The Other People was formed through the coming together of community leaders and anti-racism organizations across the racial, religious, and cultural mosaic. The mission of The Other People is to empower IBPOC (Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour) and Faith Leaders to work together in addressing systemic and individual racism and discrimination across British Columbia.
On Wednesday, April 30th, we had our third school event at the West Point Grey Academy. West Point Grey Academy is an independent, co-educational, day school founded in 1996. Located in Vancouver it delivers curriculum from Junior-Kindergarten to Grade 12. Over 100 students participated in this experience.
The interactive program helped students develop cultural competence in engaging with the challenging issue of hate and racism in Canada. We helped to break down the silos of community engagement by facilitating meaningful engagement with leading members of the Indigenous, Black, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, and Asian/Buddhist communities. Students were able to ask tough and open questions as they learned more about personal and media bias and how to critically think of the representation of others.
Part of the intention behind this project is to address individual biases by creating meaningful interactions between students and “Other People”. Research from the Institute for Policy Understanding has shown that those who know a person from an identifiable group are twice as likely to hold favorable views towards that group. We are working together to help break down the silos that prevent us from getting to know the different communities in Canada that form our cultural mosaic.