Chapter 12: Anti-Racist social Work today

Question 1

Immigration policy

Answer 1

legislation and supporting policies that dictate who may enter, live, and work in Canada. Ethnic and race relations in Canada have been heavily influenced by immigration policy. Prior to 1967, “Nationality” was one of the criteria used to qualify for admission to Canada, and Canadian immigration policy was undoubtedly Eurocentric. In 1967, new legislation introduced a point system, whereby prospective immigrants had to qualify based on such criteria as education, work experience, language fluency, and age.

Question 2

multiculturalism

Answer 2

The social preservation, recognition, and celebration of racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity. In 1971, Canada became the first country to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. The policy was aimed at a greater integration o Canadian society by providing diverse ethnic minority groups with a sense of belonging to Canada.

Question 3

charter of rights and freedoms

Answer 3

The first section of the Constitution Act, the charter of Rights and Freedoms, describes the fundamental individual and group rights of citizens, including freedom of religion, voting rights, and equality rights. the Canadian Constitution was patriated (or brought under Canadian control) in 1982. The government of Quebec did not endorse the act on the grounds that it failed to recognize Quebec’s distinctness.

Question 4

employment equity

Answer 4

The use of hiring policies, procedures, and programs to increase employment opportunities for groups previously denied advancement. Designed to help employment and promotion opportunities for women and other marginalized groups, employ equity was not introduced in Canada until the 1980s

Question 5

hate crimes

Answer 5

Crimes that target people solely because of who they are, or who they are thought to be; usually perpetrated against members of marginalized groups.

Question 6

stereotype

Answer 6

a set of beliefs or perceptions of groups of people, or ideas held by a number of people, often not based on fact.

Question 7

prejudice

Answer 7

An adverse opinion that “pre-judges” entire groups based on incomplete and inaccurate information

Question 8

ethnicity

Answer 8

From a Greek word meaning “people”, refers to a category of people who share a common heritage, identity, or origin

Question 9

ethnic group

Answer 9

a group of persons who share a common heritage, identity, or origin.

Question 10

culture

Answer 10

The generally shared knowledge, beliefs, and values of members of society. Culture is conveyed from generation to generation through the process of socialization.

Question 11

ethnocentrism

Answer 11

An attitude that one’s own culture, society, or group is inherently superior to all others. . Ethnocentrism means an inability to appreciate others whose culture may include a different racial group, ethnic group, religion, morality, language, political system, economic system, and so on. It also means an inability to see a common humanity and human condition facing all women and men in all cultures and societies beneath the surface variations in social and cultural traditions.

Question 12

race

Answer 12

An arbitrary classification of human beings based on skin colour and other superficial physical characteristics. Modern biologists do not recognize “race” as a meaningful scientific category and recent human genome research is conclusive on this point. Rather, race is considered a social construct used to create hierarchies among groups of people’ for example, in North America a person with features attributed to “african” heritage will be black, even if the majority of his or her ancestors are European in origin – a sibling who does not have such features would be considered white, despite having the same genetic background.

Question 13

visible minorities

Answer 13

Within the Canadian context, this term (widely used in government statistics) refers to individuals who can be visibly identified and perceived as belonging to a minority group. Usually used in terms of racial groups other than those of European origin. Because it emphasizes physical difference from the “dominant” culture, it is a somewhat contentious term.

Question 14

racism

Answer 14

individual and institutionalized beliefs and practices that advocate that some “races” are inferior to others. The belief that one’s racial group is somehow superior to other groups leads, with the aid of stereotypes, to discrimination and prejudice.

Question 15

discrimination

Answer 15

The unequal treatment of individuals on the basis of their personal characteristics, which may include age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnic or physical identity.

Question 16

systemic discrimination

Answer 16

the operating policies, structures, and functions of an ongoing system or normative patterns that subjugate, oppress, and force the dependence of individuals or groups. It involves establishing and sanctioning unequal rights, goals, and priorities and sanctioning inequality in status and access to goods and services.

Question 17

anti-racist social work

Answer 17

an approach to practice which focuses specifically on how racism affects the lives of people of colour at the individual, institutional, or societal levels in the form of attitudes, beliefs, policies, or procedures; understands racism using an economic and social analysis of relations between members of different groups.

Question 18

Chinese Immigration and the Head Tax

Answer 18

Chinese immigrants were brought over to Canada to build the CPR. After it was completed, Canada put a head tax for Chinese people so to deter them from wanting to come here, the country for white people.
· In 2000, the Canadian government would not pay up for the compensation of Head tax for Chinese-Canadian immigrants.

Question 19

Japanese-Canadians and Internment

Answer 19

· During WWII, policies were made for the internment of “enemy aliens”, and took away their homes and businesses

Question 20

Jewish Refugees

Answer 20

· Canada has denied passage of many European Jews, during and directly after WWII

Question 21

Black People in Canada

Answer 21

· After slavery was abolished by the British Empire, black people migrated into Canada, most of them Black Loyalists, who had fought for their freedom on the side of Britain. They were promised freedom, education, employment and citizenship, but were instead left to fend for themselves, returning to slavery through abject poverty. Many asked to return to Africa
· Canada practiced slavery until late in the 19th century, and continued to have de jure racism until the 50s

Question 22

The New Immigration

Answer 22

Canada created a new immigration policy where “country of origin” was not among the criteria for application, which led to a huge shift in immigration

Question 23

“Visible Minorities”

Answer 23

· There are a lot of visible minorities in Canada, predominantly Chinese and South Asian

Question 24

Public Policy Implications

Answer 24

· There’s a whole lotta systemic racism

Question 25

Multiculturalism Policy

Answer 25

In 1988, the Multiculturalism Policy was passed, and allowed for a lot of other policies about education to happen. This has affected visible minorities positively, but thee is still structural discrimination that they face

Question 26

Human Rights Legislation

Answer 26

· Canada has the legislation, but the implementation has yet to be a success due to limited resources and case backlogs

Question 27

Combating Hate Crime

Answer 27

Hate crimes are perpetrated mostly by young people not in a bout of teenage angst. The hate is ingrained in the family’s values
Social workers try to educate communities through an anti-racist approach, working in a collaborative, community-based approach with the minorities

Question 28

Towards an Anti-Racist Social Work: the Personal, Institutional, and Societal

Answer 28

To use this approach, you need to be introspective and evaluate your own emotions, as well as to combat different forms of racism
· To evaluate the individual, you need to see your own practice and make it free of racism, even unintentional

Question 29

Exemplary Practice

Answer 29

Some practices go out and educate the community on racism and how it can directly affect the community, and advocates for employment equity for minorities
· They also need to work collaboratively with the minority population

Question 30

Anti-Racism Analysis Tool

Answer 30

Emphasizes on placing personal difficulties into a larger social context. Not doing so can result in a “blaming the victim” practice
· It focuses attention on personal, institutional, and ideological aspects of the certain problem
· Be aware of representation