Injustice, Justice, and Africentric Practice in Canada

The existence of systemic prejudice and the degree to which it impacts decision-making, both within, and outside the criminal justice system is highly contested. Those who deny the existence of systemic issues when presented with evidence to the contrary often minimize and attempt to contain the impact of such cases as the result of nothing more than “a few bad apples.” Even the decision as to whether to collect race-crime statistics in this country is cause for dispute, with arguments on either side of the issue (Roberts & Doob, 1997; Wortley & Owusu-Bempah, 2009). Our understanding of, and engagement with, these phenomena are stunted if we as a nation are not even able to concede that discrimination exists within our society. While the debate may still be waging, the evidence to support the existence of racism and discrimination within our criminal justice system is written throughout our history. Within the American context, freed Black citizens left a period of enslavement to enter into segregation and incarceration through policies and practices that specifically targeted racialized individuals (McElligott, 2017). Canadians may wish to argue such systemic racism is not part of our history, however, there is an almost direct connection between the advance of the settler frontier in Northern Ontario and the overrepresentation of Indigenous women in the first female prison, the Mercer Reformatory (McElligott, 2017). The residual impact of colonialism in Canada persists today, as African-Canadian Ethnocultural offenders are still overrepresented in correctional facilities (Bernard, 2016). This systemic discrimination characterizes the modern criminal justice system. Racism creates the conditions that limit the life opportunities for those seen and marked as ‘other.’ The term Anti-Black Racism calls to attention the failings of the Canadian government to respond to the unique and pervasive nature of system discrimination against African Canadians (James et al., 2010; Warner, 2006). Refusing to collect data that would undermine the claim that Canada is a beacon of diversity and acceptance allows this targeted discrimination to exist unchallenged. The criminalization of racialized minorities is a traditional practice that remains an integral part of our criminal justice system and clearly a human rights issue. Where differential treatment exists, so too does the value that some are not worthy of the same basic rights awarded to others. Racism and discrimination appear to be woven into our cultural fabric; their presence revealed not just within our criminal justice system, but within our educational system as well. These institutions form a complex web of practices that differentially supports pathways to success or incarceration depending on a person’s social location and identity. The school to prison pipeline has been used to refer to the disciplinary policies and patterns of socialization utilized within school settings to differentially target minority students (particularly young African-Canadian males) away from educational success, and towards incarceration (Swain & Noblit, 2011). To better understand the impacts of this phenomenon on the life course of marginalized youth, we explore both school socialization patterns and disciplinary actions. What becomes clear in this analysis is that education, like the criminal justice system, is a site of control within society, where racist values are enacted from elementary school onwards (Swain & Noblit, 2011). The Eurocentric values that have characterized the formation of our institutions have led to the criminalization of children’s behaviour in classrooms, creating a pipeline that funnels racialized students to imprisonment. Socialization of children is an integral part of the educational system in Canada. Early childhood education helps teach acceptable behaviour throughout a student’s life course. Messages students hear about themselves and their abilities will shape their trajectory throughout their education. Unfortunately, many Canadian …