Imagining away the existence of races in a racist world is as harmful as imagining away classes in a capitalistic world – it allows the ruling races & classes to keep on ruling.
- Ibram X. Kendi
For this month our teacher was Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. I read How to be an Anti-racist. Available at the BCIT Library. Actually, Dr. Kendi read it to me, as I borrowed the audio book from the Burnaby Public Library. This was an instance where hearing the author speak was especially powerful as it is a very personal book; he brings the reader along on his own journey of learning and discovering and dismantling his own biases.
The shorter option, for the BCIT Unlearning Club homework, this month was to watch Dr. Kendi’s TedTalk: Difference between being “not racist” and antiracist. Which is a good starting point for understanding some of the philosophy behind the book. A book club summary was also shared from DePaul University’s President’s Bookclub, with definitions, chapter outlines, and useful discussion questions. For anyone with the capacity for extra homework there was a link to a CBC Documentary, (44m 18s) The Skin We’re In: Pulling back the curtain on racism in Canada.
The BCIT Unlearning Club found lots to talk about without turning to the provided questions. The discussions were both personal and general as well as wide-ranging, everything from systemic racism, and religion, to climate justice. We ended with two things, firstly a sharing of what actions we can and have taken at BCIT to make a difference, including sharing the recent launch of new BCIT Student Wellbeing Action Plan. Secondly, we did a weather check-in with everyone, and most of us, who had been feeling down at the start of the session could see a little sunshine for the rest of the day.
Thanks again to Tami and Andrea for guiding us on this journey and leading discussions that abide by our commitment to arrive ready to join in the conversation with respect, curiosity, humility, and reciprocity.