for People of African Descent, the goal of which is “to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.”¹ Many of those contributions have been securing human rights not only for themselves but everyone.
Despite centuries of pain and injustice, even to present time, people of African descent in the United States of America, Canada, Brazil and other countries, have channelled their resilience and resistance into leading social justice efforts such as the Civil Rights Movement, Yonge Street Uprising/Rebellion and Black Lives Matter to end anti-Black racism. However difficult and slow it has been to advance systemic change, people of African descent have been unrelenting and unwavering in their pursuit of equality and justice.
On this day, it is right that we should take pause and reflect on some of these social movements and activism that have brought about material change.
Civil Rights
Segregation, rampant discrimination and brutality followed the emancipation of enslaved Africans.
According to a report a by the Equal Justice Initiative, there were almost 4,000 lynchings of African Americans in the South during the Jim Crow era.² One of the notable murders was that of a 14-year-old boy, Emmett Till. As published by History.com, Emmett’s killers made him “carry a 75-pound cotton gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. The two men then beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head and then threw his body, tied to the cotton gin fan with barbed wire, into the river.”³
African Americans faced many barriers to and in employment. The underfunding and poor resourcing of public schools for Black children limited their skills development and job prospects.⁴ At work, they were separated from their White colleagues and could be terminated for trumped-up reasons.⁵
It was the Civil Rights Movement led by African Americans which called for an end to segregation and unfair employment practices, and civil rights legislation.⁶ The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin.⁷
Police Oversight and Policing Reform
There is a long history of racial discrimination in policing. African Canadian communities have been the frequent targets of racial profiling and use of force.
Analysis of carding data by The Star showed that the practice was indiscriminately targeted at young Black men aged 15 to 24.⁸ An interim report by the Ontario Human Rights Commission found that Black persons were nearly times 20 times more likely than a White person to be involved in a fatal shooting by the Toronto Police Service (TPS) and were overrepresented in use of force cases.⁹
Police shootings of Black people including Lester Donaldson in 1988 were the catalyst for the formation of the Black Action Defense Committee whose advocacy led to the creation of the Race Relations and Policing Task Force, which recommended the establishment of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).¹⁰
The Police and Community Engagement Review Advisory Committee established by TPS comprised of community leaders from the African Canadian community and government agencies to implement 31 recommendations to deliver bias-free policing. After fulfilling its mandate in 2017, a smaller version of the committee was reconvened in 2020 to assist with the implementation of 81 recommendations for policing reform to address matters such as alternative community safety response models and systemic racism.¹¹
Equity in Education
After years of advocacy to improve the educational outcomes and experiences of African Canadian students in the Region of Peel and a strained relationship with the trustees of Peel District School Board, the Government of Ontario announced a review of the Board, which initially excluded a Black reviewer until the community decried the lack of a Black appointee. The Review, which was triggered by reports of anti-Black racism, expanded to examine other areas of exclusion and discrimination.¹²
African Canadians in Ontario have for decades called for an end to the practice of streaming which disproportionately affected African Canadian students. Dr. Carl James and Tana Turner in their report “Towards Race Equity in Education” wrote, “Compared to White and other racialized students, a smaller proportion of Black students are enrolled in the Academic program of study, while a larger proportion of Black than White and other racialized students were enrolled in the Applied and Essentials programs.”¹³ In July 2020, the Ontario government announced it would end academic streaming in Grade 9.¹⁴
A Renewed Call for Equality and Justice
The murder of George Floyd whose repeated cries of “I can’t breathe” while officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck has been etched into our memories. The international wave of demonstrations that followed brought the injustice dealt to people of African descent the world over to the forefront. This would later extend into broader conversations about the racism experienced by other racialized groups.
Enshrined human rights, independent police oversight bodies, equitable education programs, and diversity and inclusion initiatives not only benefit people of African descent but everyone. It is important to remember that those outcomes are born from Black pain, suffering and trauma. People of African descent have been the guardians of our dignity and welfare. Today and every day, we applaud those Africans who have been on the frontlines of activism and advocacy.
¹ United Nations. (n.d.). International Day for People of African Descent. https://www.un.org/en/observances/african-descent-day
² Luckerson, V. (2015). New Report Documents 4,000 Lynchings in Jim Crow South. Time. https://time.com/3703386/jim-crow-lynchings/
³ History.com Editors. (2010). Emmett Till is murdered. History. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till
⁴ White, G. B. (2016). Searching for the Origins of the Racial Wage Disparity In Jim Crow America. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/the-origins-of-the-racial-wage-gap/461892/
⁵ Library of Congress. (n.d.). The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/segregation-era.html
⁶ The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. (n.d.). March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Stanford University. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/march-washington-jobs-and-freedom
⁷ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration & Management. (n.d.). Legal Highlight: The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Department of Labour. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964
⁸ Rankin, J. & Winsa, P. (2012). Known to police: Toronto police stop and document black and brown people far more than whites. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2012/03/09/known_to_police_toronto_police_stop_and_document_black_and_brown_people_far_more_than_whites.html
⁹ Ontario Human Rights Commission. (2018). A Collective Impact: Interim report on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Servicehttp://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/public-interest-inquiry-racial-profiling-and-discrimination-toronto-police-service/collective-impact-interim-report-inquiry-racial-profiling-and-racial-discrimination-black
¹⁰ Gallant, J. (2016). SIU’s creation came amidst racially-charged atmosphere. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/04/18/sius-creation-came-amidst-racially-charged-atmosphere.html
¹¹ Toronto Police Service. Know Your Rights. https://www.torontopolice.on.ca/know-your-rights/pacer.php
¹² Chadha, E., Herbert, S. & Richard, S. (2020). Review of the Peel District School Board. Ministry of Education (Ontario). http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/new/review-peel-district-school-board-report-en.pdf
¹³ James, C. E. & Turner, T. (2017). Towards Race Equity In Education: The Schooling of Black Students in the Greater Toronto Area. York University
¹⁴ CBC News. (2020). Ontario to end ‘discriminatory’ practice of academic streaming in Grade 9. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-streaming-high-school-racism-lecce-1.5638700
