Analysis of Canadian News Article: Racism and Discrimination in Canada

This essay analyzes a Canadian news article titled "Canada is overdue for a reckoning with its anti-black racism," which discusses a recent incident of racial profiling involving an 11-year-old boy in Alberta. The article critiques the myth of a post-racial Canada, highlighting the persistence of racism within the country. The essay examines the incident where the boy was asked to remove his durag, and his mother's subsequent confrontation with school authorities. It argues that the incident reflects deeper issues of racial bias and discrimination in Canadian educational institutions and society at large. The analysis draws parallels to historical discrimination against African Americans, particularly during the Harlem Renaissance. The essay concludes that racism remains a significant problem in Canada, necessitating improvements in the treatment of Black individuals and the elimination of racial injustice.

Running head: CANADIAN NEWS ANALYSIS
Canadian News Analysis
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CANADIAN NEWS ANALYSIS
Introduction:
The news article that has been chosen is “Canada is overdue for a reckoning with its
anti-black racism”. The article talks of a recent incident that had taken place in Alberta,
Canada. It aims at proving that the post-racial image of Canada is a mere myth. The
discussion analyses the news article in much details.
Discussion:
The article mainly conveys that few parts of the nation of Canada still has the concept
of racism prevailing. An 11- year old boy has been racially profiled in a school in Alberta
because he was wearing a durag (Bero, 2019). He had been asked to remove his cape since it
probably violated the norms of the school. His mother Una Momolu had raised a voice
against this ill treatment, but the authorities and the management of the school ended up
calling the police and accusing that the lady had been screaming and disrupting the school
ambience (Bero, 2019). The school authorities had indeed apologized for using wrong terms
of abuse but banned the mother to come in the school premises.
The bias still prevails in Canada and racial politics have not been eliminated even in
this present day scenario. The bias is not about girls or boys, or about gender discrimination,
but it is about racism. There have been several examples of discrimination of the black from
the whites in Canada. The Canadian educational institutions have often bullied the students
because their skin colour had been black. The incident clearly talks about the bias that had
been earlier present in the history of Canadian nationalism where the African American
group of people were discriminated and were not treated as human beings. This segment of
people have been represented here (Bero, 2019).
The article subtly conveys to the audience about the white people, or the aristocratic
ones. They still bully the African Americans. The subject that it points its finger to is the

2CANADIAN NEWS ANALYSIS
history and the discrimination that had been earlier exerted upon the black people by the
white Americans. This kind of treatment did prevail during the Harlem Renaissance. The
destructive racial dynamics still exists in the parts of Canada irrespective of calling the
country as a developed one.
The article seemed to be talking about the case that imply racism. The fact of racism
can indeed not be ignored, however, along with the racism aspect of this, there is something
else apart from this. Durag is not worn by all the people. Dating back to the history it can be
found out that the Durags were originally worn by the African American women labourers
and slaves (Reading & Leeuw, 2014). However after all these years, the durags are also worn
to maintain hairstyles. The ill treatment of the slaves in America had been etched down in the
history. This incident might be something else at the deeper level. With the ill treatment, the
school authorities tried to exert their white power and prove to the other students that there is
a great difference between the black and the whites. Racism might be the prevalent issue but
the inequality that prevails and thrives in Canada is another reason that brings out the
gruesome reality.
Conclusion:
Thus from the above analysis it can be concluded that the racism is something that
could not be eradicated even in today’s time and the children in schools are falling victim to
this injustice. Canada needs to improve and modernise itself and threat both the black and the
whites equally without any discrimination. The treatment of the black by the whites should be
taken care of and there should be no racial injustice in the nation.

3CANADIAN NEWS ANALYSIS
Reference list
Bero, T. (2019). Canada is overdue for a reckoning with its anti-black racism | Tayo Bero.
the Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2020, from
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/06/canada-overdue-reckoning-anti-
black-racism.
Reading, C., & de Leeuw, S. (2014). Aboriginal experiences with racism and its
impacts. Prince George: National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health.