Let’s Talk About Racism

On May 25, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a police officer who kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. George Floyd’s killing unleashed nationwide protests on a scale that hasn’t been seen in decades, demanding racial justice. Global outrage thrust anti-Black racism into the spotlight for the world to acknowledge and reckon with. The protests over George Floyd’s death sparked protests here in Canada, renewing a focus on anti-Black racism within policing and other Canadian systems and institutions. This course looks at how we begin disrupting the racism that runs deep in Canada.

This course focuses on building the awareness of learners about a greater dialogue around systemic racism that plagues our systems and institutions, and how to become involved in that dialogue. The goal is to have learners informatively engage with their peers or organizations about how systemic racism is real, identifiable, and how we can effect change.

When you have completed this course, you will be able to:

• Explain terms related to racism and racial discrimination
• Explain anti-Black racism
• Compare individual and systemic racism
• Explain the history of anti-Black racism in Canada
• Describe the effects of systemic racism in Canada
• Recall the steps that you, as an individual, can take to combat racism