I am privileged to have access to a higher education where students may explore the complexity of following divergent paths to knowledge and to be recognized for demonstrating innovative performances of knowledge.
I am humbled to be awarded as a white male for exploring systemic racism in Canada. I chose Systemic White Racism in Canada: A graphic novel as a social media project to test my interpretations of critical and performance theories and to allow for dialogue with an audience. Learning about white fragility creates a sense of social responsibility to connect with people and participate in the discussion.
Systemic White Racism in Canada: A graphic novel
My ambition was to make systemic white racism an accessible subject to engage and explore with others. This project used the Instagram platform to present the historic and current social problem of racism in Canada to an audience. Through a progressive timeline, I focused on a reflective assessment of white Canadian society and culture toward the oppressed. Using illustration and text according to the social media format, I applied critical theory to reveal and challenge our racist power structures. I worked through visually interpreting my white perspective of Canadian moments that demonstrate our historical, collective, white race experience with racism. As a result, I had to change many of my assumptions toward systemic oppression, white privilege, and racism.
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