Racism has plagued the world since before written history, and it doesn’t seem to be going away. There are many people who work hard to change the culture. One group, Artists Against Racism, teaches youth that “we are all ONE PEOPLE” in the hope that these young people will not adopt prejudiced attitudes. AAR has a list of more than 100 role models who are internationally known and who cover all artistic genres:
Celine Dion
Aerosmith
Indigo Girls
Meredith Brooks
Barenaked Ladies
Ellen DeGeneres
Dan Aykroyd
Mike Myers
Ricki Lake
Alice Munro (author)
Kurt Swinghammer (visual artist)
Atom Egoyan (director)
History of AAR
It was in the 1990s when the ethnic wars in the former Yuogslavia broke out. Rwanda had an ethnic cleansing plan. Against this international backdrop, white supremacist groups in Canada began playing hate music in churches and targeting the youth in schools. The anti-racist riots in January 1993 shook all Canadians, but one journalist, Lisa Cherniak, conceived an idea for a campaign to prevent racism. She joined forces with Mendelson Joe. Together the two of them went forth with a nationwide campaign of a poster to go in more than 20,000 schools.
In April 1995, the unthinkable happened. A federal building in Oklahoma was bombed. The man who did the horrible deed subscribed to a Canadian magazine that was filled with white supremacist hate. It was in November 1995 that Artists Against Racism was born. Joe brought prominence to Cherniak’s efforts. Through him, many other musicians and artists would join. The mission of AAR is not research, but is focused on activism through public service campaigns by famous artists to provide an inspiring and educational message around the world.
What AAR Does Today
AAR works through many different platforms. One key effort is to get artists to join and do radio or TV PSAs to speak out about anti-racism. Artists are encouraged to take on projects that deal with civil rights and to help individuals who are affected by racism today. AAR has materials for artists to promote anti-racism through wearing the violet ribbon or a t-shirt or placing the AAR logo on CD covers. AAR brings anti-racism information to schools and gets students to take a stand against racism. Encouraging kids to discuss their experiences and thoughts about racism helps everyone be more articulate when confronted with it in their community.
Why Should We Care?
Globally, it’s estimated that racism is the main cause of most of the world’s wars and crises. It’s not happening only in the Middle East, but also Ireland, Myanmar, Sudan, South Africa, and Bangladesh. These wars destroy people, culture and heritage. Even if you’ve never experienced racism or been affected by it, you can surely empathize with those who have. Since 1948, there have been more than 15 declarations to “end all forms of racial discrimination.” Still, the wars keep happening. People are dying. Canada has been directly affected by the onslaught of more than 25,000 refugees just from Syria.
AAR Is Not Alone
Canada has many organizations that deal with anti-racism. One called The ARC Collective monitors the activities of extremist groups and provides information. The Canadian Anti-Racism Education and Research Society started out in BC addressing issues of racism in the workplace, but it has widened its activities to include lobbying, research and monitoring hate groups. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) “foster(s) racial harmony and cross-cultural understanding and help(s) to eliminate racism.” Surprisingly, the CRRF actually was formed to acknowledge the treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII, which violated numerous principles of human rights. The National Association of Japanese Canadians contributed $12 million to establish the foundation, a generous gesture after the treatment of Japanese citizens.
Get involved, because change is possible. It starts with individuals making a difference in their communities.
Sikhs make up about 1.4 percent of the current Canadian population, according to the most recent National Household Survey. Those numbers translate to a community with over 468,000 members in a country of almost 36 million people. As part of the global diaspora of Sikhs, Canadian followers of this faith enjoy more opportunities while facing unique challenges.
Sikhs Arrive in Canada in the 1800s
The first Sikh settlers, a group of British Indian Army officers, came to Vancouver aboard the Empress of India ocean liner in 1897. These and later immigrants typically found work with the Canadian Pacific Railway, on farms, and in the lumber industry. They faced discrimination in many aspects of their daily lives. Sikh workers, along with other South Asian immigrants, were frequently paid far less than white workers performing the same jobs. Additionally, ignorance about their religion resulted in these individuals being classified as Hindus, and thus they were accused of observing a caste system. The Sikh religion adheres to principles taught by Guru Nanak, who spoke against discrimination based on caste, creed, or gender and believed in equality for all humans. Thus, such a characterization of the Sikh immigrants was inaccurate.
Growing Racism Yields Disastrous Results
As anti-immigrant sentiment grew among white Canadians and successive laws against Asian immigrants were passed, many Sikhs were forced to leave for the United States, Mexico, and South America. One notorious refusal of Indian immigrants occurred in 1914 when a chartered ship carrying hundreds of Sikhs from the Punjab region of India was turned away by the Canadian government. When the vessel returned to India, British soldiers murdered over a dozen of its passengers. The Wall Street Journal disclosed in 2016 that the Canadian government apologised for the affair, known as the “Komagata Maru incident,” in May of last year.
Fighting for Equality
Throughout the first half of the 1900s, Sikhs who stayed in Canada fought for their civil rights. This included their activism with the Khalsa Diwan Society, an organisation formed for the religious, social, political, and cultural development of the community. This era also saw them contributing to Canadian society. One famous example is World War I veteran Buckam Singh, who served with the 20th Canadian Infantry Battalion and was wounded twice in the line of duty. While his story and heroics were almost forgotten for over a century, modern Canadian history now recognises and includes his efforts. Furthermore, all Sikhs had earned the right to vote by 1947.
A New Wave of Immigration Brings Renewed Possibilities
Beginning in the 1950s, educated Sikhs began to emigrate to Canada. These professionals joined the medical, technological, legal, academic, and other advanced fields. Over time, they contributed to making Canada a more diverse nation in several aspects, including entering politics and public service. In a November 2015 Washington Post article, Ishaan Tharoor reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet included four Sikh public officials. However, Trudeau’s announcement, along with his later statements about equality and civil rights for people of colour in Canada, have not stood without criticism. Writer Ramesh Thakur opined in a March 2016 piece in the Globe and Mail that the number of Sikhs in Canada’s cabinet is out of proportion with their percentage of Canada’s population, with greater representation than the 468,000 in the country would warrant.
What Does the Future Hold?
Canadian Sikhs now pursue career, educational, and other opportunities that were once denied to many of their predecessors. However, they may face new challenges ahead as anti-immigrant sentiment has started to increase. The New York Times reported on this trend in January 2017, revealing fears that the right-wing extremism prevalent in United States politics may be moving northward across the border. What happens next for the Sikhs in Canada remains to be seen.
Recent incarceration statistics have shown a dramatic increase in Amerinds and Black Canadians.
In 2014, The New Observer reported concerns about the rising population rates of Amerinds and blacks in Canadian federal prisons. According to incarceration statistics, both races were highly over-represented in the prison system when you look at the overall population in the country. Two-and-a-half years later, The Torontoist reports, “There are 70 per cent [sic] more Black Canadians in federal prison than there were 10 years ago…” In addition, Howard Sapers, Correctional Investigator, released his annual report of the status of the prisons. He found that from 2005 to 2015 the overall population in the correction system in Canada grew by 10 percent. The Aboriginal inmate population grew by more than 50 percent. This phenomenon was evident in both male and female populations.
Who Is Howard Sapers?
Why should you listen to Sapers? He was appointed to his position as Correctional Investigator of Canada in 2004. This is his 11th annual report. He is not tied to any political climate, as he has served under two Prime Ministers and under five different Ministers of Public Safety. During his tenure in his position, his team has responded to over 200,000 complaints and calls. Sapers has provided testimony to many different Parliamentary Committees and responded to criminal justice reforms handed down by the government. He believes in human dignity and decency even for those who are deprived of their liberty. Sapers is an advocate for a fair and rational criminal justice system.
In his message of his annual report, he breaks down the incarceration statistics even further, offering some interesting statistics:
Twenty-five percent of the prison population is now 50 or older.
Only about 40 percent of inmates have a formal education of grade eight or higher.
Sixty percent of inmates have not graduated high school.
Sixty percent of female inmates require prescription medications to manage their mental health needs.
Seventy percent of female inmates report histories of sexual abuse.
Eighty-six percent of women in the prison system report physical abuse at some point in their lives.
Eighty percent of the male inmates have experienced addiction and substance abuse.
Is Racism the Problem?
The Torontoist reports that the high rate of blacks in prison is due to racism and over-policing. In Canada, blacks make up about three percent of the general population but 10 percent of the prison population. Indigenous Canadians make up 24.4 percent of the federal prison population but only 4.3 percent of the general population. This is not a problem just in Canada. In the United States, the numbers aren’t quite as pronounced, but African-Americans make up 13 percent of the general population and account for 37 percent of the prison population.
One local lawyer is calling for an initiative similar to the 1991 Aboriginal Justice Strategy that was created to address the growing population of Indigenous Canadians in the prisons. It offered restorative justice and diversion programs and alternative sentencing. In 2011, a report was issued that outlined the success of the AJS. It had this to say:
“Evidence that the long-term outcome of the AJS of ‘reduced crime and incarceration rates in communities with funded programs’ is being achieved is evident through the results of the recidivism study, which found a significant difference between rates of re-offending of AJS-funded program participants and a comparison group.”
Unfortunately, these same outcomes are not being seen in the prisons.
Are There Solutions?
Some might say that criminals get what they deserve. They do have to pay for their crime, but when you look at some of Sapers’ findings, one has to wonder if the solution starts with ensuring people have an education and that their mental health needs are taken care of. Women who are abused need help to improve their self-confidence and outcomes. Things won’t change overnight, but these statistics should concern everyone.
Racism has plagued the world since before written history, and it doesn’t seem to be going away. There are many people who work hard to change the culture. One group, Artists Against Racism, teaches youth that “we are all ONE PEOPLE” in the hope that these young people will not adopt prejudiced attitudes. AAR has a list of more than 100 role models who are internationally known and who cover all artistic genres:
Celine Dion
Aerosmith
Indigo Girls
Meredith Brooks
Barenaked Ladies
Ellen DeGeneres
Dan Aykroyd
Mike Myers
Ricki Lake
Alice Munro (author)
Kurt Swinghammer (visual artist)
Atom Egoyan (director)
History of AAR
It was in the 1990s when the ethnic wars in the former Yuogslavia broke out. Rwanda had an ethnic cleansing plan. Against this international backdrop, white supremacist groups in Canada began playing hate music in churches and targeting the youth in schools. The anti-racist riots in January 1993 shook all Canadians, but one journalist, Lisa Cherniak, conceived an idea for a campaign to prevent racism. She joined forces with Mendelson Joe. Together the two of them went forth with a nationwide campaign of a poster to go in more than 20,000 schools.
In April 1995, the unthinkable happened. A federal building in Oklahoma was bombed. The man who did the horrible deed subscribed to a Canadian magazine that was filled with white supremacist hate. It was in November 1995 that Artists Against Racism was born. Joe brought prominence to Cherniak’s efforts. Through him, many other musicians and artists would join. The mission of AAR is not research, but is focused on activism through public service campaigns by famous artists to provide an inspiring and educational message around the world.
What AAR Does Today
AAR works through many different platforms. One key effort is to get artists to join and do radio or TV PSAs to speak out about anti-racism. Artists are encouraged to take on projects that deal with civil rights and to help individuals who are affected by racism today. AAR has materials for artists to promote anti-racism through wearing the violet ribbon or a t-shirt or placing the AAR logo on CD covers. AAR brings anti-racism information to schools and gets students to take a stand against racism. Encouraging kids to discuss their experiences and thoughts about racism helps everyone be more articulate when confronted with it in their community.
Why Should We Care?
Globally, it’s estimated that racism is the main cause of most of the world’s wars and crises. It’s not happening only in the Middle East, but also Ireland, Myanmar, Sudan, South Africa, and Bangladesh. These wars destroy people, culture and heritage. Even if you’ve never experienced racism or been affected by it, you can surely empathize with those who have. Since 1948, there have been more than 15 declarations to “end all forms of racial discrimination.” Still, the wars keep happening. People are dying. Canada has been directly affected by the onslaught of more than 25,000 refugees just from Syria.
AAR Is Not Alone
Canada has many organizations that deal with anti-racism. One called The ARC Collective monitors the activities of extremist groups and provides information. The Canadian Anti-Racism Education and Research Society started out in BC addressing issues of racism in the workplace, but it has widened its activities to include lobbying, research and monitoring hate groups. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) “foster(s) racial harmony and cross-cultural understanding and help(s) to eliminate racism.” Surprisingly, the CRRF actually was formed to acknowledge the treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII, which violated numerous principles of human rights. The National Association of Japanese Canadians contributed $12 million to establish the foundation, a generous gesture after the treatment of Japanese citizens.
Get involved, because change is possible. It starts with individuals making a difference in their communities.
Sikhs make up about 1.4 percent of the current Canadian population, according to the most recent National Household Survey. Those numbers translate to a community with over 468,000 members in a country of almost 36 million people. As part of the global diaspora of Sikhs, Canadian followers of this faith enjoy more opportunities while facing unique challenges.
Sikhs Arrive in Canada in the 1800s
The first Sikh settlers, a group of British Indian Army officers, came to Vancouver aboard the Empress of India ocean liner in 1897. These and later immigrants typically found work with the Canadian Pacific Railway, on farms, and in the lumber industry. They faced discrimination in many aspects of their daily lives. Sikh workers, along with other South Asian immigrants, were frequently paid far less than white workers performing the same jobs. Additionally, ignorance about their religion resulted in these individuals being classified as Hindus, and thus they were accused of observing a caste system. The Sikh religion adheres to principles taught by Guru Nanak, who spoke against discrimination based on caste, creed, or gender and believed in equality for all humans. Thus, such a characterization of the Sikh immigrants was inaccurate.
Growing Racism Yields Disastrous Results
As anti-immigrant sentiment grew among white Canadians and successive laws against Asian immigrants were passed, many Sikhs were forced to leave for the United States, Mexico, and South America. One notorious refusal of Indian immigrants occurred in 1914 when a chartered ship carrying hundreds of Sikhs from the Punjab region of India was turned away by the Canadian government. When the vessel returned to India, British soldiers murdered over a dozen of its passengers. The Wall Street Journal disclosed in 2016 that the Canadian government apologised for the affair, known as the “Komagata Maru incident,” in May of last year.
Fighting for Equality
Throughout the first half of the 1900s, Sikhs who stayed in Canada fought for their civil rights. This included their activism with the Khalsa Diwan Society, an organisation formed for the religious, social, political, and cultural development of the community. This era also saw them contributing to Canadian society. One famous example is World War I veteran Buckam Singh, who served with the 20th Canadian Infantry Battalion and was wounded twice in the line of duty. While his story and heroics were almost forgotten for over a century, modern Canadian history now recognises and includes his efforts. Furthermore, all Sikhs had earned the right to vote by 1947.
A New Wave of Immigration Brings Renewed Possibilities
Beginning in the 1950s, educated Sikhs began to emigrate to Canada. These professionals joined the medical, technological, legal, academic, and other advanced fields. Over time, they contributed to making Canada a more diverse nation in several aspects, including entering politics and public service. In a November 2015 Washington Post article, Ishaan Tharoor reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet included four Sikh public officials. However, Trudeau’s announcement, along with his later statements about equality and civil rights for people of colour in Canada, have not stood without criticism. Writer Ramesh Thakur opined in a March 2016 piece in the Globe and Mail that the number of Sikhs in Canada’s cabinet is out of proportion with their percentage of Canada’s population, with greater representation than the 468,000 in the country would warrant.
What Does the Future Hold?
Canadian Sikhs now pursue career, educational, and other opportunities that were once denied to many of their predecessors. However, they may face new challenges ahead as anti-immigrant sentiment has started to increase. The New York Times reported on this trend in January 2017, revealing fears that the right-wing extremism prevalent in United States politics may be moving northward across the border. What happens next for the Sikhs in Canada remains to be seen.
Recent incarceration statistics have shown a dramatic increase in Amerinds and Black Canadians.
In 2014, The New Observer reported concerns about the rising population rates of Amerinds and blacks in Canadian federal prisons. According to incarceration statistics, both races were highly over-represented in the prison system when you look at the overall population in the country. Two-and-a-half years later, The Torontoist reports, “There are 70 per cent [sic] more Black Canadians in federal prison than there were 10 years ago…” In addition, Howard Sapers, Correctional Investigator, released his annual report of the status of the prisons. He found that from 2005 to 2015 the overall population in the correction system in Canada grew by 10 percent. The Aboriginal inmate population grew by more than 50 percent. This phenomenon was evident in both male and female populations.
Who Is Howard Sapers?
Why should you listen to Sapers? He was appointed to his position as Correctional Investigator of Canada in 2004. This is his 11th annual report. He is not tied to any political climate, as he has served under two Prime Ministers and under five different Ministers of Public Safety. During his tenure in his position, his team has responded to over 200,000 complaints and calls. Sapers has provided testimony to many different Parliamentary Committees and responded to criminal justice reforms handed down by the government. He believes in human dignity and decency even for those who are deprived of their liberty. Sapers is an advocate for a fair and rational criminal justice system.
In his message of his annual report, he breaks down the incarceration statistics even further, offering some interesting statistics:
Twenty-five percent of the prison population is now 50 or older.
Only about 40 percent of inmates have a formal education of grade eight or higher.
Sixty percent of inmates have not graduated high school.
Sixty percent of female inmates require prescription medications to manage their mental health needs.
Seventy percent of female inmates report histories of sexual abuse.
Eighty-six percent of women in the prison system report physical abuse at some point in their lives.
Eighty percent of the male inmates have experienced addiction and substance abuse.
Is Racism the Problem?
The Torontoist reports that the high rate of blacks in prison is due to racism and over-policing. In Canada, blacks make up about three percent of the general population but 10 percent of the prison population. Indigenous Canadians make up 24.4 percent of the federal prison population but only 4.3 percent of the general population. This is not a problem just in Canada. In the United States, the numbers aren’t quite as pronounced, but African-Americans make up 13 percent of the general population and account for 37 percent of the prison population.
One local lawyer is calling for an initiative similar to the 1991 Aboriginal Justice Strategy that was created to address the growing population of Indigenous Canadians in the prisons. It offered restorative justice and diversion programs and alternative sentencing. In 2011, a report was issued that outlined the success of the AJS. It had this to say:
“Evidence that the long-term outcome of the AJS of ‘reduced crime and incarceration rates in communities with funded programs’ is being achieved is evident through the results of the recidivism study, which found a significant difference between rates of re-offending of AJS-funded program participants and a comparison group.”
Unfortunately, these same outcomes are not being seen in the prisons.
Are There Solutions?
Some might say that criminals get what they deserve. They do have to pay for their crime, but when you look at some of Sapers’ findings, one has to wonder if the solution starts with ensuring people have an education and that their mental health needs are taken care of. Women who are abused need help to improve their self-confidence and outcomes. Things won’t change overnight, but these statistics should concern everyone.
