A Lament and a Resource List
Our Open Homes team shared these words and this resource list with our network this week, and I thought it would be good to share here too. (Sorry to those of you who will get this twice! Or not sorry—this is that important.)
Dear friends,
Our hearts have been heavy this week. Maybe yours have too.
If we feel this bone-weary and sad watching the news of violence against Black people and protests in the US and Canada, we can’t imagine how exhausted and exasperated people of colour must be to see their community members dying in the streets.
There is so much that could and should be said--about the history of racism in Canada, about our habit of thinking it’s so much better here for people of colour, about the ways our white skin shields us from the constant un-belonging that POC folks are subjected to--but people of colour have already said all of that better than we can. That’s why we’ve listed some resources below from people of colour for you to consider.
We are left thinking of the faces of refugee claimants that we meet. Will they encounter more violence or suspicion in this country that they sought out as a safe haven? What comments will they hear? Will they see themselves represented in books, videos, media as full humans, or as stereotypes? Will their voices be trusted, their perspectives be welcomed, their gifts be celebrated?
We pray that they will be. And we commit to working alongside them towards full belonging. We know we have a lot to learn. We know too that being white women managing a project in Hamilton for refugee claimants (who are overwhelmingly people of colour) means that we have a responsibility to keep listening to people of colour, keep learning, and especially to keep un-learning our own racism.
Racism lives in each of us. It is a long journey to see where we assume that white ways are best, white faces are best, white cultures are best, and to replace these deep learned behaviours and attitudes with solidarity and true love, but it is a journey deeper into being the people God has called us to be.
May this be a moment when we choose to listen to voices that might say things that make us uncomfortable. May God give us strength, love, and courage to hear the call to repentance from people of colour now, and to respond.
With love and deep lament,
The Open Homes Hamilton leadership team
(Katie Karsten, Sharlene Craig, Alison Witt, and Danielle Steenwyk-Rowaan)
PS We hope the list of resources below will be helpful to you. We have chosen (almost) all Canada-specific resources, because it is so easy for Canadians to tell ourselves that racism is a USA problem, not an us problem. The majority of these resources are by people of colour, because they know best what racism looks like. There are so many great resources out there--these are all ones that we’ve personally looked at and learned from.
Join...
If you are a white person who wants to gather regularly with other white folks to figure out where racism hides in your own heart and commit together to choosing a different way, let me know.
An anti-racism organizer and friend named Bernadette Arthur started this network of groups for white people to do our own anti-racism work, while being accountable to people of colour. They’re called Kenosis Community Groups, after Christ’s example of self-emptying (Philippians 2), and there may be a new group or book club starting online in your area.
Read...
The Skin We’re In - Desmond Cole
Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada - Lawrence Hill
Jesus and the Disinherited - Howard Thurman
‘Racism exists in Canada:’ These are the stories from people who have lived it as eyes turn on U.S. after George Floyd death in Minneapolis (Toronto Star, June 1, 2020)
Black Toronto residents 20 times more likely to be shot dead by police, study says (The Guardian, 2019)
'We're called terrorists:' HWDSB anti-bullying session hears from Muslim community (CBC News, March 2020)
Facebook post from Shad (Shad is a Christian rap artist who was born in Kenya, grew up in my hometown of London ON, and has since lived in Toronto and Vancouver. His words about learning how to behave to not arouse the ire of white people hits hard--he’s from the same place as I am.)
Watch...
Dear White Peacemakers (webinar with Osheta Moore and Global Immersion Project, password: peacemaking)
Parish Collective webinar on anti-Asian racism in the time of COVID-19
The Skin We’re In (CBC Firsthand episode with Toronto journalist Desmond Cole)
Being Nice is Not Going to End Racism - (9 minute YouTube clip by anti-racism educator Robin diAngelo. Note: when she talks about “whiteness” she is talking about the attitudes and structures that keep white people in power at the expense of people of colour. When she says that “whiteness” is a problem, she is not saying that the simple fact of having white skin is a problem--she is talking about power structures.)
Listen...
Colour Code (podcast from The Globe and Mail)
The Secret Life of Canada (A podcast run by a Caribbean-Canadian woman and a Mohawk/Tuscarora Indigenous woman, uncovering the stories of Canada that we weren’t usually taught in school. Check out especially their episodes on Birchtown, NS and the history of Black nurses in Canada.)
Black-owned businesses in Hamilton to support
Huge thanks to Open Homes Hamilton co-founder Brittani Farrington for starting this list!