Instead, a more effective approach is redesigning systems so that they interrupt bias. In the case of hiring, for example, that could mean incorporating “bias disrupters” such as standardized hiring rubrics and…
There is mounting evidence that suggests that empathy should not be the modus operandi of our DEI efforts. Instead of empathy, Bloom suggests that compassion and kindness are better replacements. Within organizations,…
Abid Jan – Feb 02, 2023. This is not surprising that ten Ottawa community groups released a statement Wednesday calling for a freeze to the police budget and investment in other services.…
CBC News: Hate crimes reported to Ottawa police rise in 2022. 377 reports in 2022 compares to about 95 in 2017, 180 in 2020. This is not an encouraging news for those…
Abid Jan There is no denying that the so-called “Freedom” Convoy in Ottawa was just one act of a more significant movement, and there is a need to know how to avoid future…
Police reforms are needed. However, reforms need to take 360 degrees of perspective to help us understand that policing is a challenging job to do. It is costly and complex. Police officers…
People do change. People can change when they’re self-aware, receive support, and become intentional about behaving differently. Therefore, we need to be kind and considerate – mainly if we are in leadership…
We are in the best time of the year again to reflect and figure out who we are and what we truly want. As always, the passing year has taught us some…
Abid Jan Director Capacity Building at United Way East Ontario 6 articles December 28, 2022 According to a Stats Canada report released last month, 2021 witnessed the highest rate of gang killings in Canada…
Pursuing social justice is truly at the heart of everything we do in the social service sector in partnership with government, law-enforcement and corporate world. However, “allyship” in the journey to achieve…
From 1930s to 1950s, a group of Canadians took racism to court. It was the beginning of the struggle for Black civil rights. The 6 people who refused to accept inequality include Viola…
Abid Jan A bank account for any organization is a must-have, and non-profits are no exception. However, recently some major banks in Canada have told an increasing number of Muslim charities to…
An Imam was allegedly assaulted during a morning prayer in Toronto. A person representing a community is targeted yet again, leading to a new cycle of fear and pain. Hate-based violence is…
United for All partners are deeply disturbed by the rise in casual and overt antisemitism in local schools, online, and in our communities. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and…
Tamba-Kuii Bailey,Associate Professor at the University of North Dakota, makes an interesting observation about systemic racism. “You don’t see it,” Bailey says. “We don’t see air. For fish and other things swimming…
Transcripts Presentation at the Ottawa Police Service Annual Human Rights Learning Forum – December 08, 2022 Thanks so much to the facilitator today. I am sorry, I am off-site, so I couldn’t…
I know the rise in anti-Semitism is not representative of our community here in Ottawa, but its happening and its outrageous, hurtful and wrong. All of us need to strongly condemn the…
News: How racial bias can affect 911 calls and what dispatchers in Montreal are learning to stop it To fix the police or any other institution for systemic racism, we need to…
Police-reported hate crime data from Statistics Canada shows that Jews remain Canada’s most targeted religious minority and the second-most targeted minority overall. Though less than one percent of the population, Jews were…
Could systemic racism be dismantled by implementing small changes? Is the violence against persons of color easily solvable? How can society transform through choices a few people make every day? What small…
o counter the rising hate, we need to take a moment to pause before we share; check the content’s origin; speak up calmly but firmly against hate speech and call it out…
Of course, representation matters and the business case for diversity is strong. However, recent studies caution that representation without structural changes to office culture, including creating platforms for underrepresented decision-makers, can lead…
What made my head spin for a long time was the use of word “freedom” by the leaders of divisive forces. Finally, I reached this conclusion that words like freedom, democracy, choice,…
A stitch in time saves nine. Reading about the investments in anti-hate, community resilience-building measures in this story is astonishing. The little provincial and federal investments in this area here in Canada…
Canada has long way to go on recognising and preventing domestic extremism and terrorism – starting from refining/updating hate crime legislation. This is a great piece of work from US about dealing…
“As a political scientist studying contemporary antisemitism and the current arguments about it, I believe this pattern stems from fundamental misunderstandings about what antisemitism is and how it works.”
In 1991, the Economist magazine reported the problem of race as one of “shattered dreams.” 1n 1992, Thurgood Marshall said: “wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories,…
The worst form of social media misuse is the dissemination of misleading information. Keeping your cool and avoiding spreading false information is the greatest tip for using social media responsibly. There is…
Just came across the website of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The balanced approach under “Social Justice and Democracy” is impressive: Unlike the criticism of the social justice movement that we started…
Ontario government introducing Grade 6 Holocaust education requirement in 2023 History has shown us that genocide and other atrocities begin with hate. Hate begins with words and manifests itself in various forms.…
Very interesting and useful to understand for our preventative work. “Dehumanizing and vilifying a person or group of people can provoke what scholars and law enforcement officials call stochastic terrorism, in which…
A welcome step by Halton Police. Community and police forces are collaborating in preventative efforts. However, when it comes to enforcement, unfortunately, in the Criminal Code of Canada, there is no such…
Racism actively contributed to the development of our systems of ownership, employment, health care, education, and nearly every other aspect of our lives. History has taught us that eliminating discriminatory laws alone…
We must seriously consider a lesson from the US experience because trends from the South are replicated in the North – sometimes without delay. We are witnessing copycat extremism and polarisation in…
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of collective action and exposed how existing systems nourish politics of exclusion in which people are treated as disposable. In this broader ecosystem of societal transformation,…
It’s good news for folks busy in social impact work to know that building equity is now the centre of attention and an international priority for action (https://lnkd.in/eAzWQrfJ). There are a FEW…
It’s dawning on 2023, and we witness an anti-Semitic group hanging a banner from an L.A. overpass https://lnkd.in/eQKwqyzg Such outrageous efforts to fan the flames of hatred and bigotry at this age in human…
Hats off to OPH. GREAT job, OPH, for tackling the issue head-on. Not an easy task to turn things around when a report presented to the board said: “every racialised staff member…
This shows how institutions that supported slavery and racism in the past are being humiliated and disgraced today. The same will happen to the systems, structures and institutions that sustain the legacy…
It’s time to act. Merely talking and thinking about racial justice is not enough. Racism doesn’t just hurt black and other racial minorities; it hurts everyone. Heather McGhee draws on a wealth…
Improving diversity for the sake of statistics is not enough. The truth is diversity alone will not provide a competitive advantage without inclusivity. Inclusive organisations take an objective approach to talent management based on…
“A social justice model of philanthropy replaces investment in projects with investment in communities and organizations affected by the very social challenges they are working to solve.”… “more than 70 organizations across…
Increasingly, funders who consider themselves “progressive” are leaning into social justice frameworks in their grantmaking. But what does that mean, and how can foundations adopt social justice philanthropy practices more intentionally? Social…
Equity lens for Community service organisations. Just like in life reasons don’t count. Its the results that matter. In the community development work, mere talk is not enough. Actions lead to results.…
The petition ( https://lnkd.in/e7Jb7B6P ) is fine – calling for steps to ensure this violence never takes place again to the visible minorities due to race, religion, gender, or any other distinctions that might…
#antiracism #antipoverty #equity #equitymatters
Freeing schools from intimidation, harassment, and violence requires more than just punishing individuals after the fact. Students will benefit most from stopping hate-motivated harassment from happening at all. The right approach needs…
A fascinating read: Building equity is now a prerequisite for Collective Impact work. It might sound like a new development. Regardless of our simple approaches to community impact in the past and our…
Sadly, we talk about products more than the values we stand for – not just in the business world but also in the non-profit world. For example, some of us still believe…
Truth and Reconciliation day has come to an end. However, this is a journey we all begin at some point in life. Here is a powerful video that shows no one knows…
Want to know what a community based reconciliation initiative looks like? Check this out! #trc
In this interview author of The Anti-Racist Organization argues that diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are used to perpetuate systemic racism. Shereen Denials maintains that vague platitudes about inclusion and belonging without…
Sometimes a few simple steps can save lives and resources. In this case: Partnership with local mental health agencies. Gathering necessary information about people with mental health. Preparing officers for the MH…
Here is an interesting new approach tried by some police services in US. Persons with mental illness have been killed or seriously injured during attempts to manage their crises. A growing number…
Time is changing. In a few decades, things that we consider as normal today would change considerably. What we hear in reports like the one by MUHU would soon become shameful practices…
Today, August 23, 2022 is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. This day is observed in memory of all victims of the slave trade and…
You know the old children rhyme about sticks and stones. Well, it’s wrong. Words most certainly can hurt, and they can inspire other people to take threatening actions. The signs of growing…
The antidotes to prejudice: “‘I’m not going to hide. I’m not going to allow myself to disappear because I do want to challenge other good people to stand up and say no.…
The idea that the important thing to debate is whether the Emergencies Act should have been invoked or not is not right. The point to deliberate is how to address the root…
Every one of us has a role to play, but many people don’t know how to intervene effectively. Here are some tips: Author of the article: Abid Jan Published in Ottawa Citizen Aug…
Hate speech is prohibited in a restaurant but not online. No wonder why online hate and extremism are on the rise. All eyes are on the government to fulfil its promise of…
We largely seek to develop the race equality agenda, without the acknowledgment that there are no effective solutions for systematic and behavioral change without active realization of anti-racism. Most often, the anti-racism…
National projects that can have signifant impact includes the new public awareness campaign that urges Australians without lived experience of racism to reflect on its impacts and do more to address it.…
Here is an interesting read. See: “Canada’s Right-Wing Extremists: Mapping their Ties, Location, and Ideas.” We have a long journey from hate to hope to real concrete actions ahead of us. Based…
What an amazing – must-watch story this is!!!! Agree; we CAN control our destiny to a point. However, not everyone is like Dr. Myles Monroe. The reality is that some people, typically…
Alberta updates Crown prosecutor’s manual to go after hate crimes Great progress indeed: “Prosecutors will now be explicitly directed that it would be in the ‘general public interest’ to prosecute a crime…
What Martin Luther said could be a way to deal with the growing polarization and hatred in our society today. Some of us ask, why are hate movements on the rise that…
An interesting read. The author, a retired commissioner of the OPP, believes it’s critically important to be aware of the linkages between public trust in police and police leadership, as the factors…
Organisations that are anxious to prove they are not racist frequently increase the number of “diverse” hires. However, representation does not always equate to giving coworkers (and leaders) the clout, authority, and…
Like a real pyramid, the pyramid of hate must be build up from the bottom. The layers at the top of the pyramid require all the layers beneath it, or it will…
Hot off the press. A very interesting read. I strongly recommend it to those who are genuinely interested in addressing systemic racism in their organisations. Here is rip from the intro of…
In the darkness, switching on a light eliminates our fears of bumping or tripping over things. Similarly, education and awareness help us eliminate the fears and resulting hatred of those we don’t…
Note the following in Nazem Kadri story published here today. “ In the following game, Kadri scored a hat trick. As pleased as I was for Kadri the player, my concern for…
If we have problem re-learning, let’s make sure our children learn this very well !!!
Here is a great read from Ben Hecht about moving beyond diversity. The lines that stood out for me are: ““…it’s clear that the suite of diversity and inclusion tools and practices…
The Hollyer House in Bells Corners is a compelling example of how this can work. It’s a community hub set to feature mixed-use affordable housing, community programming, a food cupboard and a women’s shelter.…
Some shocking revelations here for those of us working hard to promote cohesion and build consensus to make progress together. Among many disappointing findings, in a recent study by Ottawa-based firm Anacus…
Extending utmost gratitude to Hydro Ottawa and City’s other first responders for their tireless efforts after the disastrous storm of May 21 – clearing roads and restoring power amidst the unforeseen circumstances…
People of all races and ethnicities are at different stages of their anti-racist journey. Bias can be unintentional or unconscious. Racism results from a mix of social and institutional power and racial…
Jagmeet Singh says economic inequality makes Canadians more vulnerable to radicalisation. He is worried about the growing divisions in the country. To address the issue, we must also remember that we can’t…
Let’s learn together. Let’s learn bit by bit and then try to apply our learning to making some change happen in our spheres of influence. Shereen Daniels, someone who has worked in…
This story proves that you are what you think. This shows the power of our thoughts. They become our beliefs, and they go on to define our life and how we experience…
The reporter says at minute 4:50 that one of the issues is to try to identify individuals with racist beliefs and root them out. Rooting out might not be the solution. Some…
Mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., that killed 10 a racially motivated hate crime, authorities say. “Racially motivated hate crime.” This has happened in Canada before, and it can happen again. The privileged ones…
On behalf of the United Way Team and the United for All Rapid Response Committee a big thank you to all the Champions for taking the time for the meeting today. We…
British Columbia’s new anti-racism data act will help fight systemic racism We need similar legislation in every province to fundamentally change government and community development programs and services in by removing long-standing…
This is the right call because this is one of the effective ways to combat various forms of extremist moments. Combating disinformation is the key. The extremists use social media, chatrooms, and websites…
Canadian armed forces are not alone. Right-wing extremism has, for a long while, been resurgent all over Canada. Still, it has mainly gone unattended compared to the prominent focus on the likes…
Abid Jan Director Capacity Building at United Way East Ontario 6 articles April 25, 2022 All forms of bigotry are not alike. The roots of each form of discrimination and hatred are…
We have so much to learn from others’ good work without reinventing the wheel. Thanks to Covid, since the pandemic, there has been an encouraging focus on equitable economic recovery. However, this…