Blog Post

Solutions to Black Youth Violence

Verlyn Francis • Jun 02, 2006

The Black Community's Comprehensive Solutions to Youth Violence in Toronto

SOLUTIONS:

BLACK YOUTH VIOLENCE IN TORONTO

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2005, 52 of 78 homicides in Toronto were committed with guns. The majority of the homicides were by Black young men shooting other Black men. While there had been a greater number of homicides in previous years, the frequency, brazenness and unrelenting nature of these killings have caused the residents of the Greater Toronto Area to demand solutions.

Most experts agree that the risk of becoming involved in criminal activities is influenced by personal as well as social factors. The lack of strong bonds to society often results in delinquency. People who are ‘bonded’ tend to have strong attachments to others who conform to society’s goals and who participate in conventional work, education and leisure activities. A young person’s ties to parents, teachers, community leaders and conforming peers are important sources of informal control that can help monitor leisure time and discourage criminal behaviour. Also implicated in the major root causes of crime in Toronto are economic, social, policing and justice, urban planning and health-related issues. The most debilitating economic causes were poverty, cuts to community resources to children, youth and families, and unemployment. The social causes are ineffective parenting, intolerance, lack of respect for others, and lack of connectedness to neighbours.

Another significant factor is the synergistic effect of racial discrimination which affects the lives of Blacks in Toronto, regardless of socio-economic status or education.

To reduce Black youth crime in Toronto, it is then important to look for lasting solutions in all of the following components:

1. Development of strong bonds to Toronto;

2. Racial discrimination;

3. Policing and the criminal justice system;

4. Education and caring, conscientious teachers;

5. Peers who do not participate in crime;

6. Bonding between parents and children;

7. Inspiring community leaders and mentors;

8. Meaningful employment and employment opportunities; and

9. Sports and recreational activities.

In the quest for solutions, the literature was reviewed, individual interviews were conducted and a summit was convened of Black community leaders including academics, business people, community workers, lawyers, program deliverers, educators and young people.

The 64 solutions are set out in the body of the report under the following four general headings:

A. Making Black Youth Feel a Valued Part of Toronto

B. Establishing High Expectations for Black Youths

C. Ensuring Black Youth have Opportunities to Excel

D. Encouraging the Role of Black Families, Culture and Community

Toronto’s general affluence masks areas of severe poverty and grave marginalization. Black youth violence takes a toll on the whole City. That the violence is now confined to the most under-privileged portions of the City does not mean it will continue to be so. The violence that is manifesting itself now was predictable and was predicted over twenty years ago. At that time, Blacks in the City petitioned governments, social service agencies, foundations, corporations and individuals for funds to put in place programs that were needed to engage young people. They received little, if any, funding and the suggested programs and structural changes were not instituted. The programs that the Toronto Black community tried to institute with limited resources and much volunteer input were not enough.

There is great urgency to implement the solutions in this report before the anger and hopelessness of Black youth results in an escalation of the violence.

PARTICIPANTS

Ibrahim Absiye

Executive Director, Midaynta Community Services

Professor Carl James

York University

Zanana Akande, Past President

Urban Alliance on Race Relations

Stanley Julien, Vice-President

BMO Financial Group

Dr. Pamela Appelt

Retired Citizenship Court Judge

Denham Jolly

President, FLOW 93.5

Gary Bennett

Partner, RZCD Law Firm LLP

Inez Johnson

Retired Principal

Floydeen Charles-Fridal

Program Director, Rexdale Community Health Centre

Ken Johnson

Retired Educator

Dr. Inez Elliston

Retired Educator

Camille Lee

Barrister & Solicitor

Keith Forde

Deputy Chief, Toronto Police Service

Randy McLean

Manager of Economic Policy

City of Toronto

Kevin Francis

Managing Director, Diversified Youth Inc.

Amanuel Melles

Director, Organizational Development

United Way of Greater Toronto

Dr. Pat Francis

Pastor, Kingdom Covenant Community Services

Raymond Micah, Executive Director

African Canadian Social Development Council

George Fynn

CHRY 105.5 FM Radio

Arnold Minors

Policy Development Officer, Community Safety Secretariat

Paul Green, Director

B.L.O.C.K. Headz

Sylvia Searles

Special Assistant, Office of Mayor David Miller

Kamala-Jean Gopie

Immigration and Refugee Board

Sharon Shelton

Executive Director, Tropicana Community Services

Dr. Grace-Edward Galabuzi

Professor, Ryerson University

Rosetta Springer

Consultant

TORONTO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

SOLUTIONS TO BLACK YOUTH VIOLENCE IN TORONTO

by Verlyn F. Francis

26 January 2006

INTRODUCTION

The resort to finger-pointing and calls for punishment will not stop this escalating problem. Too many Black youths feel they have been pushed out of Toronto’s society. They have opted instead to form a parallel society which has its own rules and code of conduct. It is a place where, in their view, it is easier to live knowing that you could be gunned down at any time than to deal with the anger and despair that comes from unfairness and non-acceptance. The issue here is not what the people of Toronto think they are doing but how their actions are perceived by these Black youths and the impact it has on their lives.

Toronto cannot distance itself from the problem that is manifesting itself in this orgy of violence. It is not a “Black” problem. It is not a problem of certain pockets of the city. It is Toronto’s problem. It affects the economy, sense of security and well-being of the whole city. Every citizen, business, institution, organization and level of government has a stake in the outcome. Solutions must be found before the violence escalates.

The first step in solving a problem is to understand it.

Through literature review, a Black community summit and individual interviews, it is now clear that this is a multi-faceted problem that manifests itself in youth violence. If there is to be a comprehensive solution to the problem, all of the components of the problem have to be addressed.

WHAT IS CAUSING BLACK YOUTH VIOLENCE?

The authors of the “Youth and Crime” section of Canadian Social Trends report that most experts agree that the risk of becoming involved in criminal activities is influenced by personal as well as social factors. “Delinquency is often explained by the absence of strong bonds to society. People who are ‘bonded’ tend to have strong attachments to others who conform to society’s goals and who participate in conventional work, education and leisure activities. A young person’s ties to parents, teachers, community leaders and conforming peers are important sources of informal control that can help monitor leisure time and discourage criminal behaviour”.

The City of Toronto, Task Force on Community Safety, came to the conclusion that the major root causes of crime in Toronto were economic, social, policing and justice, urban planning and health-related. The most debilitating economic causes were poverty, cuts to community resources to children, youth and families, and unemployment. The social causes were listed as ineffective parenting, intolerance, lack of respect for others, and lack of connectedness to neighbours.

The literature also indicates that race -- and more particularly, racial discrimination – is the one factor that most significantly affects the lives of Blacks in Toronto, regardless of socio-economic status or education. It is the unacknowledged elephant in the room with Blacks. For many young Black people without the tools to cope, it is a terrible burden which is causing them to reject our society.

To achieve lasting solutions to Black youth violence in Toronto, it is therefore important to address all of the following components:

1. Development of strong bonds to Toronto;

2. Racial discrimination;

3. Policing and the criminal justice system;

4. Education and caring, conscientious teachers;

5. Peers who do not participate in crime;

6. Bonding between parents and children;

7. Inspiring community leaders and mentors;

8. Meaningful employment and employment opportunities; and

9. Sports and Recreational activities.

For ease of reference, the analysis of each component part is set out under four general headings:

A. Making Black Youth Feel a Valued Part of Toronto

B. Establishing High Expectations for Black Youths

C. Encouraging the Role of Black Families, Culture and Community

D. Ensuring Black Youth have Opportunities to Excel

Each general heading includes an analysis of the components which is followed by recommended solutions from the participants and the literature.

A. MAKING BLACK YOUTH FEEL A VALUED PART OF TORONTO

1. Development of Strong Bonds to Toronto

Canada’s history has included Black immigration from the outset. The first recorded Black person in Canada was Mathieu DaCosta who was the interpreter between Samuel de Champlain and the local Mi’kmaq people in 1606 . There were Black Loyalists who came from America in the 1780’s, Maroons came from Jamaica to Halifax in 1796, the Black Refugees of the War of 1812 who fled America for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the Oklahoma Blacks who emigrated to the Canadian Plains in 1911, the Barbadian coal miners to Sydney, Nova Scotia in the 1890’s, West Indians in 1955 and since then immigrants from Africa, England, the Americas and the West Indies. In the 2001 census, 662,200 people identified themselves as Blacks with 47 percent living in the Toronto area.

Unlike many other cultural groups who, over time, have become integrated into the mainstream in professions and decision-making roles, Blacks have always been relegated to the edges of Canadian society and were expected to perform the menial and service-related jobs. While the older generations were prepared to accept this, the succeeding generations see themselves as Canadians entitled to the same rights and privileges as every other citizen.

Persons who do not feel valued in society cannot contribute or participate to their full potential. There are also long term social consequences of diminishing people’s sense of citizenship. Foremost among these are a diminished sense of patriotism, loyalty and national unity. This is now manifesting itself in the second generation which shows that Blacks and South Asians are least likely to self-identify as Canadian and Blacks are least likely to vote.

2. Racial Discrimination

The Government of Canada has described the particular brand of racism that is practised in Canada as follows:

There’s clear evidence that a significant number of Canadians have racist attitudes or, as one poll concluded, ‘are racist in their hearts’. Such attitudes have resulted in actions ranging from name-calling and threatening gestures to writing hate propaganda directed at a specific racial group, damaging property or physical violence. More widespread and more difficult to deal with is the existence of what’s being called ‘silent’ discrimination or ‘polite’ prejudice in our institutions and in daily Canadian life. [writer’s emphasis]

Following the “riots on Yonge Street” in 1992, the Ontario Government asked Stephen Lewis to consult widely and report to the Premier on the causes of the unrest. After his consultations, Mr. Lewis reached the conclusion that Blacks as a group experienced the most discrimination in Southern Ontario.

“First, what we are dealing with, at root, and fundamentally, is anti-Black racism. While it is obviously true that every visible minority community experiences the indignities and wounds of systemic discrimination throughout Southern Ontario, it is the Black community which is the focus. It is Blacks who are being shot, it is Black youth that is unemployed in excessive numbers, it is Black students who are being inappropriately streamed in schools, it is Black kids who are disproportionately dropping-out, it is housing communities with large concentrations of Black residents where the sense of vulnerability and disadvantage is most acute, it is Black employees, professional and non-professional, on whom the doors of upward equity slam shut. Just as the soothing balm of ‘multiculturalism’ cannot mask racism, so racism cannot mask its primary target. It is important, I believe, to acknowledge not only that racism is pervasive, but that at different times in different places, it violates certain minority communities more than others. As one member of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations said: ‘The Blacks are out front, and we’re all lined up behind’.”

While Blacks have to deal with racism every day in all aspects of their lives, the detrimental effect is often dismissed by whites as “a chip on the shoulder” or “attitude”. The corollary effect of being born white is often not acknowledged. Peggy McIntosh described it as follows:

As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage… I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks. … Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow ‘them’ to be more like ‘us’.

The continuing refusal of white Canadians to acknowledge the corrosive effect of racism on its Black citizens was described by Rosemary Brown, the first Black woman in a Canadian legislature, as follows:

If I were to write a book about Canada and its people, the title would be ‘Let’s Pretend, Let’s Deny’. The first line would read, ‘Canadians are a tolerant and compassionate people … at least that is what they tell me’.

Racial profiling or stereotyping has also been described by the Ontario Human Rights Commission Task Force as any action undertaken by reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion or place of origin rather than reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment.

As Carl James pointed out, racism is not simply a reflection of individuals’ negative attitudes toward racial minority members of society (i.e. individual racism), but also a reflection of how the policies, regulations, programs, values, norms, sanctions and practices of institutions within society inform and structure individuals’ attitudes and practices towards those considered subordinate or inferior (i.e. systemic racism).

Most Black youths have experienced racism. They have heard of the Black police officer who was not believed to be a police officer, the Black doctor who had police called because she used a credit card with “Dr.” printed on it, the Black business person who was told they could not own the expensive car, the Black person who was told they could not live in the neighbourhood they were in, the Black employee who did not get the promotion, the guidance counsellor who tells the bright Black student not to apply to university. Racism leaves them enraged, embarrassed, angry, hyper-vigilant, hopeless, helpless, lacking in self-esteem, full of self-hatred.

Racism and its consequences cannot be over-emphasized because, as will be seen, the addition of racism to all the other components of youth violence has a synergistic effect on Black youth. If solutions are not found to this scourge, all else will fail and the violence will escalate.

3. Policing and the Criminal Justice System

Only 38 percent of Toronto citizens believe that the police treat all groups alike. The group most likely to benefit from positive treatment by police were Whites and the rich. The major recipients of negative treatment were thought to be Blacks and other non-Whites.

Even after the Report of the Commission on Systemic Racism in the Ontario Criminal Justice System, the police do not appear to have rebuilt the trust of the Black community. There have been several reports and papers on racial profiling which is damaging lives and creating a level of hostility in Black men that is threatening to undo any good that might have come from the lengthy hearings in the 1990’s. The Commission found that racial profiling resulted in mistrust of institutions. There is the perception that Black men feel the greater brunt of law-enforcement attention but receive less peace-keeping and other types of assistance. Blacks become hyper-vigilant and cautious in order to prevent repetition of negative treatment. The result is loss of dignity and self-esteem, anger and sadness.

It is important to note that racial profiling is not limited to policing but has been found to apply to all organizations and institutions.

The Commission on Systemic Racism found that there was unequal treatment in the court system and in the prison system. For example, the Commission found that 49 percent of Blacks but only 18 percent of Whites were sentenced to prison for simple possession of drugs. The Commission also found there was racial hostility and intolerance in the prison environments; racial segregation of prisoners and racial inequality in the delivery of prison services.

As a consequence of years of mistrust and perceptions of unequal treatment, the police report that they are unable to solve some crimes because witnesses will not give information. The further tragedy here is that as police fail to make arrests and prosecute these crimes, the Black community sees this as vindication of their perception that they do not receive equal protection under the law.

SOLUTIONS

(1) All levels of government, not-for-profits, social service agencies, businesses, organizations, and individuals must have meaningful input from the Black community at all levels of discussion and planning on any potential solutions.

(2) Prepare an audit of the existing community programs and conduct an analysis of what is successful. Build on those programs that are successful.

(3) Establish a Toronto Black Community Centre (TBCC) as a place where any person in Toronto or elsewhere can find information and programs on Blacks in Toronto. The mandate of the TBCC will include cultural, heritage, educational, historical and mentoring programs for and about Blacks in the Greater Toronto Area. The TBCC should have a permanent facility with professional staff and sustainable funding.

(4) Develop a research unit of the TBCC to compile and provide data on issues specific to the Black community.

(5) Develop a Black community communications group within the TBCC as a central place from which to provide information about the Black community and develop media strategies.

(6) Organize a forum for youths to determine their specific issues and concerns and to develop programs for the betterment of Black youths and Toronto.

(7) Provide sustainable funding for effective Black programs and initiatives.

(8) Develop and maintain a Black speakers’ bureau to speak at schools and organizations, and to provide expert comment to the media, governments and organizations.

(9) Provide a comprehensive ten-year plan to end Black violence with the plan being measured against pre-set benchmarks.

B. ESTABLISHING HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR BLACK YOUTH SUCCESS

4. Education, Caring and Conscientious Teachers

The Toronto Summit Alliance emphasized the importance of public education system and the role local public schools have traditionally played in neighbourhoods:

“A high quality public education system educates the ‘whole child’. It aims to foster excellence and achievement and to ensure that all children have the best opportunity to develop their intellectual, social and physical capacities to their full potential. Public education is essential to ensuring that the Toronto region has a well-educated labour force equipped to meet the demands of today’s – and tomorrow’s – knowledge-based economy. We need excellent public education if we are to attract and retain talented people, businesses and institutions.

Our local public schools have traditionally played a central role in the life of our neighbourhoods, offering their communities essential activities to support early learning and parenting and an array of extracurricular activities – both educational and recreational – as well as essential outreach and support for children and families in trouble.”

This is what every parent should expect for their children attending Toronto public schools. That, however, is not the case for too many Black students. This is especially difficult for Blacks who come from societies where teaching is the most revered profession and teachers are entrusted with the community’s children in the belief that teachers will always do what is best for the children. Sometimes, too late, the Black parents discover that instead of encouragement from a teacher, counsellor or principal to get the best education to prepare their child for a successful future, their child is not being educated or being pushed out of school.

In commenting on the submissions made to him, Stephen Lewis noted in 1992 that, even after effort by visible minority parents and students, nothing has changed for visible minority children in the school system over the last ten years. Black students were asking: Where are the courses in Black history? Where are the visible minority teachers? Why are there so few role models? Why do white guidance counsellors know so little of different cultural backgrounds? Why are racist incidents and epithets tolerated? Why are there double standards of discipline? Why are minority students streamed? Why do they discourage us from University? Where are we going to find jobs? What’s the use of having an education if there’s no employment? How long does it take to change the curriculum so that we’re a part of it?

Unfortunately, over ten years later, the questions are still the same. The tragedy is that too many of those angry students have given up on the system.

The enactment of the Ontario Safe Schools Act in 2001 compounded the anguish that Lewis saw in 1992. This was further exacerbated by the Zero Tolerance Policy implemented by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Expulsions went from 106 in the 2000-01 to 1,909 in 2003-04. By the 2003-04 school year, there were 24,569 suspensions in the TDSB. In the 2004-05 school year, students aged six and under accounted for 602 of the 25,429 suspensions at TDSB and the largest number of students suspended were between the ages of 12 and 16.

Black, urban male students of low socio-economic status perceived the school’s disciplinary practices as arbitrarily administered. These students were of the view that they were suspended more often than White students for engaging in the same types of behaviours. Racial minority students felt that racism was the main reason for the perceived differential application of school disciplinary actions.

In its study of the issue, the Ontario Human Rights Commission found that these discipline policies had a discriminatory effect on Black students. The impact was the loss of education and educational opportunities; negative psychological impact; increased criminalization of children often for conduct that does not threaten the safety of others; and promotion of anti-social behaviours.

Those Black students who did stay in school reported that they were athletically stereotyped. “Educators continue to encourage them towards sports, thinking that in doing so they are supporting them in their school; but in fact, they are failing to equally support them in their academic interests and aspirations. In some cases, not only do Black students come to believe or internalize the stereotypes, they give priorities to their athletic roles at the expense of their academic performance and educational achievements.”

Toronto would be better served by educating its educators in Black Canadian history and building the self-esteem of all students. This was the approach taken in Philadelphia where every 9th grader entering Philadelphia high schools is required to take a course in African-American history in order to graduate. In other words, Philadelphia decided that African-American history is American history and all their children should know it. A similar initiative in Toronto schools would benefit the whole city.

5. Association with Peers who do not participate in crime

“Once kids are suspended or expelled [from school], then they are on a different path. First, they don’t have much to do during the day. They may make contact with older kids or other kids who are having difficulties. … There is some literature that points out if you put anti-social kids together it escalates their anti-social behaviour. … It can have an impact on the community in which they live and, of course, it contributes to an important problem in Canada, which is serious anti-social behaviour, both violent and non-violent”.

A Black youth who is suspended between ages 13 to 15 is likely to be at home alone because the employment figures show that the parents are likely working at one or more jobs. This leaves thousands of students suspended from school with nothing to do and no supervision in, very likely, a low income housing project with few if any recreational facilities. There is an increased chance that some of those youths will take part in anti-social behaviour.

SOLUTIONS

(10) Develop a list of knowledgeable volunteers to accompany parents to meetings with teachers and school authorities.

(11) Offer culturally sensitive programs to Black parents on the Toronto school system and how to ensure that their children get the best education possible.

(12) Continue to provide scholarships and other assistance to outstanding Black students to enable them to obtain post-secondary education.

(13) Encourage school boards to hire and promote more Black teachers.

(14) Incorporate Black Canadian history, culture and traditions into the school curriculum so that all students in Toronto schools develop an appreciation for and understanding of their fellow students.

(15) Encourage the School Board to work with the Black community to develop culturally sensitive academic programs for the professional development of staff.

(16) Provide training to school staff to increase knowledge and sensitivity to poverty and cultural diversity issues in the geographic area in which they teach.

(17) Schools principals must develop appropriate selection methods in hiring teachers and staff to ensure that those teachers want to work with all the students in the school.

(18) School teachers and staff must have high expectations for all students and encourage the students to be the best they can be.

(19) Teachers must co-ordinate their efforts with Black community organizations to ensure that the children receive the full benefits of school.

(20) Teachers must behave like professionals. Many Black families are extremely conservative and find it disconcerting when teachers are too casual in their attitude.

(21) All school employees are to address parents with respect. This can disarm anger and will engender respect from the parents.

(22) Ensure guidance counsellors are fully aware of the courses students require to enter an area of study at the post-secondary level and include the family in planning the student’s future.

(23) Provide guidance counsellors to elementary schools to assist the students in shaping their future before they lose interest in school.

(24) Provide students with an educational component in school sports. The student must have at least a passing grade in order to participate in sports. Discussion groups should be a part of all sporting activities to develop language and self-expression. Encourage coaches are to stress language excellence in the students.

(25) The Safe Schools Act must be repealed or, at the very least, amended to ensure equal application to all students and a prompt and meaningful appeal process.

(26) No student should be suspended or expelled from school without review of the decision.

(27) No student should be suspended or expelled from school without a parent or guardian being notified and given the opportunity to make alternate suggestions prior to the suspension or expulsion going into effect.

(28) Develop programs which reinforce for Black youths that if they break the law, they will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

(29) Ensure that all police officers receive culturally sensitive training before being assigned to predominantly racial or ethnic areas of the City.

(30) Police officers who are culturally sensitive should be encouraged to take part in Black youth activities to develop trust between the two groups.

(31) Develop a resource of the diversionary programs available to Police officers and Crown Attorneys when dealing with Black youths under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

(32) Encourage more police officers attend Black events as guests so that they develop knowledge of the whole Black community.

(33) Develop restorative justice programs run by the Black community which offer offenders the opportunity to make amends to society and their victims.

(34) Develop a program to identify children at risk and provide culturally sensitive treatment before an offence is committed.

(35) Develop a culturally sensitive program for the reintegration into society of Black youths who have been convicted of a crime and served their sentence.

(36) Provide justice intervention programs for children below the age of 12 who display anti-social behaviour or commit crimes. Both the child and parents should be offered psychological and behavioural assistance to correct the behaviour.

C. ENCOURAGING THE ROLE OF BLACK FAMILIES, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY

6. Bonding between parents and children

Bonding between children and parents is of fundamental importance in Black families. Marian Wright Edelman (the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, founder and president of the Children’s Defence Fund) worried about whether she was passing on the values her parents had taught her to her three sons. In 1992, she wrote,

Like so many parents, I worry that I have been so busy trying to make sure my children have had all the opportunities and “things” I didn’t have and trying to shield them from all of the problems and barriers I had to face and overcome as a Black child and Black woman, that I may not have shared clearly enough all of the most important things I did have growing up: family and community and spiritual values that helped immunize me, and so many of my generation of Blacks, against the plagues of indifference, defeatism, negativism, selfishness, and hopelessness. Our wills were honed to struggle within ourselves to commit to a life beyond ourselves.

Raising a Black child in North America is not as simple as loving and providing for their physical and educational needs. Black parents must prepare their children for a life which is not always fair, but they must not plant the seeds of hate or fear. They must instil acceptable societal behaviour by positive reinforcement. This is often referred to in the Black community as “the extra lessons” which were passed down from previous generations.

One of the most important influences in young children’s lives is their family environment and the bond they establish with their parents – a bond closely affected by parenting practices... [P]arenting practices that are inconsistent, coercive or excessively permissive appear to maintain disruptive and aggressive behaviour in children.

Parental education, income and job status, collectively referred to as socio-economic status (SES), are considered important variables influencing children’s development… The higher the socio-economic status of the family, the better off the children will be.

The makeup of the family can have a significant impact on whether the family lives in poverty. While being a lone parent can be a significant factor in family poverty, all kinds of families with dependent children are disproportionately poor. Having a child under the age of 19 increases the likelihood of having an income level below the LICO by 67 percent for couples, by nearly 100 percent for male lone parents and by more than 150 percent for female lone parents. Regardless of race, three out of five female lone parents of young children live in poverty. In 1996, while the median income in Toronto for a couple of European origin with a child under 19 years of age was $68,900 and for female lone parents it was $25,500, the median income for an African, Black and Caribbean female lone parent family with a child under 19 was $14,000.

Between 1990 and 1999, the median income of Toronto lone parent families fell 18 percent to $24,600 and those living in poverty only had median income of $10,100. The 2001 Statistics Canada census showed that the 57 percent of the lone parent families in Toronto live in poverty. This figure is the same for Canada and higher than the Ontario rate of 54 percent. With three children, the child poverty rate for lone parent families rises to 69 percent. Black children form 14 percent of Toronto’s population but they account for 25 percent of the City’s poverty.

More than three out of ten Black persons lived below the poverty line, compared to 15 percent of all Canadians. Canadian Heritage quoted the 1997 study of Professor James Torczyner of McGill University in which he concluded that “Black families in Canada may be experiencing considerable stress and change – both financial and emotional.” They concluded that women and children were, economically, the most vulnerable population segment.

After holding all other factors constant, the odds of children in lone parent families exhibiting delinquent behaviour was twice as high as the odds of those in two-parent families.

The number of siblings also appears to influence a child’s behaviour. Children without brothers or sisters were the least likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour.

The younger the mother when she gave birth, the higher the likelihood that her children will display delinquent behaviour.

These are all factors plaguing some parts of the Black community. Behaviour and attitudes must change if they are to be in a position to take their rightful place in Toronto society.

Without knowing their history, some Black families in the Diaspora are perpetuating an integral part of the institution of slavery. During slavery, the main beneficiary of the conjugal relationships of slaves was the slave master who extended his property with the birth of a child. If a father became too attached to a female or a child he sired, one or all of them could be sold. He was not expected or required to be protector or provider for mother or children. The slave master made every effort to destroy the memory of Africa as homeland and the culture derived from it. Succeeding generations of slaves were brain-washed into despising Africa and slaves born there. They were forbidden to speak their mother tongue and their physical features and cultural heritage were ridiculed. They were forced to accept the value system of their master’s negative perception of Africa but they were refused access into the White man’s culture…. As a consequence of centuries of slavery these patterns became established and entrenched. The mother was not left on her own. One of the remnants of the African culture that survived was the coming together of the village to raise the child.

Without that family and community support, the Black mother alone will not be able to give her family the opportunities and guidance to succeed. Fathers have to stay with their families to form a unit to enhance the chances that they will flourish. It is important for the Black community to learn the origin of the practice, who benefited from it and the detrimental effects on the community. This is one of the areas where the Black community needs to adopt the saying of Winston Churchill: the farther backward you can look, the farther forward you will be able to see.

7. Inspiring community leaders and mentors

Dr. Haskell Edwards, in describing worthy models and their effect, said the following after his arrival in Toronto:

I felt very comfortable in my native land and I guess you did in yours. I felt comfortable largely because most of the people of importance at my early stage of life looked very much like me, used similar language patterns, and subscribed to the same cultural values. I felt like I belonged, whether dealing with friends, neighbours, community people, teachers and school principals, community leaders, police officers, professional sportsmen and women, lawyers, judges, bureaucrats, politicians, and to some lesser extent bankers and merchants. Everywhere I turned there was a role model worthy of my emulation….I belonged to an overwhelming majority culture… Here they are novelties.

This has a great significance for me and my people, but especially for our children. If they have to look at the movers and shakers of the system as models to motivate them as they create a vision for their future, they may quickly develop a sense of uncertainty and unease about the possibility that they can ever hope, realistically to achieve excellence, success, and corporate advancement commensurate with their abilities.

In a survey of Canadian English media, visible minorities were portrayed as athletes or entertainers and if they are in the news, they are probably in trouble. Few are least likely to be seen in the business and lifestyle sections. These racial stereotypes -- racial profiling, racism -- have a direct impact on the lives of Black youths and those who come into contact with them. Some Black youths see themselves as the media depiction and limit their horizons to what the media shows them they can be. The budding neuroscientist, plumber, lawyer, mathematician, astronomer or carpenter may experience frustration, anger and loss of self-esteem when his teacher, banker or potential employer only sees a criminal, singer or a basketball player.

The influence of the media on our society cannot be over-emphasized. It reinforces individual beliefs and behaviours, collective ideologies, the formation of public policies and organization practices. The exclusion, inclusion and images that are created by editors, journalists and photographers have enormous strength, power and resilience. When minorities have no power to control, resist, produce or disseminate other real and more positive images in the public domain, the images and generalizations increase their vulnerability in terms of cultural, social, economic and political participation in the mainstream of Canadian society. Such stereotypes can shape the views of the community but young people’s perceptions of themselves.

There are many examples of the media not reporting high achievement by Blacks but the following two examples are cited to demonstrate what the Black community sees as bias against reporting their high achievements. Isabella Ssozi received 99.7 percent overall average in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board – the highest mark for 2004-2005. In the report in the newspaper under the banner, “ACADEMIC ALL-STARS: The best of the GTA’s high schools”, Isabella, who had tied with one other student for the highest average in the GTA, was not one of the nine students pictured on the front page of the section. Another example was the presentation in Toronto on 21 October 2005 of the Harry Jerome Scholarships to post-secondary Black students with high academic achievement and community involvement. The scholars were studying neurosciences, teaching, medicine, business, social work, etc. Some were studying for their first degrees; some had Ph.D. This story was not carried by any Toronto paper.

Those stories could have been an inspiration to all the Black students who do not see any positive depictions of themselves in media that carried almost daily reports of Black crime in Toronto. Employers might no longer doubt the aptitude of the Black job seeker because they have heard their stories beforehand. A young boy or girl might have heard about twenty-four potential mentors. The failure of the media to cover these stories was an oversight which did not serve Toronto and its citizens well.

To remedy the situation in Toronto where, in ten years, over half of the population will not be White, the media must discard stereotypical portrayal and misrepresentation, invisibility of people of colour, lack of representation at all levels of media organizations and biased attitudes and practices.

SOLUTIONS

(37) Develop a Black “surrogate father” or “big brother” program to provide father figures for Black children where fathers are absent.

(38) Provide culturally appropriate life style and parenting courses for Black young men and women emphasizing the responsibilities and demands of child rearing;

(39) Re-introduce “rites of passage” programming for Black children ages 10 to 13 years old to teach them responsibilities of adulthood.

(40) Develop programs and activities to build the self-esteem and hope in Black children from a very young age – before kindergarten, if possible.

(41) Provide culturally sensitive mental health and social service support to Black children and parents, as required.

(42) Seek out and encourage attendance and participation of Black youths and parents in all types of cultural events.

(43) Promote the values where each Black generation expect higher achievement from the succeeding generation.

(44) Offer programs through existing community groups such as churches which are prepared to provide assistance without overt proselytizing.

(45) Create media literacy programs that will teach youth how to critically analyze the images and information seen in different forms of media.

(46) Encourage reporters and editors to adopt the checklist developed by journalists, journalism professors and diversity advisers at a Canadian Daily Newspaper Association workshop at Carleton University in June 1995. The basic tenet is that in reporting on diversity, all members of the community should be reflected in a fair and accurate manner, and equal standards of scrutiny should be applied for all groups.

D. ENSURING BLACK YOUTH HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO EXCEL

8. Meaningful Employment and Employment Opportunities

Half of the population of Toronto now consists of first generation Canadians. Without a talented workforce, Canadian businesses will be unable to achieve corporate strategies for innovation and growth, or will be forced to implement those strategies in other parts of the world. In the face of potential labour shortages, employers will miss out on opportunities for growth unless they recognize the potential of all groups in Canadian society.

The broad case for leveraging diversity argues that the most successful economies are those that optimally employ as many people in their populations as possible. They do so subject only to societal choices guided by economic incentives that influence behaviour which is as unencumbered by artificial barriers as possible.

The 1985 study of Henry and Ginzberg found that a large proportion of Toronto employers have a clear preference for White employees over Blacks. The study also showed that there is considerable racial discrimination in employment in Toronto.

Later that year, in a further study of attitudes of Metropolitan Toronto employers, it was found that racial intolerance and discrimination are widespread and non-Whites are at a distinct disadvantage in their opportunities for work, income and advancement. However, because many deny that discrimination is widespread or generally practised by those in power, society had little support for policies designed to change the employment practices.

When the “Who Gets the Work” study was repeated in 1990, it found that Whites employees were preferred to Blacks by a ratio of 37 to 1. The conclusion was that Whites and Blacks do not have equal access to employment. Blacks were not evaluated on he same basis as their White counterparts. Black applicants were subjected to negative and abusive treatment and, even when Blacks were treated courteously, they were not offered the job. The study found that the Black testers became overwhelmed by the number of rejections they experienced in such a short time. Even though they had encountered rejection in their own lives, experiencing so many rejections sometimes so brutally aroused feelings of anger and hurt.

The study also found that non-Whites were significantly more likely to be hired as unskilled labourers, service and maintenance jobs. Each group is equally likely to be hired for clerical positions but non-Whites are significantly less likely to be hired for senior management or sales positions.

Even in the professions, barriers to employment and advancement have been found. In 1993, Judge Corinne Sparks, in her report for the Canadian Bar Association, found that there are steel doors which prevent women of colour from entering even the lowest ranks of the legal profession. Those few who succeed in pushing one steel door open long enough to slip into law school are faced with a new, reinforced steel door to do battle with at the conclusion of their law school tenure and at every succeeding step in their legal career.

Canadian Heritage reported that despite comparable levels of educational attainment, Blacks tended to have higher percentages of unemployed workers than the Canadian populations as a whole and their income averaged 15 percent less than the average Canadian worker.

Analysis of the 1996 and 2001 Canadian Census, Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics data and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada labour participation data by Teelucksingh and Galabuzi confirmed that labour is divided by race. Non-Whites did not advance proportionately in the labour market, continued to have higher rates of unemployment, and experience a double-digit income gap. The inability of internationally trained professionals and trades people to utilize their skills in the Canadian labour market contributed to income and employment status gap.

This disparity between who gets the work and the remuneration they receive was confirmed in Toronto where the number of visible minority families living in higher poverty neighbourhoods rose from 41,600 in 1981 to 333,500 in 2001.

In Toronto, the unemployment rate of Black youths is 38% while the unemployment rate for White youths is 19.6%. This figure does not include youths attending school. The researchers also found that, in some Black communities, 70 percent of the children lived in families whose incomes are below Statistics Canada’s “low income cut-off” (LICO). The poverty here reflects high levels of unemployment and a concentration of employment in jobs requiring lower skill levels. This was the case despite the fact that Torontonians with African, Black or Caribbean ancestry have relatively high levels of education.

9. Sports and Recreational Activities

In recent years access to affordable public space for community programs and meetings has been severely reduced by changes in provincial, municipal and school board policy. User fees were introduced for use of school space with little consideration for low-income neighbourhoods. As a result, by 2000, community use of school space decreased by 43 percent. Recreational programs that had been organized by community groups were cancelled in the neighbourhoods that needed those most. Residents reported, for instance, that the ice rink in the Malvern neighbourhood was being used by people from other parts of the city, not by the area youth.

While recent funding decisions by the Province have improved public access to school facilities, the lack of space available for community use continues to limit recreational, cultural and skill-building activities.

Black youths must have access to sports and recreational activities. Beyond the obvious physical benefits, the social and emotional benefits of community sports and recreational activities are essential for healthy child and youth development. Through recreation, children learn teamwork, strategy, leadership, sportsmanship, and ethics. They are encouraged to challenge themselves to achieve excellence.

SOLUTIONS

(47) Develop Black volunteer homework clubs throughout the City using peer and adult assistance.

(48) Organize camps, sports, arts and recreational activities which emphasize skill development, deportment and behaviour as terms of participation.

(49) Encourage Black parents to volunteer for programs in which their children are enrolled.

(50) Develop leadership programs to identify and train Black youths with leadership abilities to be mentors to other Black youths.

(51) Provide culturally sensitive job training, job search skills, mentoring and life-style courses for Black youths.

(52) In keeping with Toronto’s changing demographics, reinforce the importance of all employers in the City to recruit and promote more minority and, specifically, Black employees and to appoint a senior official to champion the recruitment, mentoring and retention of Black employees;

(53) Recruit, mentor and support Black students to work in business, the professions, the arts and trades.

(54) Encourage businesses and professional schools to introduce courses on eliminating barriers and promoting employees on the basis of measurable tools. Terms such as “fit” and “comfort level” encourage discriminatory practices in the hiring and promotion of employees.

(55) Eliminate the use of the term “Canadian experience” as a job requirement. Consider prior experience and education regardless of where it was acquired.

(56) Circulate job posting widely using job fairs, internet, newspapers, employment agencies, trade journals, community agencies, ethnic and racial newspapers and periodicals.

(57) Employment interviews should be carried out by a diverse panel which carries out formal interviews where the focus is on skills. Use pre-set questions and scoring in the selection process.

(58) Include Black employees in networking situations where they can be comfortable and obtain the benefits of the network.

(59) Provide training opportunities to all employees and encourage Black employees to take advantage of them.

(60) Connect Black employees to senior mentors who can assist the employee to develop his or her potential and advance in the workplace.

(61) Ensure that all employees are advised at the commencement of their employment of the criteria and skills that will be assessed in performance appraisals. The same criteria and skills assessment should be used for all employees.

(62) Establish a Black Entrepreneurial Center to assist entrepreneurs to develop their own businesses, build partnerships, secure investment and gain professional advice. A part of the Center’s mandate would be to teach courses on finding markets and encouraging the community to support Black businesses.

(63) Work with trade unions to provide apprenticeship programs for Black youth who wish to enter the trades.

(64) Liaise with corporations to create job-training and mentoring programmes for Black youths.

CONCLUSION

Toronto is a city where general affluence masks areas of severe poverty and grave marginalization. Black youth violence takes a toll on all of Toronto. That the violence is now mostly confined to the most under-privileged portions of the City does not mean that will continue to be the case. The violence that is manifesting itself now was predictable and was predicted over twenty years ago. At that time, Blacks in the City petitioned governments, social service agencies, foundations, corporations and individuals for funds to put in place programs that were needed to keep young people engaged. They received little, if any, funding and the suggested programs and structural changes were not instituted. The Toronto Black community tried to do its best with limited resources but, obviously, it was not enough. In Nova Scotia which is not as affluent as Toronto, the government and community have come together to effect profound changes which are having positive effect on the Black community.

The violence must stop now. The continuation or escalation will severely undermine Toronto’s international reputation as a multicultural, inclusive, peaceful city and will unleash economic and social catastrophe on the entire city.

Black youth violence will not be eliminated by any one solution. There are nine components that make up the problem and solutions must be implemented for each of those nine components if the violence is to be curtailed. If the root causes are not addressed very soon in a holistic way, the violence will escalate and Toronto’s economic future will be jeopardized. There is, however, a vast reservoir of goodwill that can be brought to bear on the implementation of the solutions that should be vigilantly monitored against pre-established benchmarks.

APPLENDIX

SOLUTIONS TO BLACK YOUTH VIOLENCE IN TORONTO

(2) Prepare an audit of the existing community programs and conduct an analysis of what is successful. Build on those programs that are successful.

(4) Develop a research unit of the TBCC to compile and provide data on issues specific to the Black community.

(5) Develop a Black community communications group within the TBCC as a central place from which to provide information about the Black community and develop media strategies.

(6) Organize a forum for youths to determine their specific issues and concerns and to develop programs for the betterment of Black youths and Toronto.

(7) Provide sustainable funding for effective Black programs and initiatives.

(8) Develop and maintain a Black speakers’ bureau to speak to schools and organizations, and to provide expert comment to the media, governments and organizations.