A panel of five black conservatives spoke against critical race theory (CRT), which they say has seeped into Canadian classrooms and pervades many of the nation’s institutions. While CRT proponents say they are combating racism, the panelists say they are actually promoting a different kind of racism and creating division.
“This stuff matters to people in the minority communities that these theories are claiming to speak on behalf of,” said Jamil Jivani, president of Canada Strong and Free, the non-profit conservative group that hosted the discussion on Feb. 21.
“We are having a conversation today to show you some of the perspectives on critical race theory from black communities that are ignored ... and, frankly, dismissed in a very offensive manner,” he said.
Jivani said proponents of CRT often shut out dissenting voices on the issue, even if they come from the people CRT is supposed to help.
Panelist Mike Ramsay, a trustee at Waterloo Region District School Board in Ontario, said, “Currently in public schools in the region and across our province, students are receiving ... instruction under the broader title of anti-racism education. And within this, students are typically taught about white privilege.”
He said when he tried to get a detailed account of how CRT has influenced instruction, he was not allowed to present or participate in board discussions. “Because six white trustees whose supporters referred to me as ’the white supremacist' voted to ban me,” he said.
Jivani started the discussion with a definition of CRT. He cited Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, who is considered a leading academic on the subject.
He read her definition, which says CRT relates to “analysing the ways that race is produced and the ways that racial inequality is facilitated, and the ways that our history has created these inequalities that now can be almost effortlessly reproduced.”
Fighting for a Piece of the Pie
Kira Davis, a Canadian now living in California and editing for RedState.com, said CRT is better suited to philosophy class and academia, but it has spread far and wide in society because of “envy.”She said it’s based on the idea that in the United States and Canada there are only so many slices of “the pie” and, depending on where you sit at the table, you get a bigger piece or a smaller piece or no piece.
“I look at our nations as a buffet table. The more you bring to that table, the more food there is,” she said.
With the idea of fighting for your piece of the pie that CRT promotes, she said, you have to kick someone out of their space at the table. “This is just another form of segregation,” she said. “We’re not going to make more pies, we’re just going to take away the forks of these people who have been eating these big pieces of pie. We’re going to push them aside.”
She talked about CRT’s Marxist roots and how it has gained strength because of “white guilt.” People think they should feel guilty for the sins of the past or racist thoughts they may have, Davis said.
She said there’s a group of “liberal white people who are deciding the levers of equity. And none of them are stepping aside.” They think that acting like they are concerned is enough to alleviate the guilt.
This guilt is what fueled the growth of CRT when Black Lives Matter (BLM) became so prevalent in 2020, Davis said. BLM and CRT both have Marxist roots, so it was an “easy marriage,” she said.
Ramsay said many of the parents in his district have told him they are worried their children are being taught at school that if they’re white, they’re racist. “And if they don’t agree that they’re racist because they’re white, then they’re doubly racist.”
Racism vs ‘Systemic Racism’
Many of the panelists said they have experienced racism in Canada, Davis included, but that it doesn’t mean Canada is systemically racist.“I never felt I couldn’t be who I wanted to be,” Davis said.
Samuel Sey, a blogger at SlowToWrite.com, said he was beaten up on his first day of school as a new immigrant. “Many of us have experienced racism, but we can’t say that means then that all of Canada and our systems and our structures are actually racist.”
He referred to a proponent of CRT who said he experienced racism at a big mall in Canada and even though he was young and not well-resourced, he won a court case against the mall. While this proponent cited this as evidence that systemic racism exists, Sey said it’s actually an example of the system standing against racism. The court ruled in his favour even as the underdog.
Sey quoted Martin Luther King’s talk when he visited Toronto. King spoke of Canada as a “heaven” awaiting slaves escaping the United States.
“That’s not to say Canada is perfect, especially at that time,” Sey said. “But even then, Martin Luther King Jr. was saying that Canada was a good nation for black people. And now you have 60 years later where these people are dismissing Canada as a racist nation.”
