Hello there,

Thank you for joining our November Communities Ending Poverty Anti-Racism call, where members engaged in a coffee-style chat about anti-racist work and explored questions and challenges. 

Angelina performed a smudge for our time together, and Rissy opened up the conversation; members shared news from their collaboratives and how they entered the space today. 

You can now access the recording below.  

Discussion Highlights

• Article Review - "We Built a Life from Nothing"
  • The article frames privilege and meritocracy in a simple, powerful way and may be comfortable for people beginning their anti-racism journey.
  • Anti-Racism work can be characterized by resistance; it can look different but is a dominant power system. It is essential to know when to take a mental break.
  • The statement "multiple things can be true at the same time" is used to meet someone where they are, but also acknowledge a different point of view.
  • White people do not experience the burden of racism daily. Those who are oppressed, experience demands for their time and resources; combined with personal racist experiences this can be emotionally taxing.
  • Action-oriented, anti-racist work is a commitment to a constant process of relearning, evaluating, and scrutinizing your learned beliefs about others and the world around you.

Resources

• Article | We Built a Life From Nothing - The myth of white settler superiority.
• Article | Epistemic Exploitation - When privileged persons compel marginalized persons to educate them about the nature of their oppression.
• Website | Take Action Towards Truth and Reconciliation Every Day - Resources co-authored or co-led with Indigenous partners that may help settlers and settler-led organizations take steps toward reconciliation.
• Comic | On A Plate - A short story about privilege.

Upcoming Opportunities

• COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE | All-Convenor Call | December 6 | 1:00 p.m. ‒ 2:00 p.m. ET | Follow up from the 2022 CEP Virtual Member Gathering, including Outcome Harvest results and launch of a new and improved renewal process for CEP members.
• WEBINAR | Mental Health and Poverty: A Systems Change Approach | December 8 | 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET | Coordination among social care sectors is necessary to solve the discrimination against those living with poor mental health and poverty. Changing core systems is critical to embracing and solving this complex challenge.
• WEBINAR | Local Government Contribution: A gamechanger for positive social change | January 25 | 1:00 p.m. ‒ 2:00 p.m. ET | Explore avenues within municipal and district jurisdiction to help local government leaders, staff, and community change-makers understand what is possible when municipalities become ‘catalytic converters’ for positive social change.  

Sincerely,

Maureen Owens (she/her) 

Learning Lead – Communities Ending Poverty

Vibrant Communities, Tamarack Institute

maureen@tamarackcommunity.ca