丁香园AV

Chloe Sjuberg
Communications Coordinator, 丁香园AV Public Square

The views and opinions expressed in 丁香园AV Public Square's On Equity interviews are those of the interviewees. They do not necessarily reflect the official position of 丁香园AV, 丁香园AV Public Square or any other affiliated institutions in any way.

The On Equity interview series is part of our 2021 Community Summit Series: Towards Equity. In these interviews, you鈥檒l get to know people working towards equity, justice and systemic change from a variety of fields and perspectives, and learn how you can support them. We hope they will inform and inspire your own conversations and actions towards equity.

Read on to hear from Chuka Ejeckam, a research associate with the  and a member of our Towards Equity advisory committee.

What do you want people to know about your work in pursuit of equity, justice and systemic change?

I don't know what I want people to know about my work specifically, but I would argue to any inclined to listen that to pursue equity, justice and systemic change is to pursue realized humanity through the liberation and enfranchisement of every person alive, and through care for every living organism on the planet. I would also argue that only in collective emancipation can one's own freedom and self be found.

Finally, I'd argue that the world as it is simply cannot be accepted. Yes, we have centuries for which to seek reparations, seemingly decades in which to do it, but there is no other choice. It cannot be allowed that only the wealthy remain.

How do we make systemic change?

I cannot claim to possess a definitive answer to that. However, I think one aspect must be changing what people believe they are owed simply by the fact of their existence. We've enshrined a system of 鈥渘egative rights鈥� (i.e., you have the right to not be interfered with, not be subjected to others鈥� whims, not have your person or property violated by others), and many of these are necessary, but they are not sufficient. I believe everyone, simply by the fact of their existence, deserves access to all the material and social resources necessary for a well-lived life of human flourishing and self-actualization.

What does equity look like to you?

In , Ruth Wilson Gilmore describes racism as "the state-sanctioned or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death." If inequity is the production and exploitation of group-differentiated exposure to harm, I think of equity as the elimination of that harm and reparations for its impacts.

We鈥檇 love to hear your thoughts on the guiding question for Towards Equity: What must we understand鈥攁nd do鈥攖o recover equitably from the pandemic and reimagine our systems to confront the intersecting crises of inequality, systemic racism and climate change?

I think there is valuable perspective in reckoning with the way injustices cascade into one further injustice, both continuing and compounding over years, then decades, then centuries. I feel that it aids in imagining the scale of change that is necessary.

What gives you hope? What inspires you?

I am fond of the notion of 鈥渨ell-being.鈥� If 鈥渂eing鈥� is more than the corporeal fact of our existence, 鈥渨ell-being鈥� points to something more significant than merely the physical and material needs of our bodies being met and sated. I think it raises a notion of existing in material, social and psychological harmony with the world around you. I find that notion compelling.

Do you think there is more potential for systemic change at this moment in time? Why?

I think, generally speaking, young people are less convinced by capitalist and neoliberal propaganda. However, I'm not certain that's universally positive. Yes, it does seem that young people are more amenable to the notion of, say, a radical internationalist emancipatory politics which seeks the abolition of money, private capital, national borders and so on. But, it does also seem that many young people stand by capitalist ideology and 鈥淲estern chauvinism鈥� despite seeing through the propaganda鈥攊.e., they explicitly view the rest of the world as beneath them, and are often happy to declare this. I feel there is cause to be concerned about that.

What do you think is an overlooked challenge that more people should be paying attention to?

Canada's election cycles both encourage and reward short-term thinking, and thus are antithetical to the kind of politics that we require to contend with the coming century and beyond. Politicians are unlikely to admit this.

What should we be reading? Watching? Listening to? Please recommend books, articles, podcasts, films or other media you think people should read/hear/watch on topics surrounding equity and justice.

I recommend Raoul Peck's documentary series 鈥�.鈥�

What other questions should we be asking in this interview series?

I think a valuable question could be: "What do you fear?" We all know the things in the world we oppose, and we're often encouraged to find lift in hope, focus on what's in front of us, and seek to change that which we have the power to. But, I think we also must see clearly the outcomes that we wish to avoid, in all their horror and unfairness, because what I fear is that the outcomes most cannot bear to consider鈥攕uch as wealthy, white-majority countries building gun-turreted walls to repel climate refugees鈥攁re those which are most likely, by far.