This report was published by Wisdom2Action in partnership with Frayme and The Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute.

HERE’S HOW THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE THIS REPORT:

The Anti-Black Racism Project surveyed Black and African Nova Scotian youth about their experiences accessing services in the following sectors: education, the justice system, healthcare, and recreation. The goal of the project was to understand how anti-Black racism within social services impacts Black and African youth in the province and to identify recommendations to systemically tackle anti-Black racism. We received a total of 215 responses which we analyzed with the help of our Youth Advisory Committee composed of Black and African Nova Scotian youth. What we found was that anti-Black racism was indeed an issue for Black and African youth accessing social services. While youth did report positive experiences within these sectors, they also generally reported not feeling fully welcome, comfortable, or wanted in many spaces, especially within education and recreation. Youth reported lack of diversity and representation amongst employees and workers in all sectors as an issue as well as experiencing microaggressions within these spaces. The survey reflected many youth’s mistrust and fear of healthcare providers and police officers within the healthcare and justice system respectively. The survey has illustrated how anti-Black racism manifests within social services in Nova Scotia through a lack of diversity amongst staff, lack of knowledge about Black issues/systemic anti-Black racism, the prevalence of microaggressions, acts of exclusion against Black and African youth, and a general lack of effort to make Black youth feel welcome, seen and respected. Youth identified some solutions to these issues in the form of increased representation within sectors, required anti-oppression and equity training for staff across sectors, and improved outreach to share programs and resources that already exist to serve Black and African youth.