Addressing Racism
Boozhoo (Greetings),
My name is Darryl Bob, and I am from the Elk clan at the Ojibways of Onigaming in Ontario. As a social work student from Laurentian University, I am required to complete a third- and fourth-year field placement. This year, I was lucky enough to be a part of the team at Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre. The agency’s primary goal is to advocate for workers’ legal rights and fight against discrimination, exploitation, and unsafe workplaces. Choosing this agency was important to me because, as an Indigenous employee, I have faced covert discrimination based on my race.
I recall being the only anishinaabe person and I was always assigned to garbage duty while working at a pallet-making company. This was not part of the job description and it made me feel alienated. At the time, I was not aware that this was a form of discrimination. Now I understand why I was assigned the least desirable task and why I did not want it to happen again.
After reviewing their informative website and speaking with people in Sudbury’s employment community, I noticed that some people felt like they were treated unfairly. I recall an Afro-Canadian taxi driver saying her job was not worth working. She argued that “Sudbury did not give competitive wages to us, and she was getting undesirable shifts.” This made me think of my situation and whether she was being discriminated against based on her race. Our situation made me want to learn more about the foundational practice of the anti-racism framework in the labour market.
Learning this approach will benefit my social work practice by helping me balance power dynamics with service users. Anti-racism social work addresses racism and does not include diversity or cultural competence approaches. Reflecting on social working practices, it responds to racial discrimination by addressing structural conceptions of discourse that are based on a person’s appearance. This is important to understand because it promotes equality and strengthens bonds within society. For example, if an individual makes a racist comment in the workplace, and it is heard by several employees, this may cause a social divide among workers. In turn, management may have to address the comment, which may not be the most suitable outcome. Therefore, this will create another divide, placing power and domination in the hands of an individual or group, making the comment. Reflecting on this example, we all must remember that racism affects us all!
This approach to workers’ safety is important because it improves systemic discrimination, enhances unity, and improves business performance in the Greater Sudbury district. This will equip employees, from CEOs to line workers, with anti-racism knowledge. This newfound wealth will disproportionately allow racialized workers to move out of precarious roles.
Overall, in society, there are several forms of racialized discrimination that society may choose to ignore or group with. Advocating for an anti-racism approach will change society’s wellness and promote understanding of the victims of racism. We all know it’s wrong, or may not be able to identify it; therefore, clarity may be the answer.
