Community activist Sherri Darlene pulls no punches when it comes to speaking about racism toward members of the Black community in Niagara. She said racism still exists, including in schools and workplaces.
“If you can sit here and tell me you wholeheartedly believe that the playing ground is level for a Black person and a white person, that in the daily race of life that Black people do not have cement shoes on while white people are given running shoes, you are so disconnected.”
Darlene is the founder of Justice 4 Black Lives, a Niagara-based organization aimed at combating racism, and she will speak at the Lincoln Pelham Public Library today about systemic racism, antiracism, and how to be an ally.
“I’m going to discuss and talk about my real life lived experiences with racism and systemic racism. There are a lot of conscious people out there who want to do the right thing but they really don’t know how to.”
The presentation will be held at the Fleming Branch of the Lincoln Pelham Public Library today, Feb. 8, from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free but registration is required and can be completed on the library’s website at www.lppl.ca.
The facts are the facts, and racism is still happening today
Darlene said some people might feel uncomfortable and might not like what they hear, but it’s important to listen to what she has to say.
“The facts are the facts, and racism is still happening today.”
Last year’s report on hate crimes, released in April by the Niagara Regional Police Service, revealed that hate-motivated incidents are on the rise. The report stated that 41 hate-motivated incidents in the region were investigated in 2022, almost double the 21 investigations conducted in 2021.
Darlene said education can be a key to ending racism, and it needs to be not only during February, which is recognized globally as Black History Month, but all year long. But it isn’t an easy task.
“It’s a difficult conversation, and the reluctancy, the white fragility and the defensiveness that comes along with it, makes it a difficult subject a lot of people don’t want to have a conversation about.”
To be an ally to the Black community, Darlene said people don’t need to become argumentative or confrontational with others. It could be something as simple as speaking up and calling an individual out for making an ignorant comment about the colour of a person’s skin, culture, or religion.
“For you to say something and let the other person know they aren’t in a comfortable spot to spew ignorance, or somewhere where they will find white solidarity, it makes a difference. That’s how we will move the needle,” Darlene said.