Friday Facts: Identifying Casual Racism

Posted on Friday, September 6th, 2019

We believe in the pursuit of knowledge and valuing equity and diversity here at Algonquin. We also recognize that historical and persistent barriers to equitable participation exist in society and within the College. Today’s Friday Facts is an invitation explore that intersection – for white employees to learn about the experience of racialized colleagues.

As a white individual, you can start to learn more about what it feels like to live and work when you’re not white. Try listing to this podcast The Code Switch Guide To Handling Casual Racism. Awkward comments. Rude questions. Casual racism. What do you do when it happens in your presence? The mental calculus is hard enough. It gets even harder when the comment is coming from your friends or family. Gene, Shereen, and Karen from Code Switch along with special guest Nicole Chung share stories and search for solutions. This discussion offers great cultural commentary that offers a window into the racialized experience, and can offer a playbook for talking about race honestly, even when you’re worried about saying something stupid or stepping on a land mine. They model the sort of honest conversations and behavioural insights we need more of in the workplace.

And for any of my academic colleagues who wan to pull this learning into the classroom, check out this article It’s Still Good to Talk About Race and this toolkit from Tolerance.org Let’s Talk!: Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students.

Have you read any other great books, heard any podcasts or videos that provide insight into the experience of race at work?


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