Author challenges racism
YuWei Gao, The Peak

Did you know that in the 19th century, there were thousands of KKK members in Canada? At the same time, did you know that it was a crime for Chinese restaurant owners to hire white women? Think racism is not an issue? Think again.

Constance Backhouse is a professor of law at the University of Ottawa, where she specializes in criminal law, human rights, and women and the law. She recently gave a lecture at SFU's Harbour Centre as part of the Women's Studies Writer's Series Program. She is the author of Colour-Coded: A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900-1950, where she takes the reader through the history of Canadian law in which non-whites have experienced systemic racism in the justice system.

Backhouse unflinchingly told the Harbour Centre audience that Canadian society is still unfairly controlled by white people, with few opportunities for racial diversity in the legal system. She strongly believes that the Canadian justice system must be improved. "The laws are more rhetorical than real, and they are not enforced. On the surface everything looks alright, but underneath, there is something wrong," said Backhouse.

In Colour-Coded, Backhouse illustrated six different court cases of racial discrimination. The one she highlighted during her lecture was the story of Viola Desman, a 32-year-old, black, middle-class woman who was wrongly convicted and fined for her quiet determination to sit in the white section of a segregated theatre so she could see more clearly. This event occurred in 1946. To what extent has Canadian society changed since then?

I feel that we have made progress in this area. Yet, Backhouse firmly argues that the progress was "too slow." She says that education in racial acceptance and changes to laws and enforcement are key steps to making a difference in the fight to stop racism.

Carla Brumpton, a SFU political science student who attended the lecture said, "If people are more aware, then there will be some action taken to prevent racism. Even though I'm in political science, this issue affects every faculty."

Backhouse says that she frequently experiences opposition to her point of view. Many whites find her political stance offensive, yet she has supporters. "Where there is racism, there is resistance," says Backhouse. She is part of a growing community committed to ending racism.

Poet, novelist, and activist Dionne Brand currently holds the Ruth Wynn Woodward Endowed Professorship in the women's studies department at SFU. Brand invited Backhouse to the writer's series. As a black writer, Brand has written many subversive works to help the fight against racism. In fact, Backhouse notes that her curiosity and concern about these problems was piqued after reading Brand's works and those of others committed to these issues. Currently, Backhouse is conducting a study of the history of sexual assault law and child custody law in Canada and Australia.

The Writer's Series continues with novelist Kerri Sakamoto. Winner of the Commonwealth Prize for best first book in 1999, this Toronto-born writer has produced fiction, film scripts, short stories and visual-arts criticism. The reading will be held on March 15, SFU Harbour Centre, Rm. 1400-1410, 7 p.m. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. Call 291-5100.

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