How Can We Respect Each Other and Celebrate Uniqueness and Diversity?

I remember growing up as a kid, a Chinese Canadian living in a predominately white neighbourhood. Every year at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition), on Labour Day, they would have a free event at the Stadium where I would see dances from different ethnic groups. The beautiful rich costumes, the music and the dances, filled my head with joy and curiosity.

Perhaps that was my early exposure to the multitude of ethnicities in Toronto. Dance and food are connectors for all of us, regardless of culture or ethnicity. It certainly exposed me to our differences and our similarities at a young age. Every ethnicity and race loves to celebrate, and that usually means people, food and dance. But it is more than this.

This year, in particular, we need to pause and find ways to think about how we can acknowledge multiculturalism and even celebrate it. With circumstances in the US, our consciousness levels have been raised on Black Lives Matter as a result of many incidences, such as George Floyd’s senseless death. I know these past few weeks have increased my awareness.

When I see people, I see their Uniqueness. I do not see the colour of a person’s skin.

What I see is the whole person; I see their individual beauty, their Uniqueness, their passion, their pride, their richness of life’s experiences – the good and the not so good. I am ignorant to colour, to put it one way, not even realizing people I have been friends with for many years are Black. I can’t explain it, but I truly do not see colour as a defining characteristic, especially when it is infused with many generations of different races blended together.

I discovered in my adult life that my brother’s best friend was black, even though I have known him since I was young. To me, he was just Danny. To me, on that day of discovery, I then saw the dark skin and the curly hair. When I see people, I do not see colour, and in truth, for me, it does not matter.

As we began to talk about our feelings about the social injustice that Blacks have lived as a way of life, I have started to understand the difference between Blacks and myself, a third-generation Chinese Canadian. Where I can count on my hands the number of times I have felt my racial difference, for Blacks, it is a way of life, an expectation to be on guard, not to know where danger may come. To live a life where you need to be on ALERT all the time, I can imagine the stress this creates.

I look at people as Equals, and Respect them for who they are. But treating people with compassion as diverse and Unique individuals is not good enough.

A more active approach is to be Antiracist. Many people are now on journeys to get educated. Rather than being a good person that’s not racist, we need to move forward and be Antiracist.

That will be what I want to celebrate this year for Multiculturalism Day in Canada. I want to be proactive and help stop racism. I want to help others see the good in each of us, regardless of our race or the colour of our skin.

So this Saturday on June 27, 2020, on Canadian Multiculturalism Day, take a more proactive approach in addressing racism and multiculturalism — ensuring that all citizens keep their identities, take pride in their ancestry and have a sense of belonging. Be Antiracist.