Insidious, blatant and damaging. This is everyday racism in Toronto

“I live in a high-taxing neighbourhood,” he says, “so I had to learn to carry myself with a level of respect and not be so quick to let my impulses get me in trouble.”

This is just one instance of what everyday discrimination can look like for a young, Black man.

Everyday racism in Toronto

On Tuesday, in partnership with 15 local partners, the Toronto Foundation and Environics Institute released a report entitled “Everyday Racism: Experiences of Discrimination in Toronto,” highlighting data from the Toronto Social Capital Study released last fall.

Using the Everyday Discrimination scale first developed by Harvard University professor David R. Williams, 10 specific instances of everyday discrimination — including being treated with less courtesy than others, people acting distrustful, name-calling and being threatened — were presented to more than 4,000 Torontonians. Of those who experience these forms of discrimination, 76 per cent of Black Torontonians say they do so because of their ethnicity or race.

The report also found that South Asians and Torontonians with a disability — racialized disabled people in particular — also face different forms of discrimination. The study goes on to show how Torontonians who experience the most frequent discrimination also experience lower life satisfaction, poorer mental health and less economic security than those who experience less frequent or no discrimination.

For Black Torontonians, the report found they are more likely than those from any of the other racial identity groups in the city to experience people acting as if they are better than them or believe they are not smart.

“Anti-Black racism specifically affects peoples’ livelihood,” says Agapi Gessesse, the director of CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals and one of the partners involved with the report. “Black Torontonians on a daily basis have to experience feelings of inadequacy or trying to make themselves appear smaller.”

Anti-Black racism in Toronto schools

Marshall, who grew up in Scarborough, relates to this struggle of feeling inadequate. He was often one of few Black students in his grade.

He recalls a time in high school during Black History Month when he wrote a spoken word poem for a presentation and it was suggested he work with an Italian teacher to help him “eloquently speak and make stronger points.

“I did not like the fact that I had this person who wasn’t in my community helping me construct something so personal. My voice wasn’t truly heard, but I realized if I wanted to participate, I had to work with this person.”

Chantell, the mother of a 10-year-old, says her son experiences frequent discrimination from peers and educators at his school. “He doesn’t feel like he belongs,” she says. “He feels like he’s a monster, in his own words.”

“I went to his school and parents and staff looked at me like I was a crazy mom that didn’t know how to raise or parent a child. I was all alone, I didn’t have the support of the administrator, and he didn’t intervene until the very end.”

Chantell has since put her son in therapy and social recreational programs, along with relying on the Parents of Black Children advocacy organization for support.

What can Toronto do from here?

Dr. Kwame McKenzie, a psychiatrist and CEO of think tank Wellesley Institute, points to the correlation between people who experience racial discrimination also have lower social capital, which is the combination of social networks, social trust, civic engagement and neighbourhood support.

“If you’re a person who experiences racial discrimination, you are less likely to trust people in society,” he says. “Trust is one measure of social capital. Another is your social networks. If you experience racism, you may be more selective, but this will cut you off from jobs, health and other resources you need to do well in life.”

According to McKenzie, the link between social capital and racism is strong, and that politicians, laws and policies that are actively anti-racist is a way to combat it.

“If you cannot discriminate or give people differential treatment and the government takes it seriously,” he says, “you change things.”