We acknowledge that wide-spread systemic racism has disproportionately disadvantaged Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities and individuals for far too long, making it harder for them to benefit from economic opportunities.
Carnelian Web Services is a small business but we will strive to be an accomplice in the struggle of racialized and marginalized communities, using three action areas.
- Speaking up for inclusion – offering DEI trainings and other resources for inclusion.
- Working to uplift racialized and marginalized groups by any means necessary.
- Striving to avoid using any products made by incarcerated individuals; boycotting products made in countries engaged in apartheid or genocide.
See also our Land Acknowledgment.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
~ Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 16 April, 1963
Anti-racism resources
Civil Courage & Intervention
Who, if not you? Civil courage by Maria Grjasnow
Many people are afraid or do not know how to react when witnessing a racist incident. In such situations, civil courage is needed. Speaking up to support someone in need while others are silent is not easy. But civil courage is possible and can be trained.
How to resist Islamophobic harassment by Maeril
A guide to how to intervene if you witness Islamophobic or other racist harassment.
Understanding Systemic Racism
General
- (Divorcing) White Supremacy Culture – coming home to who we really are. A web resource by Tema Okun.
- Why Using the Dictionary Definition of Racism Just Doesn’t Work (by Robot Hugs on Everyday Feminism)
- Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism – Robin DiAngelo, Huffington Post, April 2015.
“Social scientists understand racism as a multidimensional and highly adaptive system — a system that ensures an unequal distribution of resources between racial groups. Because whites built and dominate all significant institutions, (often at the expense of and on the uncompensated labor of other groups), their interests are embedded in the foundation of U.S. society. While individual whites may be against racism, they still benefit from the distribution of resources controlled by their group.”
- Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is – John Scalzi, Whatever, May 2012.
“In the role playing game known as The Real World, “Straight White Male” is the lowest difficulty setting there is.”
- 6 Ways Well-Intentioned People Whitesplain Racism (And Why They Need to Stop) – Maisha Z. Johnson, Everyday Feminism, February 2016.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to share my experiences with racism, only to have a white person try to speak over me about it – and often by belittling how racism hurts me.” - Book review: Learning to be white (Thandeka), by Kirsten Johnson
“You’ve likely seen the shirts that say: No One is Born Racist. So what are the experiences that teach racism? Thandeka recounts story after story of white children acting as though closeness with people of color is natural and normal, as though they belonged with people of color or could invite them into their family and community life. In a wide variety of ways — from subtle to overt — the children consistently got the message this behavior was unacceptable, inappropriate or not in good taste.” - How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi – excellent book exploring what antiracism is and how to move things forward.
- The Overton Window. How to effect social change by shifting the policy debate.
Canada
- Stop Racism and Hate – Canada
Anti-racist organisation - Ontario Anti-Racism Directorate
works to address and prevent systemic racism in government policy, legislation, programs and services. - Anti-racism work – Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Commission is made up of a diverse group of people, many of whom have lived experiences of the very kinds of discrimination that the Canadian Human Rights Act exists to protect.