Open Hearing on Racism to Invoke Memory and Confirm Voices of Experience
OPENING REMARKS BY DR. ESMERALDA M.A. THORNHILL (EXCERPT)

Context & Need for Today's Gathering

Council of Elders, Distinguished Members of the Bench, Esteemed Observers, Special Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen...

Today is important on several levels. A 1960 unconscionable act of racism under South Africa's then apartheid régime was the catalyst that resulted in today's date, March 21st, being declared and commemorated world-wide by the International Community as the International Day to Eliminate Racial Discrimination. But, in addition, March 21st 2001 is significant because this year 2001 marks the start of the 3rd Millennium, and we are well into the 3rd United Nations Decade to Combat Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. And lastly, the forthcoming Third World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) scheduled for August-September in Durban South Africa is mobilizing and mustering the world's resources for the purpose of eradicating the scourge of racism.

For all these reasons and because of its mandate to bring Black culture, reality, perspectives, experiences and concerns into the Academy, the James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies is very proud to co-sponsor, within the context of its Eminent Speakers' Series this afternoon's Open Hearing To Invoke Memory and Confirm Voices of Experience. And this is appropriate.

For today's gathering has the legal, political and spiritual imprimatur or stamp of legitimacy of the United Nations, of the International Community, of our Nation State, Canada, of our provincial and municipal authorities and of our Spiritual Leadership.. On this very day right now, Nation States the world over are re-affirming the commitment they have made to eradicate Racism; this is a time when our own federal government is criss-crossing the country in national consultations on Racism; it is also a moment when provincial, municipal and public authorities and agencies are also inscribing Racism as a priority on their own particular agendas, and publicly re-viewing and re-newing their commitment to eliminate Racism. Ladies & Gentlemen, it then becomes more than fitting and, timely for us to gather here today, in this place, in this unprecedented way.

The theme of today's Hearing, An Open Hearing to Invoke Memory and Confirm Voices of Experience, is also topical and, I might addÉlong overdue. You see, Racism is a polymorphous agent of death - of social, civil, and physical death spawning premature births, shortened lives, starving children, debilitating theft of childhood, stolen innocence, stunted aspirations, promises betrayed, expectations unfulfilled... dignity & humanity assailed, abusive larceny, shattered dreams, (irretrievable) peace of mind, degrading insults and insulting stereotypes forcibly imposed.

As African American philosopher Leonard Harris goes on to affirm,

"The ability of a population [whether Black or Aboriginal for example] to accumulate wealth and transfer assets to their progeny is stunted by racism. As the bane of honor, respect, and a sense of self-worth, racism surreptitiously stereotypes. It stereotypes its Victim[- Survivors] as persons inherently bereft of virtues and incapable of growth. Racism is the agent that [would] create and sustain a virulent pessimism in its victims. The subtle nuances that encourage granting unmerited and undue status to a racial social kind are the tropes [or recurring themes] of Racism. Racism creates criminals, cruel punishments , and crippling confinement, while the representatives of virtue profit from sustaining the conditions that ferment crime. Systemic denial of a population's humanity is the hallmark of racism." Leonard Harris (Ed.) Racism:Key Concepts in Critical Theory, New York: Humanity Books, 437.

Because it attacks our humanity, Racism is a health hazard that plunders our spirit, putting us at risk individually and collectively.

Consequently, this Hearing today constitutes a sacred and spiritual spaceÑ for our spirits are in need of healing. This is also a protected space, intended to be therapeutic, addressing above all else, Black Community comfort level.... For, though our Canadian society throughout History has always been very 'race conscious', yet we continue to stolidly maintain a tradition of "inexplicitness" when it comes to issues of 'Race' concerning our Communities ...

E.M.A. Thornhill, Ethics in the Legal Profession: The Issue of Access (1993)Alberta Law Review

Introduction by Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill, Halifax, March 2001