BOOKS :
So You Want to Talk About Race (2019) by Ijeoma Oluo Guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to “model minorities” in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.
How to be an Anti-Racist (2019) by Ibram X Kendi Takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.
Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths In a Northern City (2017) by Tanya Talaga Using a sweeping narrative focusing on the lives of seven Indigenous students who died in Thunder Bay, Ontario, delves into the history of a northern city that has come to manifest Canada’s long struggle with human rights violations against Indigenous communities. Award winning work about systemic racism, education, the failure of the policing and justice systems, and Indigenous rights.
The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power (2020) by Desmond Cole Puncturing once and for all the bubble of Canadian smugness and naïve assumptions of a post-racial nation, Cole chronicles just one year—2017—in the struggle against racism in this country. In a month-by-month chronicle, Cole locates the deep cultural, historical and political roots of each event so that what emerges is a personal, painful and comprehensive picture of entrenched, systemic inequality.
DOCUMENTARIES & SERIES:
Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger (Dir. Alanis Obomsawin, 2019)
https://www.nfb.ca/film/jordan-river-anderson-the-messenger/ The story of Jordan River Anderson – after whom Jordan’s Principle is named – and how his life initiated a battle for the right of Indigenous children to receive the same standard of social, health and educational services as the rest of the Canadian population.
Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (Dir. Tasha Hubbard, 2019)
https://www.nfb.ca/film/nipawistamasowin-we-will-stand-up/ Follows the journey of Colten Boushie’s family as they search for justice, taking their fight to the highest echelons of power and, ultimately, to the United Nations. Hubbard deftly illustrates how the long history of violence against Indigenous people continues to define life in parts of Canada, and the impact of systems that have been the instruments of colonial domination for centuries.
The Skin We’re In (Dir. Charles Officer, 2017) https://www.reelcanada.ca/films/the-skin-were-in/ An urgent exploration of race relations, this documentary follows award-winning journalist and activist Desmond Cole as he pulls back the curtain on anti-Black racism in Canada, inviting all Canadians to understand the experience of being in his skin.
When They See Us (Dir. Ava DuVernay, 2019) https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80200549 Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they’re falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.
13th (Dir. Ava DuVernay, 2016) https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80091741 Premised as a historical survey that maps the genetic link between slavery and today’s prison-industrial complex, 13th explodes the “mythology of black criminality”, explaining the successive and successful measures undertaken by political authorities to disempower African Americans over the last three centuries.
FREE COURSES & WEBINARS:
Anti-Racism I (University of Colorado Boulder) https://www.coursera.org/learn/antiracism-1 An introduction to the topic of race and racism in the United States, the course defines Whiteness and other relevant terms; identifies the impacts of race, racism, and anti-racism; and applies the terms and concepts in relation to overlapping oppressions and possibilities for anti-racism work.
Indigenous Canada (University of Alberta) https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada This course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Topics for the 12 lessons include the fur trade and other exchange relationships, land claims and environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions.
Indigenous Cultural Safety (ICS) Collaborative Learning Series http://www.icscollaborative.com/webinars A series of thirteen 1.5 hour webinars that address anti-Indigenous racism and Indigenous cultural safety in health care, education, and more generally. Hosted in partnership with the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC).
