Rally planned in Vancouver to honour Jacob Blake

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — An anti-racism rally to honour Jacob Blake is planned for Friday afternoon at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver.

Blake is the Black man from Wisconsin who was shot in the back seven times by a police officer, leaving him with life-altering injuries.

The rally is being organized by Black Vancouver and it takes place from 4 to 7 p.m.

The event will feature speakers addressing a number of topics concerning racism in Canada, along with musical performances. It is to finish with a call for the B.C. government to improve anti-racism education.

“Racism exists in Canada. Gaslighting is far too common in B.C.’s primary and secondary schools,” says a post on the Black Vancouver website regarding the protest.

“Sept. 4th, we gather to protest and listen to black stories/testimonies as we ask our B.C. ministry of education for change on behalf of those who all experienced it, those currently experiencing it, all the voices silenced/brushed off, and all the stories untold,” it continues.

This has been an issue for a long time towards Black students in B.C., with black people typically being the minorities in classroom settings. This has created situations in which we not only have to deal with racism through society, but also through the insensitivities allowed in the curriculum, such as non-black teachers (or non-black students selected by the teachers) reading out loud the n-word in books such as To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Vancouver. We Are One. ????❤️ pic.twitter.com/NBPWv5EWDt

— Black Vancouver (@blackvancouver_) June 6, 2020

In a letter to the education minister, Black Vancouver says the school system across British Columbia has disregarded, silenced, and left black students unsupported and underrepresented within their classrooms.

“The education system is allegedly race-neutral. This unbiased system has not held itself to that regard. The black community faces unique challenges because of stigmas labeling them inferior intellectually and seen as violent. Teachers play a drastic role in a Black child’s education and with statistics, such as 94 per cent of Black youth saying they would like to obtain a bachelor’s degree or higher, but only 60 per cent thought that they could,” says the letter.

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“Youth begin to build a perception of the world around them and discriminatory actions can leave a lasting and harmful impact on children. The Black community of British Columbia wants to see changes enacted. The average age for the black population is 29 years old in Canada, while the average age of the total population is 41 years old in Canada. The black population is young and therefore education is vital for youth to flourish.”

The group is asking for:

• anti-racism clubs;
• Black history be taught in schools;
• anti-racism class for teachers and students alike;
• diversify the teaching population;
• resources allocated specifically for black students;
• counselors for Black students within the school;
• any racism against the Black student body be handled accordingly including and not limited to a proper investigation into incidents and have the severity of the claim go before a board of diversity within the education system.

Following the police-related death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, rallies in Vancouver against racism and police brutality drew more than a thousand people each.