Many students and staff are not familiar with marginalized lived experiences and they may have negative attitudes toward diversity and inclusion initiatives. How do we get them to authentically buy in, or at least lessen the social backlash to these important initiatives?

Zilla Jones: it is important when these initiatives are rolled out that everyone is clear as to the need for them and the benefits of them. Having a diverse community is a good thing for any college. Diversity enhances the learning and real-world skills of all students. So the first step is to portray these initiatives as such, and not as beneficial only to minorities.

Regarding lived experience, everyone probably will not buy in. If you are comfortable sharing your lived experience, keep doing it – not everyone will care, but some will. For those who don’t care, this is where the ground rules come in: everyone is to be respectful and mindful of everyone else if they want to be part of this community. The college can also hold events and have mandatory classes on diversity issues so that there are more opportunities to learn, and if staff are not getting this, there should be education for them.

What are common mistakes made by allies or well-intentioned individuals?

Priyanji Mediwake: Read more about the do’s and don’ts of allyship at https://guidetoallyship.com/

How can students promote anti-racism within their own classrooms? Often curriculum changes are too slow, and these conversations are critical and need to be happening before students graduate.

Priyanji Mediwake: A great starting point would be to have a conversation with your instructor. This way your instructor can help add context as to how you can promote anti-racism within the classroom (perhaps even as it relates to course content). An instructor can also help lead a classroom discussion to lay ground rules for respectful dialogue as it relates to these discussions which will help build trust in the class room tremendously as you approach these topics.

To bring up feedback for curriculum changes you can reach out to your Chair to explore the venues available to you in raising your concerns. You can also reach out to diversity@rrc.ca to connect with the College’s Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, or ckematch@rrc.ca to connect with the College’s Manager, Truth & Reconciliation and Community Engagement.

How can one cope in a class that is mostly white-dominated, in which most people refuse to associate with you physically? They do not necessarily say bad things within your hearing, but do not make efforts to engage in a conversation, or look at you in a weird way.

Jason Mercredi: Self-love, self-awareness and a reliable personal resource helped me while navigating through a system that wasn’t particularly friendly to my own knowledge.

Melissa Goulbourne: Physically being and feeling ‘othered’ in a classroom environment is emotionally and mentally exhausting. It’s never easy feeling as though you don’t belong because of the colour of your skin or because of the language you speak.

First things first, take care of yourself! Find ways to reduce some of the anxiety you may experience before and after class. Consider speaking with your friends and family about your experiences in class; it’s important to have an outlet for your feelings. There are also several counsellors at the College who would love to hear from you and support you in many ways.

Most of us have a hard time opening up to people who are not our closest family members or friends, but it does sometimes help to talk to someone who can provide you with alternatives and strategies on how to cope with the feelings you may be experiencing inside.

You can find ways to cope in the classroom by starting a conversation with a student you may be working with on an activity or assignment about the weather or your favorite TV show. Initiating a conversation isn’t always easy, but it does help us find the people who in time we can talk and relate to the most, which is especially important in the classroom.

Lastly, speak with your instructor about your experiences in their class. There might be something they can do to make you feel more included and connected with others in their classroom.

Globally, COVID-19 has shown us what a public health crisis can look like, along with its far-reaching impacts. Given this awareness, what would happen if Canada were to treat the systemic and structural racist barriers that exists for racialized as a public health issue? What would that look like to each of the panelists?

Zilla Jones: Racism is absolutely a public health issue, as is poverty (and the two often intersect), and I have often said this. They have significant health impacts, alone or together. I think if this were taken seriously, we’d see a huge positive impact on mental and physical health. But this would have to encompass stuff like providing safe drinking water to First Nations – a clear example of public health intersecting with racism, which people would have to understand has a financial cost.

I think the problem with COVID is that governments are only focusing on case numbers and deaths, rather than all the other interwoven issues. From the limited statistics available, COVID itself has disproportionately affected Indigenous, Black and South Asian people in Canada, but we don’t keep full records/statistics on this, which we should. But then there are all the other collateral health issues from COVID: suicides, overdoses, stress triggered by job losses, school closures, etc. (a burden borne disproportionately by women; racialized women being disproportionately lower earners), which are not being addressed at all and which affect racialized and Indigenous women more than others.

Only focusing on COVID cases just creates a different health crisis. We have to take a balanced approach. To me, this would include targeting government aid differently to provide services safely to those who need it; treating things as essential that have largely been shut down, such as rehab counselling and services; and providing the space, PPE, etc. to provide them safely. Offering much more addictions and mental health services, and taking a harm reduction approach. Making schools safer (smaller classes which require more staff, air filters, bigger spaces, etc.) so families who need their kids in school can send them. Making sure everywhere in Canada has reliable WiFi and everyone has access to a device, because COVID has shown us that Internet access and devices are not luxuries but absolute necessities, and some people still do not have them. Getting rapid testing to remote communities, schools, jails and other institutions. Considering equity issues when allocating vaccines.

Jason Mercredi: Health and non-interference (both personally and at a governance level) are Treaty agreements. Indigenous rights stem from their sovereignty, which is also recognized in each Treaty by way of non-mention and non-surrender. Honouring the Treaty relationship means Indigenous nations maintain control over their own affairs, including the health of our citizens/people. The systemic and structural race-based barriers would effectually end when Canada shares in the bounty of the land as agreed to, and recognizes the Nation-to-Nation relationship that brings us into harmony with one another.

In terms of health, this would mean that each Nation would have the full capacity and resources (human and medicinal) to manage, mitigate and respond to health issues such as the one we all face in this current day. In Manitoba, as I recall, many Nations have taken to closing their borders to outsiders. This was initially rejected as a means to an end by the provincial government, but Indigenous Nations did what they deemed best for themselves and it became an accepted means after some negotiation.

Should we adopt the word accomplice rather than ally?

Jason Mercredi: To me, the word accomplice carries a negative criminal connotation where one acts in accordance with another in a negative way. “Friend” would be a better choice word than accomplice, though ally is more recognizable.

Melissa Goulbourne: That depends on what each term means to you and your comfort level with their implications. While allyship is used in most anti-racist discussions to represent a person’s willingness and desire to advocate on the behalf of people from a marginalized community, an accomplice is thought to attack – with greater force and power – the structures and ideas the uphold racism and inequality. In other words, while accomplices seek to dismantle current power structures, allies work within it to challenge the status quo and advance change.

How will you know if a group you are with is a positive/safe space? And how can you navigate interactions without offending anyone while bringing up these sensitive topics?

Jason Mercredi: One thing I am continually cognizant of is that we don’t all share the same level of knowledge. Because of this, it is often easy to offend others. For me, it helps to progressively impart knowledge, start slow and with kindness. Coming in at 100% is often unproductive, even where necessary; starting discussions at 8%, or wherever the listener may be, is often more progressive in the end as it allows the listener to conceptualize and relate to what is being said. I’ve met very few people who are ignorant by will. I also understand that the experience of people outside the margins of the “majority” aren’t necessarily taught in homes or schools.

Melissa Goulbourne: From your question, it’s obvious that you are questioning something about this group that you are either with or would like to become part of, but the question you probably should begin with is, Why?

Why do you question if the group you are associating with is positive? Why do you seemingly fear for your safety? What is making you feel uneasy about associating with this group? If you have reservations about the group you are with, you owe it to yourself and the individuals in that group to explore these feelings to identify their root cause.

To answer your question, look inward to identify the things, people, experiences and/or events that have led you to question whether this group is safe or positive in the first place.

If it’s true that the most meaningful, impactful relationships are based in trust, wrestling with the feelings you’ve expressed in your question will prevent you from forging the type of connection that will allow you to raise questions about sensitive topics with this group, without being offensive or seeming intolerant.

Can you offer any recommendations for Black parents on how to prepare their children for the racism they will face in the school system?

Melissa Goulbourne: Every child deserves to experience the classroom as a safe space in which to learn, grow, and develop. The fact that you have to ask for guidance on how to prepare a child for the racism that they will undoubtedly face in what should be their ‘safe space’ is proof positive of the fact that racism exists.

Have a conversation with your children about racism. Share your own lived experience of it, and be open and honest about your feelings and its significance in your own life. In addition to allowing you to process your own trauma, this will help your children feel more comfortable coming to you when they encounter racism themselves.

If your children are older, encourage them to use their voice in the classroom to challenge an ignorant thought or passive-aggressive behaviour. Those who have experienced racism instinctively know when it is expressed, even when that thought or action is highlighted by their teachers. Internalizing the anger, hurt, and sadness that often accompanies overt expressions of racism will only cause your children to experience more pain, and will make them feel inferior to other children in the classroom.

As a parent, it’s important to advocate for your children inside and outside of the classroom, especially when they are young. It is also important to model the type of behaviour you expect your children to demonstrate when they encounter acts of racism, by reacting without overt anger and using your words to confront subtle or overt racist behaviour.

My wife is a white Canadian, but deaf. She often has to fight for accessibility, and often it’s an uphill battle. How can we expect racism to be fixed, if discrimination exists everywhere?

Melissa Goulbourne: Racism co-exists in a world in which your wife is discriminated against based on disability. The fight against racial discrimination therefore cannot be waged separately from movements against ableism, especially by people of colour with disabilities. There is a historical connection between racism and ableism that is often ignored when they are looked at and treated separately.

While on the surface the issues seem different, discrimination is experienced by many people in several different forms. To overcome it, there is a need for greater connection and communication between the communities who experience discrimination with the ultimate, shared goal of disrupting the systems of power that have kept and continue to keep it firmly in place.

Do you think designing courses that are flexible, perhaps modular, with open-ended timelines, would help marginalized people be successful in post-secondary education?

Melissa Goulbourne: Designing flexible, modular courses is a great strategy for helping students with varying needs and learning challenges to succeed in the classroom. But it is just one of many approaches to designing culturally responsive learning experiences.

In addition to creating flexible assignments that can be completed and presented in a variety of mediums (e.g. video, PPT, Word), think about integrating content into your lesson plans produced by a person of colour or an Indigenous scholar. One of the things that marginalized students struggle with the most in the classroom is a feeling of not belonging, or not being heard or seen. Consider integrating different perspectives shared by different theorists, authors, etc. into your learning material and vary your teaching strategies to allow students to learn about a topic, issue, or concept through their own cultural lens.

In recent years, many instructors have turned to the UDL Guidelines to discover strategies and techniques for developing meaningful and challenging learning opportunities for students from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Jason Mercredi: It could. What is worth exploring is how to meet the learning styles of all students while respecting culture and experiences. Such exploration could begin with establishing a curriculum review committee that includes accurate group representation by those intended to benefit from any recommended changes.

Question for Jason: How can we frame teaching to Indigenous young ones so that they are not rushed to complete their programs?

Jason Mercredi: Please see the question and answer above. That would be one approach to this.

Question for Zilla: I really appreciated how you worded your statement about how class discussions can be a minefield of trauma. How can instructors ensure that their students aren’t becoming the polarized point of discussion?

Zilla Jones: It begins with a culture/mindset shift. I think there has always been an assumption that the role of institutions of higher learning is to promote free speech and allow even unpopular opinions to thrive. But this privileges the majority and means that freedom of speech is disproportionately borne on the backs of minorities who are the target of those unpopular opinions.

Instructors need to consider when a discussion is actually necessary for learning/understanding course material. If it is necessary, then they need to first review with students that these aren’t just harmless discussions: they encompass peoples’ deeply held identities, and this is important to keep in mind.

I think it is important to establish a rapport/trust amongst the class members before jumping into heavy discussions. Or maybe divide larger classes into smaller discussion groups. Rather than have the traditional discussion where a few loud/strident people can dominate, consider other formats, such as sharing circles, where everyone goes around once and can speak once or not.

Have de-briefing sessions after. Step in more where someone seems distressed, where someone is expressing problematic opinions etc. – check in with students often.

Maybe offer an anonymous forum for complaints/feedback, like the Q&A on Zoom that allows an anonymous option, or a similar option once we are connecting in person again.

I’m an Indigenous instructor and often find myself caught between my students and policies and views of education based on Euro-Canadian values. It’s super exhausting. Any advice on how to deal with the exhaustion and not to get burnt out by it?

Jason Mercredi: This is a personal journey question, but I can describe what I did while attending law school.

Continual advocacy is indeed exhausting, but necessary, because we cannot assume others understand the harm we’ve experienced. Patiently conveying the contradictions and issues we’ve encountered in a way that makes them understandable to others is difficult but not impossible.

I have found a growing consciousness within our shared society that we need to begin doing better than what has been in place since colonization, and a willingness to include what was in place before colonization from the perspective of those impacted by it. I often rely on numerous recommendations and studies (TRC, RCAP, even Dr. Bryce’s Residential Schools Report from early 19th century) – these reports support many of our attempts to increase awareness and understanding, and are still (albeit sadly) relevant today.

As for burnout: it was necessary for me to engage in my own culture and converse with trusted others as well as my Elders.

Please share any anti-racist groups we can connect with on a local, provincial, national level.

Zilla Jones: Groups for Black people advocating on justice issues include Blackspace Winnipeg and Justice for Black Lives Winnipeg. The Council of Caribbean Organizations of Manitoba and Black History Winnipeg are out there, also ACOMI (African Communities of Manitoba), African-Canadian Association of Manitoba, etc. If you’re interested in justice issues, look into the Elizabeth Fry Society of Manitoba and John Howard Society of Manitoba.

For those of us who may not have the money or time to take an extra course, what can we do to educate ourselves on these issues? Are there workshops? Shorter courses at a lower cost?

Priyanji Mediwake: Visit RRC Polytech’s Anti-Racism Learning Toolkit which offers a variety of resources and reading material. In addition, the College is developing Anti-Racism training both for students and staff that will be available this year in order to explore this topic deeper.

What are the rights and responsibilities of the College, its instructors, and students when someone exhibits racist behaviour on campus?

Jess Spindler: Every student, instructor, staff and visitor at Red River College Polytechnic is entitled to an environment that is free of discrimination and harassment. That responsibility rests with all of us. The College does have policies in place to protect these entitlements and responsibilities.

If you believe you have been discriminated against or harassed, or you witness behaviour towards others based on race or any other human rights grounds by a member of the College community, including staff members, classmates, or contractors working on campus, you can contact the College’s Resource and Resolution Advisor, Jess Spindler (jspindler@rrc.ca), to discuss options for reporting or making a formal complaint about the behaviour.

The Resource and Resolution Advisor is responsible for responding to all questions, concerns or complaint of discrimination, harassment and sexual violence raised by College community members, and may initiate investigations where appropriate. You can find more information on the role of the Advisor at www.rrc.ca/nowrongdoor

The College has policies and procedures in place to ensure our community members work and learn in an environment free from harassment and discrimination. The main policy is the College’s H1 policy— Discrimination and Harassment.

Allegations of discrimination or harassment are handled in accordance with the policy.
The Advisor is available to answer any questions you may have about the policy. If you ever believe there is a risk to your safety, do not hesitate to contact College Security Services or call 911.

How are public institutions such RRC Polytech held to account for diversity, equity, and inclusion? What are the metrics RRC Polytech has to account for at the end of each quarter/fiscal year? How do these metrics reflect the diversity, equity and inclusion needs of BIPOC students and the communities within which they live?

Melanie Gudmundson: As part of the new EDI strategy, a self-declaration campaign was launched in 2019, which provided a consistent baseline for metrics and reporting. It is fair to say that, as an organization, we have much work to do to fully reflect the diversity in the community we serve. We have created an EDI strategy to support this work and will be reporting our progress on an annual basis.

How do you ensure that the leadership of the organization begins to look like the students it serves?

Melanie Gudmundson: To strengthen our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), we have launched a new EDI strategy. We need to ensure BIPOC voices are heard. We are also developing recruitment plans to ensure greater diversity at the College and racialized representation among our senior, mid-level and front-line leaders (which we recognize is very low at present).

How can we create more safe spaces for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) individuals in our fields of study?

Priyanji Mediwake: In order for us to create safe spaces, employees will need to take the time to learn more about systemic and institutional racism, oppression, and forms of advocacy to better understand the personal and professional lived experiences of racialized staff and students in our College community.

Leaders and allies must be open to learning, because modeling the behaviors of respect and accountability in group settings creates safe spaces. Within your program, the first step might be to reach out to your fellow BIPOC colleagues and ask if they feel heard and safe – and if not, why? An ally’s role is never to speak for others, but to take down the obstacles facing the oppressed to allow them to speak for themselves.

A number of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) students in my program made it clear they felt singled out because of race by a specific student. When we brought it up, we were told we shouldn’t make it about race. How do we deal with these situations, where people in positions of power doesn’t listen?

Jess Spindler: The College has policies and procedures in place to ensure our community members work and learn in an environment free from harassment and discrimination. The main policy is the College’s H1 policy— Discrimination and Harassment.

Allegations of discrimination or harassment are handled in accordance with the policy.

If you believe you have experienced something that you think may be discrimination or harassment, you are encouraged to contact the Resource and Resolution Advisor, Jess Spindler, at jspindler@rrc.ca. You will never be penalized for bringing forward a concern in good faith.

The Resource and Resolution Advisor is responsible for responding to all questions, concerns or complaint of discrimination, harassment and sexual violence raised by College community members, and may initiate investigations where appropriate. You can find more information on the role of the Advisor at www.rrc.ca/nowrongdoor

Should faculty and staff be mandated to take meaningful equity/anti-racism training?

Melanie Gudmundson: The College has approved required training for all staff and faculty to ensure that we all develop a common understanding and consistent language for talking about Anti-Racism and Truth and Reconciliation as a community. However, anti-racism and intercultural competence is inspired by genuine cultural curiosity and an inherent desire to learn about diversity, and that cannot be forced or mandated. While equity and/or anti-racism training introduces concepts and ideas that may enlarge an individual’s perspective on different worldviews, practices, and traditions, it cannot and will not make them willing to embrace these differences.