| Racism is alive and well in Calgary and a new group called Albertans for Racial Equality is hoping to raise awareness about the kinds of discrimination that ethnic minorities experience in the city every day and to create strategies to make Calgary inclusive of everyone, regardless of skin colour or cultural background.
The new group recently handed out tattoos and stickers with anti-racism slogans in downtown Calgary and is planning other events to draw attention to their cause.
Member Liza Lorenzetti says one of the main impetuses for the group was the fact that many members have been denied entry into bars and nightclubs due to their skin colour.
Lorenzetti, who is white, says she recently had a negative experience when she took her friend, who was visiting from India, to Metropolitan Grill. Both were dressed in traditional Indian attire and when they tried to enter the bar they were told they needed special Canada Day tickets. Lorenzetti says three white women who didn’t have tickets walked in ahead of them. She later called the bar and asked if there was a cover charge or any special tickets required to get in and was told no.
"I know racism exists, but it’s always quite shocking when it’s right in your face, particularly for somebody as a white-skinned person. I myself don’t have to deal with it. I think we felt really let down. My thought after that was how does a person feel if they go through their daily experiences with this kind of letdown and this kind of exclusion," she says.
Lorenzetti says she’d like to see anti-discrimination policies implemented at all bars, nightclubs and other public establishments.
Member Chris Griffith, who is black, has filed human rights complaints against several Calgary bars – Coyotes, The Roadhouse, The Whiskey, Mynt Ultralounge and Tantra – for denying him entry due to his ethnicity. The complaints are still working their way through the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission process. He says it’s a regular occurrence for non-white Calgarians to not be allowed into bars and nightclubs.
"Even when I was 18 and I used to go out and I’d dress up and I’d be home 20 minutes later and my sister and my relatives would say, ‘I thought you were going out’ and I was like, ‘Well they wouldn’t let me in again.’ It becomes common," he says. "Usually if you’re with a lot of Caucasian people they’ll let you in. But if I’m trying to take out my brother and my cousin or something it’s not happening. The likelihood is very, very low."
He says bouncers have lied and said he’s been involved in fights and that’s why they won’t let him in although he’s never been in a fight in a bar.
Griffith finds it ironic that he’s often not allowed into bars that are playing rap and hip hop music.
"It’s hypocritical because if you consider the music that they play in all of these establishments it’s kind of like what are you trying to do here? You’re trying to steal a piece of the culture and not have me around," he says.
Griffith says he’s also been pulled over by the cops on numerous occasions for no reason and he’s been discriminated against when trying to find an apartment.
"I would call and when you talk to me over the phone you cannot tell my ethnic background on the phone because I have no accent. I was born here… so when I would call everything was cool and then I would go up there and then all of a sudden it was vacant and then you’d go drive by the next day, check it out. It’s still available," he says.
Griffith also regularly endures racial slurs. During the 2006 Stampede Griffith says there was a group of young, drunk people who were wandering along 17th Avenue asking for rides. One of the women leaned in to ask him for a ride and when she saw him she said, "Oh, he’s a fucking nigger."
Griffith says he’s hoping the new group will make Calgarians aware that such shocking incidents still happen.
"A lot of people are in denial," he says. "You don’t want to believe that still happens nowadays."
Albertans for Racial Equality is asking Calgarians to get in touch to share their stories and to help come up with some strategies to target racism in the city.
If you’re interested in getting in touch with the group you can e-mail Chris Griffith at nutbrown8@hotmail.com or Liza Lorenzetti at monalisa@telus.net. |
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