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This article was originally authored by Assistant Professor and published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis, and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

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According to 91��ɫ sociologist Livy Visano, these existing solutions are rooted in social and economic systems where wealth and power are cemented in unequal proportions and perceptions of crime are cast unfairly on the downtrodden.

Some experts suggest that reducing poverty will reduce crime. But the link between impoverishment and crime is more complex than many imagine, Visano says.

Certainly, Visano says, gun and gang crimes are largely products of poverty—where the acquisition of goods, respect, education and power is limited by economic status. However, Visano questions the strength of this link: "[w]e have a tendency to look at this (poverty-crime) relationship and not question what crime is.”

Visano says there are three broad categories of crime — crimes of pathology (or mental illness) crimes of passion and those of profit.

“Crimes of pathology (such as) serial killers straddle all classes, crimes of passion staddle all classes,” Visano says. “But crimes of profit—this also involves all classes—but the manifestations seem to be quite different. But for the more disadvantaged communities we see more visible forms, more obvious forms … in the more public and visible space,” Visano says.

Visano contends, however, that the most important tools for reducing violence and street crime may rest within disadvantaged communities themselves, where the vast majority of people have knowledge of street and gang life, but shun it.

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During this time of worldwide protest against anti-Black racist violence, we need to be reflective and reflexive of our own racism and biases. Anti-Black racial harassment, racial profiling, and violence against Black students at 91��ɫ, and the deplorably low representation of Black faculty members are social justice issues that require immediate attention.

As the department that houses the Human Rights and Equity Studies (HREQ) degree program and the Certificate in Anti-Racist Research & Practice (CARRP), we pledge to:

• develop more specific courses on anti-Black racism, and
• prioritize the hiring of Black faculty members to teach our courses and to reflect our student body.

In this regard, we fully support the recent recommendation by the Joint Sub-Committee on Employment Equity and Inclusivity (JSCEEI) which has called for six targeted hires of Black faculty this year, along with a range of other recommendations for retaining Black faculty members and mentoring Black students.

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Congratulations to Yvonne Su on this achievement.

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LA&PS and the Department of Equity Studies are delighted that Professor Colaguori was selected as the winner for 2019-20 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching under Tenured/Tenure stream category.

Congratulations on this achievement!

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On Thursday, February 27th, 2020, Department of Equity Studies Professor Maggie Quirt and her HREQ 3020 Commemoration and Human Rights class had the pleasure of welcoming Markham Councillors Andrew Keyes and Isa Lee to lecture for a discussion of a recent motion to ban the raising of flags of foreign nations at the Markham Civic Centre. At issue was the question of whether flying the flags of foreign nations with questionable human rights records should be permitted.

During the discussion, Councillor Lee explained how she attended many flag-raising ceremonies well before becoming an elected councillor, and always understood these events to be a recognition of heritage and culture. It was not until after the election that the human rights issues related to flag-raising came to her attention.

Councillor Keyes, on the other hand, recognized flag-raising ceremonies in communities as more political rather than cultural; and argued that the practice may further escalate ethnic tensions. He added that he recognized the sensitive nature of this issue and noted that raising awareness is an opportunity to de-escalate tension.

While Councillor Keyes and Councillor Lee voted differently on the motion (which ultimately did not pass), both agreed that the banning of flag-raising suppresses the right to expression. At the same time, as councillors representing a broad range of constituents, they recognized the need to encourage inclusivity in the City of Markham and for the families of different ethnic and cultural background that reside there.

Human Rights and Equity Studies (HREQ) students had ample opportunity to ask the councillors questions, and a lively discussion ensued. One concern noted by HREQ students was the double standard of Markham residents critiquing the human rights record of other nations when human rights abuses against Indigenous peoples in Canada are ongoing.

Written by HREQ student Ajay-Ashwin Kankasuthan.

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