Support for Anti-Racism Initiatives and Protests
Dear Community,
It is with great sadness and concern that we have watched and listened to the tragic events that have taken place in America in recent weeks: the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of the Minnesota police, the efforts of a woman in New York to “sic” the police on an African-American man who politely asked her to leash her dog, the accosting and shooting of a black man who was jogging in a neighbourhood.
These and other incidents of racism, prejudice and injustice took place while the Black community in the western world has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, not just in terms of illnesses and lives lost, but also in being more likely to be furloughed from work.
The Caribbean has always been a melting pot of peoples and cultures: indigenous tribes, slaves brought from Africa, indentured labourers from China and India, immigrants fleeing persecution and wars in Europe and the Middle East – all these people groups are the ancestors of today’s Caribbean citizens. Equality, mutual respect and pursuing the common good are the bases for their efforts to build a just and healthy society.
We, the CCAWR, are also citizens of Canada and enthusiastic supporters of multiculturalism and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
For these reasons, the CCAWR stands with those who peacefully protest and stand against racism, discrimination, prejudice and all other forms of hate. We wish a just society where every individual is enabled and inspired to develop their full potential, for the benefit of their communities and families. Our mission is to promote the interests of persons of Caribbean descent and we recognize that:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We lend our support and encouragement to all who strive for positive change, and work for a fairer society.
Regards,
Caribbean Canadian Association of Waterloo Region