In the Blog
Weekly Round Up: November 20
Illustration: Erin McPhee
Today marks the International Transgender Day of Remembrance:
The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence (Excerpt via Remembering our Dead)
Hamilton City Council just approved the creation of an anti-racism centre. Hamilton has the second highest rate of hate crimes in the country.
The University of Winnipeg and Lakehead University recently made it a graduation requirement for students to take a course in Indigenous culture or history.
Artist and zinester extraordinaire Cristy C. Road released a Kick Starter campaign to fund a queer tarot card deck which focuses on increasing representation of people of colour in tarot cards.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report on precarious labour in Canada’s agriculture industry. The authors of the report interviewed 200 farmworkers and look at issues of citizenship and migrant worker experiences of labour rights violation.
After last week’s deadly attacks in Paris, there has been a wave of anti-refugee sentiment. In response, many activists and communities have responded in support of refugees. Many have also written about the inequity on how tragedy and terror attacks are reported. Here are a few key pieces:
Dear politicians who want to bar Syrian refugees: here are 6 ways you’re wrong
George Takei seizes teachable moment on Japanese internment and Syrian refugees
How a refugee gets to America, explained by an actual refugee
Refugees welcome: Local Muslims, activists urge a rethink (Saskatchewan)
Unworthy victims: Western wars have killed four million Muslims since 1990
The Media Did Cover Attacks on Insert Country Here - You Just Weren’t Reading It