Is anti-black racism a public health issue?

BY PAUL JUNOR

Worldwide attention has been focused on systemic racism since the death of George Floyd of May 23^rd, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This has brought attention to the Canadian context, specifically in terms of how anti-black racism impacts the lived experience of black Canadians. Cosmopolitan cities such as: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver have seen demonstrations, protests and marches that are responses to specific incidents involving institutional systems (e.g. police, education).

The Stephen Lewis report was released in 1992 after the Yonge Street riot, which was initiated after the police shooting of an unarmed black youth. The report detailed unequivocally that anti-black racism was endemic and deeply rooted throughout Ontario.

“What we are dealing with, at the root, is anti-black racism. While it is obviously true that every visible minority experiences the indignities and wounds of systemic discrimination throughout Southern Ontario, it is the black community that is the focus. It is blacks who are being shot. It is black youth that are unemployed in excessive numbers. It is black students who are being inappropriately streamed in schools. It is black kids who are disproportionately dropping out. It is housing communities with large concentrations of black residents where the sense of vulnerability and disadvantage is most acute. It is black employees, professional and non-professional, on whom the doors of upward equity slam shut. Just as the soothing balms of ‘multiculturalism cannot hide racism, so racism cannot mask its primary target.” (Report on Race Relations in Ontario, 1992 by Stephen Lewis)

Since the acknowledgement of the pervasiveness of anti-black racism, many studies have documented the effects of racism on mental health, particularly on the emotional and psychological well-being. It is believed that it can induce psychological trauma leading to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (Williams, 2013 Psychology Today).

On Monday, June 8^th, 2020, The Globe and Mail reported that Toronto’s Board of Health unanimously passed a motion to recognize, “Anti-black racism as a public health crisis.” Councillor Joe Cressy stated that, “Anti-black racism is a public health crisis. Black Torontonians are twice as likely to live in poverty than visible minorities. 40% of black children live in poverty compared to 15% of non-racialized children. That’s a public health crisis.” This came after a coalition of black health leaders called on the Ontario government to declare that there is a public health crisis in the province.

On Monday, August 10^th, 2020, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released a second-interim report which indicated that based on Toronto Police Services (TPS) data from 2013 to 2017, blacks are: arrested, over-charged, struck, killed and subjected to use of force disproportionately. The interim Chief Commissioner, Eric Chadha, stated, “The time for debate about whether systemic racism or anti-black racism exists is over.”

This has prompted MPP Laura Mae Lindo to respond. The OHRC’s report and Toronto Public Health data revealed that although black and racialized people comprised 52% of Toronto, they account for 83% of COVID-19 cases. She released a statement, which partly reads, “It is clear to everyone who is paying attention that anti-black racism in policing, and in all of our institutions is corrosive and deadly.” She further states, “It’s also why over two months ago, we joined health experts and black community leaders in calling Doug Ford to recognize anti-black as a public health crisis.”