Alfred Burgesson writes that his experience with having a ‘seat at the table’ has taught him that real change happens when people outside the room organize themselves and disrupt the status quo.
I am a young Canadian Black man and I feel fortunate and privileged to have grown up in this country. I was born in Ghana and my family immigrated to Canada when I was young in pursuit of a better quality of life.
On Sept. 26, 2019, my phone rang. It was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He was calling in the wake of the now-notorious “blackface incident.”
Trudeau apologized for putting me — a racialized member of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council — in what he characterized as an “awkward position.”
The prime minister also told me that he was embarrassed and concerned about how his family, peers and the public would view his actions and his character. He acknowledged that many of us, including people within the government, have blind spots because of their privilege and world view.
I respect him for this gesture and recognized the courage it took to make the call.
I was more concerned, however, about how our leader would assure Canadians and the rest of the world that what happened, however many years ago, was not cool then — and is not cool now.
During our conversation in September, my recommendations to the prime minister were specific and straightforward. I urged Trudeau to lead by example and to mandate that all elected officials and decision makers in government receive anti-racism education and training. He agreed with me. He promised changes.
Some of those changes came to pass, such as the appointment of Bardish Chagger as minister of diversity and inclusion and youth in November 2019 and the establishment of an Anti-Racism Secretariat the following month.
But these attempts at change by the man at the head of the ‘national table’ stand in stark contrast to the impressive acts of solidarity by the Bla