Shining a light on racial discrimination in the Central Okanagan | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Shining a light on racial discrimination in the Central Okanagan

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Tomorrow community groups want you to talk about the impacts of racism and systemic marginalization.

March 21 is the 55th International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the non-profit Kelowna Community Resources is using a social media campaign to promote Black, Indigenous and people of colour's voices, share anti-racism messages, create community awareness and have a dialogue on the impacts of racism and systemic marginalization. KCR is part of the United Against Discrimination Coalition that works against racism and discrimination through cooperative agencies and individual bystanders.

In the Central Okanagan, both organizations operate an incident report portal where residents are encouraged to report acts of discrimination. 

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Victims of racism and discrimination may choose not to report incidents to the police for fear of escalating the situation or increasing their risk, according to the non-profit.

This leaves victims to bear the burden of resolving and processing incidents on their own.  Reporting through the portal is safe and can be done anonymously. If residents choose to identify themselves, KCR and UAD can help with safety and emotional support.

All reports of incidents of hate, racism or discrimination will help the government and the community to identify the problems and implement strategies to make change. The incident report portal is accessed through KCR's website.

KCR is part of the ResilienceB.C. Anti-Racism Network, funded by the province, which offers a provincewide approach to identifying and challenging racism. The program connects more than 50 B.C. communities with information, support and training they need to respond to, and prevent, future incidents of racism and hate. 

For more information on KCR's resources, visit the non-profit's website and follow its social media campaign through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 


To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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