The Skin We\'re In PDF

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Assignment #2 Summary: February The second chapter to The Skin We’re In b y Desmond Cole speaks to the systematic racism inside the Toronto District School Board and Ontario as a whole. The ratio of white students and black students suspended are comparatively high even after alterations of the Safe Schools Act. This statute upheld a “zero tolerance” policy against violence and misconduct in schools. However, the Act allowed for a report to be done by the Ontario Rights Commission. The report stated the disproportion of minority students affected by this Act. There is an overwhelming crisis of black students being more likely to face punishment, such as suspension, than white students. This result is not unique to Ontario. For example, in Nova Scotia, there have been similar reports of school systems allowing for students of color to be in a transgenerational cycle of systematic abuse. Many years of collected research into school with black students reveal that black students are more likely to be streamed into the lower-level classes. Cole decided to shed light on the likelihood of students suspended or expelled to drop out of school, the majority of which are colored students. These issues only increase alongside other “problematic” personality traits, such as reading or writing disabilities. The visible pushback against black students are not from specific schools but are from the top people in the business of education. Cole describes an incident of a highly ranked school official outrightly showing the bias and racist side of herself. The person, Charline Grant, was subjected to the official’s verbal abuse and tried to gain power by running for a seat on the York Region School Board. Her

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opponent was another official who was present at least once during racial slurs made against her and still won. Weeks after winning, she resigned, and another election was held, instead of appointing Grant. This example shows the bias of the school system, which is greater than an individual school. It is a whole system, an institution. In the past, black people did not have the right to education. Currently, black people are allowed the right to education inside a system that is trying to push them out and is succeeding in doing so.

Paraphrase: February The part of February t hat was particularly interesting and spoke to the tragedy the black community is exposed to is the story of Symone. Desmond Cole decided to change her and her mother, Brenda's name so to keep their identity anonymous. Her story is one of a six-year-old black child who was suspended at least four separate times since beginning school. She was handcuffed to be restarted after her school called the police. The point of his story was to emphasize the dramatic steps taken to de-escalate the situation. The result of these kinds of techniques is black youth that is subjected to this kind of abuse of power will now fear the police. They are children being detained as grown adults are, as though they pose a similar threat. These types of acts create a fear-driven culture for schools. Children will be taught, through this kind of experience, to not trust the school, the teachers, and the police; in other words, the people that are supposed to be there for them and protect them. Brenda and Symone’s story advocates the systematic abuse of colored children, especially black children. Specifically,

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the abuse done by schools and authority figures. When a kid does not feel safe at school they then cannot be expected to succeed.

Reflection: “All Our Relations” a  nd “The Skin We’re In” Once reading, “All Our Relations: Finding a Path Forward” b y Tanya Talaga and “The Skin We’re In” b y Desmond Cole, the truth of white supremacy and how Canadians allow for its growth within institutions has enhanced. Both books introduce the evils of administration in Canada in terms of health and security. They also expose it as something applicable in the past and proceeds to continue for the foreseeable future. Talaga focuses on the history of how white dominance became what it is through the Indigenous perspective. At the same time, Cole examines the common examples of administrative evils in the present. In the past, colonialism changed the lives of all Indigenous peoples living in Canada; through residential schools, sexual, verbal and physical abuse, systemic racism and segregation. From these experiences, transgenerational trauma has created a state of emergency for youth in many Indigenous communities. Suicide rates are dramatically greater than rates for non-indigenous youth in the same demographics. The lack of support from government organizations shows the communities that they are not to depend on the support of people outside their community, reiterating the segregation of their peoples. Talaga also describes issues of travel to areas that will provide rights guaranteed to Canadians. For example, many have voiced the difficulties of finding the required transportation to receive education, healthcare, or other social services vital to the health of Indigenous peoples. Analogously, Cole describes the unavoidable ways the Canadian

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government oppresses the black community. The systemic discouragement of black people through police brutality or abuse of power. Many black Canadians face the fear of being stopped, questioned, or harassed at the hands of police officers. When citizens fear the people meant to protect, it causes fear-driven communities. As the effects of improper support are demonstrated through the Indigenous community, it is the same for the black or visible minority groups. Distrust is created for these groups because of the history of their peoples in connection to the Canadian government. The example Talaga uses is plentiful yet, the story of Ralph Knight Munck Rowe was the most eye-opening. This man used his power and social standing in society and therefore, the church, as a means to connect with young boys and engage in sexual abuse (Talaga, 2019). Rowe is a prime example of an individual using the power given by the government to abuse innocent people and the aftermath of this abuse. For example, victims of Rowe are said to have addiction issues, domestic assault, violence, and other problems. In addition to the suffrage of Indigenous is the lack of media coverage on their crisis. Many media outlets do not spend the time to expose the truth of living as an Indigenous persons in Canada. Cole describes a similar situation in connection with the abuse of power. Symone and her mother, Brenda, were brave enough to stand up for themselves after an incident involving Symone, six years of age, and being shackled by police officers. The media covered this incident five months after it occurred (Cole, 2020). However, the devastating backlash Brenda faced from her decision to speak-up against an institution would present a good reason for most people to hesitate before attempting what she did. The two perspectives gave a profound insight into how institutional oppression continues, is often shielded by the media, and continues oppressive methods like these, along with others.

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Citations Cole, Desmond. “February.” Essay. In The Skin We're In , 23. Toronto, ON: Anchor Canada, 2020. Talaga, Tanya. All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward. Toronto: CELA, 2019.

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