How Manitobans can take part in anti-racism efforts

Monday is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and one University of Manitoba professor believes there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to address racism in society.

Tina Chen, the executive lead for equity, diversity and inclusion at the U of M’s department of history, said the Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has been around for a long time, yet there’s not been enough progress.

“Because racial systems of difference, these organized systems of knowledge, the way racism operates in our every day – we reproduce that in all of our actions, what we talk about,” she said in an interview on Monday.

Chen said the importance of the Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is to create spaces to make sure that people know that they should be talking about systemic racism, how to counter it, and then how to make a plan to move forward.

“I cringe that 50 years from now we will be talking about these things on certain days of the year,” she said.

Chen said that using the phrase “elimination of racial discrimination” shows that people are not necessarily thinking systemically, because to say that we will eliminate racial discrimination is not entirely accurate.

“It’s that we need to dismantle and counter in everyday actions and voices and activities how racial discrimination, how systemic racism operates,” Chen said.

She added that different types of racism operate differently, and this needs to be addressed.

RISE IN ANTI-ASIAN HATE CRIME

According to Statistics Canada, police reported anti-Asian hate crimes jumped 300 per cent in 2020.

Chen said this data demonstrates the rise in anti-Asian racism, and shows that people are being attacked based on how they look.

However, she is not sure there’s been a rise in hate crimes, bur rather an increase of community activism to create mechanisms for reporting.

“So the communities have really mobilized since 2020 to provide those kinds of networks where we can report them in, and that’s what we’re seeing the results of.”

GETTING INVOLVED

Chen, who is involved with the Prairie Asian Organizers (PAO), said she’s excited about the range of activities taking place to help dismantle systemic racism.

She encourages people to follow PAO on social media, but notes there are many other groups doing good work.

“What I’m involved in is really just a small slice, and it’s just about creating those spaces and ways of building solidarity that recognize and respect cultural differences,” she said.

- With files from CTV’s Nicole Dube.