Like you, we’ve been watching with horror the anti-Black racist events happening in the United States, and the recent rise in anti-Asian racism here at home. And all of this is happening as we mark the one year anniversary of the final report from the National Inquiry on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
For many of us, it’s not easy to figure out how to respond to these historic and current injustices. But we know we must because the racism that Indigenous people, Black people and people of colour experience has profound and inter-generational impacts.
A safe, secure, affordable home for everyone is BCNPHA’s mission. We can’t achieve our mission until we all understand the ways that racism appears in our housing system. Because it does, just like it appears in virtually all other parts of society.
If you’re someone who has experienced racism your whole life, it’s easy to spot. If you’re like me and have never been the direct target of racism, you may not have the training and skills to identify it, name it, and respond to it.
We’ve made a commitment at BCNPHA to provide staff training on implicit bias, how to identify racism in the workplace and in our communities, and what each of us as individuals can do about it. We also make that same commitment to all staff in the non-profit housing sector in the weeks, months and years ahead. Please join us as we work to create a more just housing system for all British Columbians.
