Qualitative Data
The researchers identified five themes. These themes are: (i) The general situation of racism in Red Deer, (ii) experiences of racism, (iii) coping strategies, (iv) assets available, and (v) suggestions made by participants. Within these themes exist numerous sub-themes. The results
point towards an overall awareness of anti-racism assets in Red Deer, but a low engagement with these resources. It appears that experiences of racism have improved over time. However, participants made it clear that racism is still pervasive, primarily in the form of microaggressions. Participants offered concrete suggestions on how to improve extant anti-racism assets, or proposed resources that do not currently exist.
General Situation of Racism in Red Deer
Experiences of racism and people’s perceptions of racism and inclusivity vary; however, there are consistent experiences among the participants that provide a clear picture of people’s experiences with racism in Red Deer, along with how racism has changed over time.
As mentioned by P10, they have experienced discrimination in the past, specifically during their youth:
More prevalent… in my younger years… [T]here are definitely points that you would be deemed as unacceptable today or would not be seen as being … welcoming and inclusive.
The community of Red Deer has transformed and is presently more inclusive, which signifies a favourable shift. P2 emphasized how the ethnic makeup of Red Deer has evolved significantly over time, and the city has become ethnically more diverse:
Red Deer starts rough. It was not the same Red Deer as today. I remember in my years of 1999, 2000, there were not many people from different places that are not Caucasian.
P4 recognized contemporary cultural activities that exemplify the municipality’s endeavours to adopt diversity. The participant conveyed longing for further development in diversity at the same level as more populous cities such as Calgary:
Not to the extent that maybe I would want it to be, but I did see a couple of events over the past weeks. I think over downtown, there was this mixer for Cuban or Mexican, an event, or I don’t know if it was a Spanish event as well, but they do have it. I mean, the city has it, but maybe not to the extent that other cities would like Calgary.
One of the service providers, S5, believed that the city has lagged behind some of the larger metropolitan areas by 10 years. She also highlighted the ongoing transformations and the new mayor’s endeavours to effect change and potential areas requiring enhancement in Red Deer:
I think there, there’ve been changes made, and I think the city and the new mayor are trying to make a difference …. He had stood up in front of the whole conference at the beginning, and he basically said, Red Deer is about 10 years behind some of the other bigger cities.
Many racialized immigrants are being settled outside the metropolitan cities and into rural places such as Red Deer (Ashton, Pettigrew, and Galatsanou 2016, 70; Kitchen, Williams, and Gallina 2015, 2). Considering where Red Deer is regarding inclusivity and support, P3 said, “We’re setting [newcomers] up for failure before we even bring them in.” Many have had their quality of life impacted upon settling in Canada because their professional credentials are not recognized, resulting in them being sent “…to a community without giving the community the resources to support them” (P3). P5 said that while Red Deer is safe for minorities, it is not welcoming because there is “lots of resistance in professional employment.” For S3, who has lived in Red Deer for more than 40 years, Red Deer has evolved and become more inclusive compared to 30 years ago when a racialized person “got on an elevator, people would look at you and get off. They would give you that look- the side eye. It was not safe to be of Colour here then,” but “it is better now,” although “we still know that Red Deer is [a place with] white supremacists.”
Experiences of Racism
Participants shared experiences of direct and indirect, and mostly covert, racism. They emphasized the impact of racist microaggressions. For instance, P1 stated, “… people would say something about the shape of my eyes or my accent or things like those things, which wasn’t necessarily positive I’d say, but nothing overtly aggressive as in telling me to go back to my country or something like that.”
In a white-dominated community like Red Deer, racialized persons may experience inattention or even neglect at social functions, as relayed by S6, “My partner is Indian, and so on a regular basis he’s like six foot four and people ignore him and talk to me [a white woman] .…Their microaggressions are taking place all the time…” The mention of the participant’s Indian partner experiencing being ignored while people direct their attention to the white partner reflects a subtle yet impactful form of racism.
The traditional lack of representation in organizational roles reinforces racial occupational stereotypes. Working in a postsecondary institution, P3, who is an instructor, shared her experiences of being mistaken as a student, “…I also know that there are people who do not think that I’m an instructor because of the colour of my skin and they think maybe I’m a student.”
These statements underline the need for increased awareness and education about subtle forms of racism. While overtly aggressive acts may be more easily identified and addressed, subtle and covert forms of racism can be insidious, contributing to a less inclusive and welcoming community. Acknowledging and challenging these microaggressions is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and respectful environment in Red Deer.
Claims of racism are often dismissed or downplayed. For example, after S5 pointed out the inappropriateness of a racist joke around her table at a social function, her tablemates retorted, “… ‘Where’s your British sense of humour?’ So [the person is] poking at the fact that I’m from England too. So, it was a little bit insensitive. I wouldn’t say it was outright racism, borderline …. I felt totally uncomfortable, and [later] everybody else was [carrying on] chatting… of course, excluding me… It’s like, you are the problem… go home.” This is a form of gaslighting where S5, who acted as an anti-racism advocate, was made to feel she was the problem. In a comparable vein, P5 shared how racism was not taken seriously: “I know if things happen in school with the kids, the teachers … would say they didn’t see it.” All these occurrences highlight the critical situation in Red Deer, which requires the city to address not only the explicit displays of racism but also the contemptuous attitudes that impede advancements toward a genuinely inclusive and compassionate society.
P9’s experience was traumatizing. Her daughter was removed temporarily from her care on several occasions by human services agencies, which she attributed to racism against a Black woman, where “a lot of people don’t believe black people.” And when she confronted the agencies, “they weaponize their emotions against [her].” She implored that service agencies need to be equipped with cultural competency. Once, an agency suggested that she send her daughter to a friend’s house. She was affronted because:
[W]e just don’t send our children away. We don’t trust people around us. And why would I isolate my child from her black family to go send them off with some random white people? So, things like that. Understand culture, get to know culture. Believe people when they talk to you, listen to people, work collaboratively with them, and also be reflexive.
The experience of racism can take an emotional toll, as shared by S5 about a client, “… she was sharing in one of my sessions, and she said, every morning when I get up, I have to prepare myself, and she’s preparing herself for the inevitable racism that’s going to happen. And she said it’s pretty much daily.” It exposes the deep emotional burden that victims of prejudice in Red Deer endure. S5 provided a haunting account of a fellow human being who engages in a morning ritual of emotional preparation in anticipation of daily encounters with prejudice. For P9, dealing with children’s services and other agencies has caused her mental health to “significantly deteriorate,” and said she still has “to be here for my children.”
Coping Strategies
For participants who did identify with having experienced racism, many of them shared the different ways in which they coped afterwards. These strategies were classified as the following sub-themes: (i) informal support, (ii) presentation of self, (iii) aggressive competitiveness, (iv) advocating for self and others, and (v) moving on. These strategies reflected internal and external coping processes that influenced where and how people received support, and how experiences of racism changed how they saw themselves in relation to others.
Informal Support
When asked how the participants coped with witnessing or experiencing racism, the responses were varied. From the survey data, 58 individuals, or just under 50% of the total survey participants, shared that they did experience or witness an act of racism. However, not many participants accessed support.
For the 33 individuals that did access some kind of support afterwards, when asked what type of support was accessed, 16 people, or almost 50% of them, indicated a friend and 8 indicated family. The qualitative data is in line with the survey results. A few interview responses also indicated the importance of informal networks, such as family and friends, as a means of coping after experiencing racism:
It’s a lot of just peer support. It’s a lot of just finding people, finding people you get along with and finding people that can kind of support you if you need them in those moments. (P6)
P1 shared that, when necessary, they speak with their friends, and they did not recall ever going to “… a person of authority, like a counsellor or something.” P10 emphasized their family’s role in their ability to cope with experiences of racism by saying, “I think it’s mainly … [by] having a strong family root.”
It begs the question of why many participants relied on peer or family support over professional support. One of the reasons is the benefit of confiding in a person who truly understands what the individual is going through because of shared experience, compared to a stranger, albeit professional, without this shared experience. P1 shared,
I’ve always found it very helpful to speak with other people who share my experiences in this type of discrimination that we’ve noticed or faced or just been around…
One of the benefits of confiding in others with shared experiences is that victims feel safe in sharing their racist experiences:
And you guys can have a conversation about [the experience] and feel more comfortable in a space where everyone can be a part of it. (P8)
Presentation of Self
Impacts of racism can cause hyper-vigilance in racialized minorities that leave them aware of how their clothing and mannerisms can impact how non-racialized people receive them at any given moment. This has been dubbed “self-censoring” (Sehra 2020).
One Black participant shared his experience of “self-censoring,” by changing the way he presents himself through his choice of clothing. To avoid possible conflict with prejudiced community members, he stopped wearing clothing that people associate negatively with Black people:
You see the way I’m wearing … the way I present myself, I don’t wear a hoodie, simply because I don’t want to be judged. The black person with a hoodie, a young male with a hoodie. It’s not the same thing as young white male with a hoodie from the people’s mind. (P2)
Staying Competitive
Coping strategies to racism can be psychological. One participant explained how experiences of racism are what led to the development of his competitive personality.
So that’s how I would cope. I mean, I wanted to excel in a lot of things to show people, show my family that it’s not your ethnicity that matters. It matters how you push forward and you achieve goals and you make a good life for your family. (P10)
Advocating for Self and Others
Other participants confronted perpetrators of racism regardless of whether the racism was targeted towards them or others. P6 said, “Usually I [advocate] for other people more, but I also advocate for myself sometimes if I need to be.” P10 said they “had no problem confronting individuals,” and that they understood that not everyone can confront discriminatory behaviour that’s being directed towards them, “So I [P10] would stand up for those people too, because I understand some of the feelings and emotions that people go through when they run into those situations.”
Moving on
Despite the availability and utilization of support, victims may not be able to overcome a negative experience of racism. Sometimes, all that victims can do is move on. When asked how she coped, P5 said she “just moved on. I just do what I can do. Yeah.” One youth participant said:
…but coping, sometimes you just got to, you got to live with it, sometimes you got to move on. Coping with it is tough because sometimes there’s nothing you could really do…sometimes you just got to move on.” (P8)
Assets Available
Participants could recognize a wide range of tangible and intangible assets available within the community. These included (i) inclusive spaces, (ii) community organizations, and (iii) citizen advocates.
Inclusive Space
Participants highly appreciate safe and inclusive spaces. Some of these spaces are informal. As P6 mentioned, “There’s a café .… it’s called the Runway Cafe, and it’s downtown.” P6 suggested the Runway Cafe as a possible gathering place for people to find support or establish connections, i.e., it can function as a community space.
Churches could have a significant impact on promoting inclusiveness. As P7 described, “…our pastor was very passionate about that. Even being Caucasian and having a congregation that has become diverse, he was very, very strong trying to break the barriers…” Religious institutions have the capacity to serve as spaces of support for individuals who are confronted with prejudice, as exemplified by the pastor’s dedication to diversity.
Community Organizations
Indigenous support networks were emphasized by the interview participants as strong anti-racism assets. Specific agencies were mentioned, including the Red Deer Native Friendship Society, and Urban Aboriginal Voice Society. These organizations provide community spaces that can foster a sense of community and cultural affiliation among Indigenous people who are confronted with prejudice. As shared by P11, who is not an Indigenous yet received support, “The biggest support I found is with the Indigenous elders, they’re so gentle and so full of wisdom that whenever I needed something, whenever I wasn’t doing well, I find a much, much better support than a mental health counsellor sometimes can be.” For those attempting to navigate the complexities of racism, the illuminating counsel of the Indigenous elders serves as a beacon of fortitude.
Community organizations can cultivate awareness and comprehension. One service provider (S5) stated, “I did a lot of promotion [educational work, as part of her job at the organization], and especially in the schools at first, and then eventually branched out … workplaces or anywhere else, I really will go anywhere. That includes within the prison system. It includes any workplace.” Community organizations, by way of education, can act as catalysts for societal transformation.
Lastly, one of the service providers emphasized the significance of advocacy activities. Proactively addressing prejudice on a systemic level is possible through engagement with organizations, legal groups, and city officials:
…I had the opportunity to meet with Bruce, the deputy mayor, and I addressed the situation to him. So, we sat down with the [clients], myself and him, and then explained to him what is going on, what happened so that they can be aware that this is what is going on in the community. (S4)
Organizations make extra efforts serve their clients. One Indigenous organization accommodates the needs of users by having some programs in the evening: “ … when our participants say, I can’t get there, I need evening. So we do some of our programmes in the evening (S1).
Citizen Advocates
There are also individual anti-racist advocates in the community, as conveyed by P7 about an acquaintance, “… she’s Caucasian, she stood up for me, she stood up for me, and she was just like, we can’t treat somebody like this.” People who stand up against racism can have a profound impact on the community. P2 said, “If you got some people who can stand [up] against what other people saying, then you will say okay, yeah, we’re moving somewhere. But when these people [won’t]… no one, no nobody tell anybody what you’re doing is wrong then we still [have] a lot of work need to be done.”
Challenges
Participants shared some of the challenges they faced in addressing the issue of racism. Among these are (i) a lack of awareness about resources and (ii) perceived limitations of law enforcement.
Lack of Awareness
Despite the assets mentioned above, not all participants were aware of them. Uncertainty is expressed by individuals regarding assistance, legislation, and organizational support: “I’m not very sure [what assets are available] because I’m not as aware of those spaces as I think I could be” (P1). P11, however, opined that little formal resources were available: “I don’t think there’s much, honestly. There are some organizations you can go to, but what kinds of supports they provide is still sort of unclear to me.” This indicates that resources may be disconnected from those who require them. Better community engagement, educational campaigns, and enhanced communication are required to ensure everyone is well-informed of the necessary support.
Perceived Limitations of Law Enforcement
Other participants also shed light on law enforcement’s perceived limitations when handling racism in Red Deer: “It’s often that people don’t go to RCMP because there isn’t much to do unless it’s a crime” (P11). There is a prevailing perception that law enforcement, particularly the RCMP, might not be a resource for addressing racism unless they involve explicit criminal behaviour.
In another interview, the concern for the involvement of law enforcement is emphasized, “If I’m not bleeding, I’m probably not calling the cops” (P6). The individual is reluctant to contact law enforcement unless the circumstance is deemed critical, or a person faces an imminent danger. A reluctance to seek the assistance of law enforcement in non-criminal circumstances may result from the community’s perception that they are predominantly responsive to criminal incidents, of which many racist acts would not be considered serious.
And when it comes to human rights cases, it takes years for a court case to resolve, as conveyed by S2, who provides community legal services to immigrants:
And with lawyers that we have here, a lot of times, we don’t refer to them because human rights cases can take up to thirty-six months to just get an answer. So, it’s waste of time. By the time they wait for the court, the resolution of the incident has passed. So, the resolution they give us is still the same as the initial. So, we don’t waste time on that. (S2)
Suggestions
To better understand the gaps in anti-racism resources within Red Deer, participants were asked about areas that need improvement. Suggestions from participants fell into two categories: (i) how existing anti-racism resources could be improved, and (ii) what anti-racism resource is needed but is missing.
Improving Existing Anti-Racism Assets
Given the range of anti-racism assets that are available in Red Deer, it is no surprise that there were many suggestions on how to improve resources that already exist.
(i) Education
Many participants emphasized that education needs improvement for the general public, within organizations, and among racialized immigrants.
Participants felt that a lack of understanding about racialized people breeds suspicion and contempt, as mentioned by P2, “… people are afraid of what they don’t know.” S5 shared a similar view, saying, “…educate people because sometimes people are not bad in their heart, it’s just because they don’t know” (S5).
More education for employers and employees within organizations was suggested. P2 said, “Educating more employers and private companies about these things and encouraging them to be more inclusive, empowering minorities to be able to succeed in this country. A small business, for example,” while P6 focused on employee training by saying, “ … employees …. should have to pass some form of anti-racism as well as LGBT Pro LGBT stuff. You have to be able to essentially pass [understand inclusivity] …. And if you don’t pass it, then I guess you have more training you need to get done.”
The rights of vulnerable members were the concern for S5, who recognized some immigrants may not understand their rights and do not dare to question mistreatments by their workplace superior: “And [in the home country] you do not challenge your boss…And I think we can teach people that. It can be different here. It’s supposed to be democratic, supposed to be egalitarian. So, teach them (new immigrants) what that means…And give them some power” (S5).
(ii) Adequate funding
Many participants consider adequate anti-racism funding important. P2 emphasized the need to empower anti-racist organizations, “so that they can do the work that needs to be done.” He explicitly mentioned the issue of funding, making it clear that these organizations are being created here, “but they’re going nowhere because they don’t get funding from anything.” P3 believes current supports are inadequate because “they don’t have the funds to provide the services.”
(iii) Information
A participant voiced that if someone is experiencing racism, information on where to locate supports needs to be accessible. While not explicitly placed contextually in the realm of empowerment, what this participant is suggesting is exactly that – empowering individuals to navigate an experience of racism in a way that is meaningful to them, and that is only possible when the individuals have all information available to them, “…they have to know who to turn to, to find what sort of supports are available for them” (P10).
(iv) Engagement
Participants saw a need for increasing engagement with anti-racism resources among younger and older generations. Social media as a way to market anti-racism resources was mentioned by participants; however, P1 recognized that variation in platforms would be necessary to reach different age groups: “…if the organization has wanted to showcase themselves more towards an older generation, then they should probably go through things like Facebook, especially I think for the younger generation, anywhere else …”
However, P8 felt that other methods may be necessary to connect with youth. While “programs have changed their way to try to engage youth,” and are utilizing social media platforms used by youth, P8 felt that youth engagement in these programs is still falling short.
A participant made an important point on how engaging the older generation is crucial:
… for younger people, they usually already have their own group of friends that they can go to and talk to about these types of things .… It’s just, in my opinion, harder. For people who are older. (P1)
However, while distinct efforts are needed to target generational differences, there is also a need to connect the generations with each other. P8 says, “I think getting adults more engaged, especially with the youth. I think adults are looking from the outside, they’re not really engaged with the youth at all.”
(v) Recognizing Internal Heterogeneity
Making information, support, and resources available to all individuals could be challenging. Accessing these can be impacted by cultural background. One service provider participant recognized that cultural differences, even within an ethnic group, can influence which spaces individuals are occupying, which has the potential to exclude them from resources that are only available in those spaces:
…someone was telling me, “From my cultural or my ethnic or religious point of view, our people don’t go to the recreation centres.” And then I was talking about this to somebody else, and they were like, oh, well, we see people from that ethnic group all the time. (S5)
S6 shared a similar view that it is not adequate to understand individuals from the same ethnic group in one singular way. She explained why doing so is problematic:
So, until you’re willing to sort of say, actually, I don’t know who we’re representing, I don’t know who’s here and who’s not, and try and figure it out and go and listen to those people, then we’re not actually serving our community. (S6)
Another participant, P7, exemplified this comparable point:
I am Black African…Originally from Zimbabwe. I know people call us Africans. I hate it. I want to be called Zimbabwean…Because Africa is so diverse, and we are very different.
S6 suggested that when improving access to information and increasing engagement with assets, it is important to keep in mind the internal heterogeneity of any ethnic group because sub-ethnic differences may impact how people receive information and how they engage with resources.
(vi) Creating Diversity
Some of the complications that can come from a lack of cultural understanding can be overcome by increasing representation within decision-making circles. Participants called for increased representation of ethnic minorities to improve and develop anti-racism assets. P6 stated that if an organization “works with diverse people groups, [it] should have a diverse staff.” P5 said, “We need to be represented on the decision-making tables.” P2 pointed out the benefits of diversifying the ethnic representation of a workplace and said, “When you see yourself being represented, I think it will work more into [supporting racialized victims]. [T]hat could be an asset itself.” One service provider was able to effectively use diversity to achieve one of her aims. From work-related research she conducted:
…there were over 30 quotes from [diverse ethnic individuals] in it. So, it was like the community voice. I was just representing it. And so those things are like, well, we can’t say no to what the community tells us. I’m like, no, you can’t. (S6)
Creating New Resources
Some participants proposed resources that do not yet exist but that they felt would have a significant positive impact in supporting victims of racism in Red Deer.
(i) Helplines
A helpline to ease service accessibility was suggested by multiple participants but looked different to each one. For one participant, it looked like, “…a helpline where people go and volunteer and if someone calls and then you just talk to the person” (P4). The other participant, service provider (S5), suggested a 1-800 number that would make reporting acts of racism easier.
(ii) A Public Safe Space
Many participants expressed the need for a publicly funded safe space, to support victims of racism. Comfort is fundamental to this secure environment, as expressed by P1, “… definitely somewhere that they [victims] can, a place where they can talk about it comfortably,” a safe space where people feel free to candidly share their experiences.
P11 suggested the forming of a support group, where group members meet “once a month… can be quite powerful.” A collective fortitude is fostered by this sense of community, which not only validates individual experiences but also reinforces the notion that individuals are not alone in their struggles. P2 proposed a similar space, which resembles Alcoholics Anonymous in its approach to program design with structured support such as facilitated dialogues, information sessions, and guest lectures, where people can “talk about… experience, without any fear of talking about it” (P2)
Additionally, P6 emphasized that it “is really important and something that could be super, super valuable…” to have a dependable figure, such as a trained facilitator, counsellor, or community leader, in facilitating the creation and running of the safe space. This person assumes the role of a guiding light, providing individuals with encouragement and reassurance to communicate their thoughts and feelings candidly and without hesitation.
(iii) A Centralized Space
From what participants shared, anti-racism supports and resources are disconnected from one another enough that it becomes difficult for individuals, especially newcomers, to navigate. While many are already located close to each other by occupying spaces downtown, P6 said that “it’s not very feasible” to leave individuals to navigate between supports independently, and “…it’s ignorant to assume that [knowing how to navigate this is] common sense.”
P6 asks, “…why don’t all the organizations just come together,” in a bid for a centralized support system where all agencies operate within one building. They argue that the benefit would be twofold. First, this would allow the agencies to “…support each other in whatever thing is needed” (P6). Secondly, it makes navigating anti-racism support less complicated for those needing services. P6 explains that if this is made a priority by the city to allocate a space large enough to centralize support, “I find that would be so much more supportive for so many people, and they would probably feel listened to by the city.”
P5 wished for the same thing, and said this would, “… put all our things [support services] visible like any other governmental place that we have here.” Many government places house relevant supports within the same building – the courthouse being an example, where accessing free counselling services is just a matter of going to the second floor of the courthouse. Bringing together the anti-racism supports into one space would make access more equitable for all individuals needing their services.
