Jane Earley
Professor Davis
HIST0117
October 15, 2018
The African Diaspora’s Navigation of Multicultural Canada in the 21st Century
In 1971, Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, announced that Canada would embrace a policy of multiculturalism, and in 1988 the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was officially passed by the Government of Canada. Since the initial announcement of the policy in the 1970s, Canadians have spoken pridefully of their “mosaic” culture, that promotes ethnic diversity and multiculturalism has become an important tenet of the nation. The law sought to eliminate the idea of a single Canadian experience by equally supporting all economic and social institutions, eliminating racism and discrimination, and aiding minorities in cultivating their cultural identity. The policy of multiculturalism intended to create an inclusive yet diverse community in which all people were granted equal political, economic and social opportunities. By implementing the idea of multiculturalism, the government hoped to create a sense of inclusion and belonging that would in turn produce loyalty in Canadian inhabitants.
Canadians want to believe that “race doesn’t matter here,” but in reality, Canada’s idea of multiculturalism is radically idealized. The Canadian idea of multiculturalism is well-intentioned, but the attainment of such a society seems beyond the bounds of possibility. Canada boasts about a culture in which origin is independent from life’s chances, but yet the immigrant experience of marginalization contradicts this idea. Immigrants, and especially those of color, face a situation in which they are told that they are accepted by “multicultural Canada,” but their personal experiences say otherwise. It seems that only some communities or ethnicities are granted a beneficial position in the society of Canada, whereas others, that are less prevalent are left belittled and excluded. Minorities may start to view themselves as inferior groups that are unwelcome in Canadian society. The minorities sometimes begin to leave their culture in order to assimilate into Canadian society. Laziati, an African migrant stated that “When you come here, it doesn’t matter where you come from, you know, they just lump you in one thing.”
For many Africans in Canada, the equality and acceptance associated with multiculturalism is an illusion. Africans find themselves feeling subordinate and lacking full Canadian citizenship. African organizations within Canada continue to receive insufficient government funding and are reliant on volunteers to promote and preserve the African culture. While it would seem that the accepting nature of multiculturalism would eliminate the need for cultural assimilation, this is not the case.
Many African-Canadians, even those with citizenships, feel like perennial outsiders within Canadian society. Many of the policies set forth by the Canadian government to promote diversity have unintentionally caused African-Canadians to feel excluded from the community. In an interview conducted by Gillian Creese, a professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia, Mokoli, an African-Canadian living in Vancouver stated: “I would [not] say I totally belong or I totally do not belong.” African-Canadians often find themselves in a state of limbo between included and excluded. As Abasi, another interviewee puts it, “The way I can identify myself as Canadian is by, you know, registering, have a Canadian passport. I can travel as a Canadian citizen without a visa. Most of them external factors; they are not internal factors.” Due to the persistent prejudice against them, African citizens of Canada feel outside of Canadian society. Multiple interviews conducted by Creese reveal this African-Canadian experience. Those interviewed used descriptions such as “outcast,” and “somebody who is just passing through,” as opposed to a person who belongs , as ways to describe their place in Canadian society. In another interview, Bara, an African female, brought up the difference between her and ‘“first-grade Canadians’ who do not have to ‘take the back seat’ as she does” Within Canada, the African diaspora, along with many other minority groups experience a feeling of exclusion that becomes associated with an outsider status in society.
The lack of true multiculturalism in Canada is seen again in the African diaspora’s struggle to gain the acceptance of others. African-Canadians feel as if they do not belong, because many other residents of Canada refuse to accept them as part of the country. They are marginalized and therefore subject to poverty and underemployment within Canada. African’s are also discouraged by degradation of their accents and bodies. Differential incorporation has become a common occurrence in Canada. Differential incorporation occurs when the white majority integrates some ethnic groups into the society more than other groups. The lack of equal acceptance of all ethnicities undermines Canada’s claim of multiculturalism. A member of the African diaspora in Canada, Bizima illuminates the basis of this argument when she questions: “How can I identify myself as being Canadian when every other person doesn’t think like that, you know?” Two other diaspora members ponder this topic further in a joint interview: Kavuo, who immigrated from Kenya and Bara, a Canadian citizen from South Africa. For both women, the acceptance of others was essential to their sense of belonging. When asked if she felt as if she belonged in Canada, Bara replied, “I don’t belong here because I am not accepted. Because belonging also has to do with being accepted for who you are, and feeling at home and comfortable.” Kavuo shared the same sentiment. For members of the African diaspora in Canada, belonging remains evasive as long as others do not perceive them as Canadian.
Members of the African diaspora in Canada are often asked about their origins. While this innocent question is good-intentioned, the relentlessness of queries about one’s assumed foreignness becomes intrusive. The frequency of this question causes African-Canadians to feel as if they do not belong in Canada. The implication of these questions is that those posing them assume that black people in Canada must come from elsewhere. Psychologically, these questions cause African-Canadians to feel eternally excluded from Canadian society. Tungu, another one of Creese’s interviewees stated she felt that the constant questioning of ‘“Where do you come from?’ marked her and her children as perpetual foreigners.” She revealed that even after she replies that she is Canadian people will follow up with questions such as “No, where are you from? You born here? Where are your parents from?” For Tungu, these questions make it clear that she seems out of place. African-Canadians often find themselves stuck in between being fully in Canada and fully elsewhere. The hybridity of their identity becomes externally imposed by others, instead of determined from within.
The hybridity associated with being African in Canada is reinforced by the prevalence of hyphenated identities in Canada. Hyphenated identities have become an important aspect of multiculturalism in Canada. While the purpose of hyphenation is to promote and celebrate diversity, it does not always have positive connotations. Since not all Canadians have hyphenated identities, those without hyphenation can incidentally be seen as “real” Canadians rather than “mere” Canadians. While the term African-Canadian is commonly used, the term European-Canadian is not. This discrepancy creates a feeling of exclusion for those with hyphenated identities. While white Canadians can choose to have a hyphenated identity, Africans and other people of color in Canada “can only ever be a hyphenated Canadian.” This, again, causes African-Canadians to feel perpetually excluded from Canadian culture.
The African diaspora in Canada constantly straddles simultaneous feelings of inclusion and exclusion. Despite Canada’s policy of multiculturalism, the lack of acceptance experienced by African-Canadians causes them to feel like eternal outsiders. Although Canada boasts of equality among all ethnicities in the nation, the experience of African-Canadians tells a different story. If Canada wants to attain true multiculturalism, the government cannot just state that it exists, multiculturalism must be used and felt by each and every member of society.
Sources:
"Canadian Multiculturalism Act." R.S., 1985 c. 24 (4th Supplement), as amended through 2002. Government of Canada, 2002.
Creese, Gillian Laura. The New African Diaspora in Vancouver: Migration, Exclusion, and Belonging. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011.
Frazier, John W., Joe T. Darden, and Norah F. Henry. The African Diaspora in the U.S. and Canada at the Dawn of the 21st Century. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2010.
Library and Archives Canada. Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Debates, 28th Parliament, 3rd Session, Volume 8 (8 October 1971): 8545-8548, Appendix, 8580-8585.
Okpewho, Isidore. The New African Diaspora: The New African Immigrant Experience. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. Press, 2009.
Tettey, Wisdom J., and Korbla P. Puplampu. The African Diaspora in Canada: Negotiating Identity and Belonging. University of Calgary Press, 2006.