The Pervasiveness of Racial Profiling for Indigenous and Black Communities

Falconers LLP lawyer, Anthony Morgan, provides commentary for the Globe and Mail article “Report sheds light on undisclosed racial profiling in Ontario,” and CBC’s Metro Morning segment “Racial Profiling” with Matt Galloway.

Respectively, Morgan was quoted, “negative stereotypes persist that frame black people as nuisances and shoplifters. Even if business owners don’t suspect black people to be engaging in criminal behaviour, there’s a perception that somehow their business will suffer by the presence of black people.”

During the Metro Morning segment, Morgan joined Aimée Carbonneau, a registered midwife at Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto (SGMT), which is a group of midwives who offer maternity care to women from the City of Toronto, particularly those from the downtown area, and from the Indigenous community. Together they discussed the corrosive effect of racial profiling for Indigenous and Black communities.

Morgan stated “on an individual level, those subjected may have lower self-esteem, lower sense of self worth, and their feelings of belonging within their society and community is fundamentally damaged. However, on a broader level thinking about the fabric of our society, the trust between those individuals subjected and governmental institutions will be severely diminished. When asked how to “turn this around” he said, by validating experiences because racial profiling has been so common for those subjected. As such, there is a second guessing of themselves, and through education they can be informed on how to hold systems accountable to feel empowered.”

In the News

Report sheds light on undisclosed racial profiling in Ontario   May 3, 2017, Globe and Mail

Racial Profiling   May 4, 2017, CBC Metro Morning

Indigenous people say racial profiling most often felt in stores: Human Rights Commission report   May 4, 2017, CBC

Under suspicion, research and consultation report on racial profiling in Ontario 2017   OHRC

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