Ontario Network for Human Rights

The Ontario Network for Human Rights was started in 1996 as a support group for racialized people in Canada who were facing racial profiling, abuse of their rights, employment discrimination, housing discrimination, refusal of service based on race, denial of freedom from discrimination and violation of their citizenship rights as Canadians. It is now an online resource related to human rights and racism in Canada. This website was created in 1996 by Gary Pieters, an educator and community organizer who 13 years later remains disappointed and saddened by the extent and salience of everday racism. As the Human Rights Chief Barbara Hall recently stated, the laws on the books do not reflect the lived reality for many. This is leading to a prosperity and quality of life gap that is disproportionate.

The plague of racism is insidious, entering into our minds as smoothly and quietly and invisibly as floating airborne microbes enter into our bodies to find lifelong purchase in our blood streams - Maya Angelou

The message to young black men by the government is to become all you can be by participating fully in main stream society. Mr. Reid did that and the below article is the result. Society cannot have it both ways. They cannot condemn the violence of young black men while using their position of power to abuse young black men. It is difficult to have sympathy and compassion for a society that crushes black people and then penalizes them for not being able to stand up under the weight. - Calvin Lawrence commenting on the "Ghetto Dude" slur by a staff of the office of the Premier of Ontario