fa$hion baybee

“Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.”

Last month, federal prison watchdog Howard Sapers presented his annual reportin Parliament detailing the demographics and conditions within our federal prisons. After ten years on the job, Sapers wasn’t surprised to find that the number of Black inmates increased yet again. Since he started in 2005, he’s never seen a year where the Black population in federal prisons didn’t rise. Overall during his tenure, Sapers has watched the number of Black inmates grow by 69 per cent.

Black Canadians now represent the fastest growing group in federal prisons, and are vastly overrepresented behind bars.

While African-Canadians make up three per cent of the general population, they account for 10 per cent of the federal prison population. The recent report also indicates that while in prison, Black inmates are overrepresented in segregation, and that they are subject to nearly 15 per cent of all use-of-force incidents. In a case study released in 2014 on the Black inmate experience, the office of the correctional investigator points out that “despite being rated as a population having a lower risk to re-offend and lower need overall, Black inmates are more likely to be placed in maximum security institutions.”

The findings support those from a commission conducted more than 10 years prior that examined racism throughout the justice system in Ontario. It found evidence of systemic racism at every level of the system—in policing, in the courts, and in correctional institutions. Despite identifying the problem, not much was done to fix it, as seen in the soaring incarceration rates of Black Canadians.

“It’s disheartening, but not surprising given the heightened level of over policing that happens with respect to Black and racialized societies,” says Anthony Morgan, a Toronto-based lawyer and African-Canadian rights advocate. One culprit Morgan points to is the controversial Toronto Police custom of carding individuals—stopping and questioning them without cause, and recording the incident—which disproportionately targets Black people. In fact, while eight per cent of Torontonians are Black, they’re targeted in 27 per cent of all carding incidents, according to 2013 records.

Tell me again how Anti-Black racism in Canada isn’t ‘as bad’ as the USA:

“While African-Canadians make up three per cent of the general population, they account for 10 per cent of the federal prison population. The recent report also indicates that while in prison, Black inmates are overrepresented in segregation, and that they are subject to nearly 15 per cent of all use-of-force incidents.”

In fact, while eight per cent of Torontonians are Black, they’re targeted in 27 per cent of all carding incidents, according to 2013 records.

[…]

You should be outraged. You should be enraged and if you are not, if the senseless killing of the black community at the hands of our police force does not anger you please reevaluate your humanity.

To be unmoved by the current issues of our society is a privilege. To prioritize looting and damage to property over lost black lives and police brutality is to lack humanity.

Please evaluate and educate yourself, this is a major issue and we need serious reform and revolution in this country.

You can’t love the Romantics and academia and remain ignorant and complacent.