Celina Caesar-Chavannes, former MP for Whitby and former press secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, comments on the recent news article published in CP24 news, “‘A slap in the face’: Region of Durham under fire for Black History Month ‘scavenger hunt’.”
Black History Month is beginning to percolate with criticisms and accusations that are demeaning the whole purpose of the celebration.
Black History Month was created as a time to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities. It aims to recognize, acknowledge and celebrate BLACKS and their valuable contributions to our society in Canada and elsewhere.
Celina Caesar-Chavannes’ criticism of the Region of Durham’s recent ‘scavenger hunt’ to mark Black History Month may be myopic, maybe even outrightly questionable in its intent. There is no denying that systemic racism exists in parts of our society and some of its institutions. But commentators must be cautious in voicing their opinions implying that there is racism too readily, too broadly or too generally. Granted there are pockets of racism in our society and they should have the spotlights of equality and democracy shined on them to reveal their malevolence. However, municipalities such as The Region of Durham have no such intent at their core.
Chastising The Region of Durham’s scavenger game may be justified but doing so heatedly stirs up emotions unnecessarily. Undoubtedly, the municipality intended good. However, Caesar-Chavannes may be right in criticizing it as being itself myopic but it is not a big deal; treating BLACKS properly and respectfully is. Perhaps her request for a public apology by The Region is appropriate and could bring closure to what needs to be closed: scrutinizing every small trip people make in dealing with BLACK issues.
On another side of the above issue, perhaps The Region of Durham should have vetted the scavenger game with BLACK staff to ascertain its acceptability to the Black community. However, reaching out to Black employees or BLACKS in general does not always yield results as seen here on this website. When our section ‘BLACK HISTORY MONTH” was created we reached out to BLACK members of the community, school board trustees, committee members at the City of Pickering Anti-Black Racism Taskforce, and the Pickering Public Library inviting them to send their comments, contributions and suggestions. Personal emails were also sent rather than such a broad, generalized invitation. The response? Nil. Interesting.
One of the goals behind our invitation was to ensure we were dealing with the topic and the material respectfully and appropriately. We received no responses. Interesting.
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