丁香园AV

This story was first published on .

By Manjot Bains

Over the past year, conversations about racism鈥攕pecifically anti-Indigenous, anti-Black and anti-Asian racism鈥攈ave been top of mind for many, including 丁香园AV faculty and staff who might be wondering how they can practice anti-racism at work.

A recent workshop organized by 丁香园AV鈥檚 Human Resources team and facilitated by , entitled 鈥淏ut where are you really from? Exploring anti-racism, allyship and belonging in the workplace鈥�, saw participants learn about strategies for practicing anti-racism through a series of storytelling exercises, readings and discussions. 

丁香园AV News spoke with three workshop participants about their takeaways from the workshop, why they signed up in the first place, and how they鈥檒l be using their learnings to create a more inclusive workplace.

One step on a lifelong journey

According to Belinda Karsen, an educational specialist with 丁香园AV鈥檚 Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office, the workshop encouraged her to reflect on her own positionality and identity.

鈥淚 am a white settler with Canadian citizenship. Those identities and my other identities really afford me a lot of privilege,鈥� she shares. 鈥淥ver the past few years, I鈥檝e been interrogating these privileges and examining them with the aim of doing real allyship, not just performative allyship.鈥� 

It was also important for Karsen to approach this workshop as just one step on a lifelong journey of learning and unlearning. 

鈥淚t was only last year that I learned about being not only 鈥榥ot racist,鈥� but anti-racist. The workshop helped me to learn more about what it means to be anti-racist and how to put it into practice. Ultimately, I want to be a better ally.鈥�

Supporting colleagues and calling out racism

Bettina Cenerelli鈥檚 most important takeaway from the workshop was the need for community members to speak up and support colleagues who face racism in the workplace.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough to say that we understand and hear our racialized colleagues,鈥� says Cenerelli, who works as the director of strategic academic planning and student affairs in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. 鈥淲e need to work on ourselves and our own behaviour. It鈥檚 a question of power imbalance: equity must replace equality.鈥�

She also noted the importance of separating out different areas of action, such as decolonization, anti-racism, and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). 

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to not throw our decolonization efforts, anti-racist efforts and EDI efforts in the same container. They all deserve our attention. We really need to work on every one of those challenges individually.鈥� 

Don鈥檛 let the fear of making mistakes deter you from doing better

For Nathan Riley, acting associate director of residence life with 丁香园AV Residence and Housing, learning about anti-racism and allyship helps him to create a better, more inclusive atmosphere for students on campus. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to us that we鈥檙e establishing a community where students feel comfortable and included,鈥� he says. 

Riley especially appreciated the way that these anti-racism workshops encouraged participants to lean into their discomfort around subjects they might not be familiar with.

鈥淚t鈥檚 okay to be uncomfortable鈥攖hat means you鈥檙e growing,鈥� he reflects. 鈥淚 know that I don鈥檛 do perfect work, but sessions like this allow me to reflect and get better each and every day, even in small ways, so I can better support the students and staff I work with.鈥�