DARC: September 2008

Saturday, September 27, 2008

DARC Responds to Racist Article Published in Absynthe Magazine and Calls for Accountability

***DARC Response to Racist Article Published in Absynthe***

The Decolonization & Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC), a group devoted to naming, challenging and reacting to systemic and everyday racism in Peterborough, are outraged by the overtly racist article published in Absynthe Magazine, September 2008 issue, entitled “Stephen Harper Doesn’t Care About White People”. To write and publish such a hateful article illustrates the fact that we live in a society that privileges white bodies and white voices. The article’s use of the language of ‘tolerance’, speaks to a power dynamic between White identity and racialized identities; wherein, those who are White have the power to choose whether or not to be tolerant. Further, the article speaks from a position of privilege that negates the oppression marginalized communities continue to face by appropriating the language of victimization and exclusion.

This article is also clearly violent; it essentializes and targets specific groups, shifts blame, and deflects attention away from white privilege and the fact that we live in a racist society. In so doing, this article acts as a rallying point for other racist students to express their hatred for racialized and Indigenous peoples.

What is more alarming than the article itself is the general lack of response; other than the problematic request for the Editor in Chief’s resignation. This approach closes avenues for dialogue and fails to address the underlying context, which gives people the impression that it is okay to make such hateful statements. As a means of fostering such dialogue, DARC will be holding an open discussion, A Call for Accountability: A Forum on the Racist Climate at Trent, Thursday October 2nd in the Lady Eaton College Pit at 5pm to 7pm. We have invited the members of Absynthe Magazines Board of Directors as well as Trent University’s administration to attend this discussion on the racist climate currently being fostered at Trent University.

***DARC also demands that the following actions be taken:***

1) Accountability of Absynthe Magazine Board members- Provide a statement explaining how and why racist content was published.
2) Abynthe Magazine adopt an anti-oppressive and ant-racist mandate
3) Any group affiliated with the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA) adopt an anti-racist and anti-oppressive mandate
4) Abynthe Magazine Board members and staff as well as all groups affiliated with the TCSA attend anti-oppression and anti-racism workshops
5) An official response from the Trent University administration by President Patterson condemning the racist attitudes perpetuated in the article
6) Absynthe Magazine Board and staff as well as the Trent University administration attend the October 2nd forum
7) That Trent students write letters to Absynthe expressing their opposition to such articles, demanding that their letters be published.
8) That Trent students stand in solidarity against racism- do not financially support organizations that foster racism or refuse to be accountable for racism.

*** Public Forum ***

Due to the outrageously racist article published in Absynthe Magazine, September 2008 issue, entitled “Stephen Harper doesn’t care about white people,” the Decolonization & Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) has organized A Call for Accountability: A Forum on the Racist Climate at Trent, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 2nd, in the Lady Eaton College Pit from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The forum will be moderated by Dr. Winston Husbands.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Forum & Rally in Support of Non-Status Women Fleeing Violence

FORUM: Supporting Non-Status Women Fleeing Violence

Thursday October 2, 2008
9:30am
Registration10:00am

Forum Location: Ryerson UniversityStudent Centre55 Gould StRm SCC115

** March and Rally to follow at 12:00pm **

* Learn about how recent changes to immigration law impact diverse women, including women without status
* Hear about attacks on safe spaces and community responses to support non-status women fleeing violence
* Q&A with immigration lawyer, front line workers and service providers

To register please contact Sonia at sonia@workersactioncentre.org or(416) 531-0778, ext. 221 by September 25, 2008

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MARCH and RALLY at the Immigration Refugee Board

Thursday October 2, 2008Meet 12:00pm at the corner of Yonge St. and Gould St.

Let Them Stay!
* Support domestic violence survivor Isabel Garcia and her children to stay in Canada
* Call for protection of women fleeing violence through the refugee determination process
Isabel Garcia, single mother and survivor of domestic violence, and herchildren are just one of many families whose lives have been put at risk as a result of negative decisions at the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Isabel came to Canada with her children 3 years ago seeking protection from her violent ex-husband in Mexico. Ignoring overwhelming evidence pointing to a lack of state protection for women surviving domestic violence in Mexico, the Immigration and Refugee Board heartlessly denied Isabel's claim for asylum.

By issuing an abrupt and last minute deportation notice, Immigration Enforcement ensured that Isabel and her lawyer did not have time for a fair review at the Federal Court for a stay on her removal. Isabel made the difficult decision to go into hiding rather than face further violence in Mexico.

Canada's failing Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is allowing huge numbers of women fleeing violence to fall through the cracks. The Federal Court of Canada has begun to question decisions of the Refugee Board and has recently overturned several decisions where women faced gender violence.

These women have been unable to access shelters, crisis centers, professional support, guidance or counseling because of Immigration Enforcement's targeting of these spaces.
Stand up against immigration decisions and policies that put women and children, like Isabel and her family, at risk of violence. Join us as we call on the government to:

* Let Them Stay! - Allow this family to stay in Canada while their Humanitarian Application is considered, and to grant their Humanitarian Application

* Ensure protection for women fleeing violence through the refugee determination process

** How can you help? **

1) Endorse the rally and help us mobilize. Organize a delegation from your church, union, or community center to come out to the forum and rally. Call us for help in spreading the word and for copies of flyers and posters or to make a financial or in-kind donation.

2) Write a support letter for Isabel Garcia and mail it to the Workers Action Centre. For a sample, see the letter below.

3) Invite campaign representatives to do a workshop or presentation at your organization, agency or community centre.

4) Make a financial or in-kind donation to help with this campaign.

Cheques can be made payable to Workers Action Centre.

For more information, or to send an endorsement or a letter of support, contact:
Workers' Action Centre - Sonia Singh: (416) 531-0778, ext. 221, mailto:%20sonia@workersactioncentre.org%20
Interim Place - Cindy Cowan: cindy@interimplace.com
No One is Illegal: nooneisillegal@riseup.net

Donations and support letters can be sent to:
Workers' Action Centre
720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 223
Toronto ON
M5S 2T9

***ENDORSED BY***
Centre for Feminist Research
Interim PlaceMennonite New Life Centre
METRAC
Mujer
Nellie's
No One Is Illegal - Toronto
North York Women's Shelter
Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses
OPSEU
Parkdale Community Legal Services
Step It Up Campaign
The Stop Community Food Centre
Toronto Rape Crisis Centre
Toronto Women's Bookstore
Workers Action Centre

About DARC

Decolonization and Anti-Racism Circle (DARC) is an organization made up of Peterborough community members that work with the goal of building solidarity across differences for social change. We use a broad range of tactics including public education, social support, advocacy, and direct action to address historical and ongoing injustices that affect racialized and Indigenous peoples. We recognize that structures of oppression including patriarchy, ecocide, capitalism, imperialism, colonialism and racism are interconnected, mutually reinforcing and embodied in institutions. We believe decolonization 'at home' is an integral part of the struggle for global justice and self-determination. Decolonization is only effective by taking action through consensual efforts and building solidarity across intersecting identities and communities that are affected by structures of oppression.

DARC can be reached by email at darcpeterborough@riseup.net

Basis of Unity

As people who identify as Indigenous, as people of colour and/or as mixed-race persons, we come together with the recognition that there is a need for a network of support and advocacy in order to address covert, everyday racism and the climate of exclusion that does exists within Peterborough. By aligning ourselves with other social justice organizations we are better able to address intersecting concerns such as gender, culture, poverty, immigration, sexual identity, status, difability ('differently' abled), age, and life experiences (e.g., class, HIV serostatus, physical and mental health status etc.). By maintaining an organizing unit comprised of people who identify as Indigenous, as people of colour and/or as mixed-race persons we hope to encourage leadership among racialized and Indigenous people and to help nurture the mental space necessary to be able to recognize, criticize and address experiences of racism. In these ways we can work towards community wellness, anti-racism and decolonization!

Guiding Principles

By using a non-hierarchical structure and consensus decision making practices, DARC strives to serve racialized and Indigenous communities by first addressing their lived experiences rather than focusing on White guilt and White privilege. DARC will do this by:

- Recognizing the need to unite and actively fight for mutual self-determination through a movement led by racialized and Indigenous peoples.
- Understanding that services and effort to organize are most successful when they involve the communities served, DARC seeks to support and promote the active participation, leadership and experiential knowledge of racialized and Indigenous peoples throughout its structure and work.
- Understanding and addressing everyday covert racism, and how it creates a climate of exclusion.
-Fostering a deeper analysis of the ways in which colonialism, imperialism, ecocide, patriarchy and other structures of oppression continue to impact the lives of racialized and Indigenous people in different ways.
- Appreciating the collective histories of struggle against racial and ethnic discrimination as well as other forms of oppression that we work to resist through organizing, supporting and advocating for our diverse communities.
- Acknowledge the importance of uniting Indigenous and racialized people in common struggles while recognizing our different communities, histories, and experiences of oppression and resistance.
- Work in solidarity across differences by collaborating with other community based organizations to address intersecting identities and oppressions.
- Recognizing that Canada is on stolen Indigenous land, and working in solidarity to challenge and confront a colonial system based on dispossession, genocide, racist laws and illegal borders!