Chinese Canadian Touchpoints to Black Issues

For Black History Month in Canada this year, I thought I’d try to put together a similar article as my reflection for anti-Indigenous racism but for anti-Black racism from a Chinese Canadian perspective.

My awareness to Black issues started in 2020. Having mostly been ignorant of the anti-Black racism in the past, I’ve had to take some time to educate myself. And I’m thankful for the availability of educational resources which have guided me along the way.

Without diving into the wealth of the resources out there, I'd like to put together a few arguments which have been helpful to me, to help fellow Chinese Canadians pay attention to anti-Black racism in Canada:

1. The wealth Canadians share today is in part due to how Canada has benefited from the contributions of racially Black persons and Black Canadians, including Black slavery, both within and beyond the borders of Canada

2. The social justice activism of Black Canadians has benefited Chinese Canadians, including changes to Canadian immigration policies with the “points system” introduced in 1967, which has been to the benefit of Black Canadians and Chinese Canadians

3. The Chinese have participated in continuing oppressive colonial legacies on Black workers around the world

4. The prevalence of anti-Black racism among the Chinese

5. Racism discriminates against Black Canadians as well as Chinese Canadians, with both being racialized peoples, see Toronto’s St. John’s Ward as an example

 

Further Reading:

Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC). (2020, May 18). Statement on anti-Asian racism in the time of COVID-19. https://www.asianamericanchristiancollaborative.com/read-statement

Cuddy, A. (2020, June 5). 喬治·佛洛伊德事件：抗議發生的五大社會背景. BBC News 中文. https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/world-52934591

CBTU Webinar. (2021). Black history in Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdh7QMeu_Ig

Ibbitson, J. (2013, August 24). ‘Heaven was the word for Canada:’ Race in Martin Luther King’s ‘North Star.’ The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/martin-luther-kings-north-star-got-the-message/article13941449/

JS, & Li, P. (2020, June 2). The Hong Kong movement must stand with Black Lives Matter. Lausan. https://web.archive.org/web/20220528062420/https://lausan.hk/2020/hong-kong-must-stand-with-blm/

Kappler, M. (2020, May 29). Racism in Canada is ever-present, but we have a long history of denial. HuffPost, Life. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/racism-canada-anti-black_ca_5ecd6c6cc5b670f88ad48d5c

Lorinc, J., McClelland, M., Scheinberg, E., & Taylor, T. (Eds.). (2015). The Ward: The life and loss of Toronto's first immigrant neighbourhood. Coach House Books

Oyeniran, C. (2020, October 20). Black history in Canada: 1960 to present. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/black-history-in-canada-1960-to-present (Last Edited July 20, 2021)

Ryrie, A. (2015, November 5). How we learned that slavery is wrong. Gresham College. https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/how-we-learned-that-slavery-is-wrong

The Toronto Star. (2020, June 1). ‘Racism exists in Canada:’ These are the stories from people who have lived it as eyes turn on U.S. after. The Toronto Star, GTA. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/06/01/racism-exists-in-canada-these-are-the-stories-from-people-who-have-lived-it-as-eyes-turn-on-us-after-george-floyd-death-in-minneapolis.html

Triadafilopoulos, T. (2013). Dismantling white Canada: Race, rights, and the origins of the points system. In T. Triadafilopoulos (Ed.), Wanted and welcome? (pp. 15–37). Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0082-0_2

Waters, R. (2014, May 15). African Canadian anti-discrimination activism and the transnational civil rights movement, 1945–1965. Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 24(2), 386–424. https://doi.org/10.7202/1025083ar

陳啟睿, & 周永康. (2020, June 2). 如何理解 Black Lives Matters？暴動是不被傾聽者的語言. https://matters.news/@ckysamuel91/bafyreidvj2pu3qo3ota7r6ctrla2rrcjfnycbvxmjr5whyhkkbeciylvf4