CARED

The CARED Collective

The CARED Collective (Calgary Anti-Racism Education) was founded in 2009 by six diverse women from Calgary’s anti-racism community: C. Chagnon-Greyeyes, B. Johnston, J. Kelly, D. Paquette, A. Srivastava, and T. Wong. Each member brought her own knowledge of racism and anti-racism and a commitment to anti-racism activism. The committee met regularly, with small working group meetings held more frequently with members assuming a variety of roles. Whether we acted as advisors, creators, editors, visionaries or providers of food and support, we all contributed to the creation of this online anti-racism resource. We owe special thanks to others who were very much involved in the process, especially Linda Kongnetiman and the University of Calgary Native Centre, as well as to all those who contributed their expertise to this resource. We are especially grateful to our many funders.

Our use of tree imagery throughout this webspace conveys the many associations behind our title, STAND. A stand of trees, a common sight in Alberta, represents both a sense of community and individuality, a sense of purpose and rootedness. Most of all, “stand” is one of the root words in the most important term in anti-racism work: understanding.

Our Philosophy

We acknowledge the many anti-racism initiatives that have been established in communities, workplaces, and the formal education system in recent years. Our purpose is to build on this momentum by sharing the knowledge we have collected from our research and experience as anti-racism facilitators.

While we recognize the significant contributions of anti-racism advocates in the formal education system, we are aware of how the system has tended to privilege certain modes of being over others. This has been aptly demonstrated in analyses of how particular racialized groups have been misrecognized or excluded altogether from the student curriculum and teacher education. For racialized individuals working within the system, they may be excluded from important processes of decision-making. Studies have demonstrated how, for both students and teachers, racism is often characterized by silence and exclusion.

We believe that when it comes to dismantling racism in the formal education system, it is not solely about who works in the system, who holds a position of power and what the curriculum teaches. We strongly believe that it is about how material is taught. As anti-racism facilitators, we believe that facilitators must see themselves as participants in the social relations that reinforce or dismantle racism. Facilitators must engage in deep self-reflection on how one’s race, class, gender, ability/disability, sexuality, nationality, culture or language influence how one acts and interacts with others in learning spaces.

Feedback & Suggestions

The CARED Collective wants to hear from you. We want to know what you like about our site and how you think we can improve it. We want to hear about your experiences (successes and mistakes) in anti-racism learning. Anti-racism work can feel challenging, or lonely, at times, and we want you to know that we support you in what you are doing!

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