Although many people in Guelph may feel that anti-black racism is an American problem, Marva Wisdom says research and experiences prove that it is just as much a part of life in Canada and locally.
Wisdom is the past and founding president of the Guelph Black Heritage Society and is scheduled to speak at Saturday’s march in support of Black Lives Matter.
The protest starts outside Guelph City Hall at 2 p.m. with speakers, music and spoken word. A march in the area will then take place, including marching past Guelph Police Headquarters.
She is also the director of the Black Experience Project, a seven-year study of the lived experiences of the black community. Among its findings was that 79 percent of black males age 25 to 44 in the Greater Toronto Area said they have been stopped by police or had interactions with them.
“So almost 80 per cent — if you are walking down the street and see 10 black males, eight of them have been stopped by the police in a public place. I don’t think that is reflected in other communities,” said Wisdom.
One of those types of interactions, commonly called carding, is the practice by some police departments of detaining someone and asking for identification, even though there is no immediate cause for suspicion that a crime has been committed.
As a result of these interactions, black men in the same age bracket are statistically very likely to have negative opinions of police.
In 2018, Wisdom and her colleague presented the findings of the project to the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. She said her hope is that change would come more quickly but notes many police departments have not implemented recommendations, like putting an end to carding.
“We know carding exists, but as individuals from the black community we already knew it happened because we experienced it,” said Wisdom. “Some people were saying it did not happen and people were just making it up.”
Wisdom said it is positive that conversations about anti-black racism and police has opened up again, but it’s unfortunate it has come as a result of additional deaths.
“People are still being injured, being stopped, being harassed and racially profiled,” said Wisdom. “Let’s call it what it is, it is racism and specifically we will call it anti-black racism that is going on right now.”
Wisdom said she is encouraged by an apparent increase in the number of non-black allies who are acknowledging racism exists in their communities and are adding their voices to calls to end it. She said that it is important for black people to know they are not alone.
“Being not alone means you are not alone in your sorrow and that other who may not look like you also understand the pain you are going through,” said Wisdom.
It was important for the Guelph Black Heritage Society to become involved in organizing the local march, said Denise Francis, current president.
“Because of what is happening in the world right now we just couldn’t stay silent — we had to show support for our brothers and sisters in the community,” said Francis.
The society acts as primarily as a local cultural organization, hosting musical performances, spoken word and other get togethers at its Heritage Hall and other venues in the area.
Guelph has not been immune to racist activity, said Francis.
“When people hear about the issues affecting the black community, the violence and the deaths, they think it’s just an American problem, but it’s not,” she said. “We have issues in our own community in terms of profiling. It’s a national issue, global issue and it’s also a local issue.”
In a statement made Wednesday, Mayor Cam Guthrie, acknowledged Guelph is not immune to the anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, and discrimination against people of colour.
In 2017 a church in the city which has a mainly black congregation had the N-word spray painted on it and just this past week a University of Guelph student came under criticism for racist videos posted to the social media platform TikTok.
That is just two examples of countless other incidents that sometimes go unreported.
“It’s not in the peoples’ mindset or conciseness, that’s one of the reasons we thought we had to come together peacefully to raise awareness of the issue our community is facing,” said Francis.
The march is being organized with full support of the city and public health, said Francis. Precautions are being taken in terms of physical distancing and wearing of masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A local distillery donated a large amount of hand sanitizer to the organizers and an effort to donate masks by members of the community mean some will be on hand to those who can’t bring their own, as is recommended.
“The community is showing excellent support for us and we are just so pleased that people care about the issues that are affecting our community,” she said.
People who have any symptoms of COVID-19 are being asked to stay home for the march, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The society has also been able to set up some appointments to speak with the local police department and politicians at all levels about the issues affecting the black community in Guelph.
“I think thats the positive that has come out of this,” said Francis. “It’s not just a one-time event, we will be furthering discussions with the people who are able to foster change in our community.”
Wisdom hopes people will come together and new partnerships will arise from Saturday’s march to help reduce incidents of anti-black racism and all other forms of racism in the community.
“We know we will never fully eliminate it, but we can reduce the impact of it and thats what I am hoping will come out of this coming together,” said Wisdom.
