What Social Inclusion Means to Me
I had moved into Regent Park only a few days before I saw the pink,
fuchsia, strawberry, indigo, yellow, green, neck streamers and sparkling
robes worn by children, parents, aunts, uncles, and elders as they
marched passed my kitchen door. Soon, the nearby Athletic Grounds was
blazing with colour. Although it was the first time I heard them, the
intonations on the microphone were recognizable, even to me, as prayers.
It was Eid, the concluding celebration after Ramadan. It was a
beautiful sight.
I am a White Jewish senior and I hunted for a stairless condo for years before I chose to live in Regent Park and then only because a relative did business with the new seniors’ building there. “Regent Park?” a friend exclaimed. “You are going to have ethnic problems.”
“Not I. I come from a long line of fiery leftie activists.” I replied.
Stage four and five of revitalizing this post-war subsidized development into a multi-income community was just beginning and I jumped in with both feet.
I joined the Access to Recreation Group of the Regent Park Social Development Plan’s Community Building Working Group. Local children were not getting access to Regent Park’s new state-of- the-art swimming pool. Middle class families, adept with computers and on-line registration forms, filled the swimming classes while shivering brown mothers lined up from 4 a.m. to await the centre’s opening only to find the classes filled with non-Regent Park kids.
Initially, I had trouble understanding why the pool’s high windows are covered in gauze-like grey blinds and why there was a need for special classes for Muslim women. I also could not believe that some of my granddaughter’s Muslim classmates could not attend her outdoor pool parties so as not to expose bare arms and legs. My committee colleagues were hostile “White privilege,” they said. Could that be possible? Or was it their traumatic years of bulldozers, uprooting and the arrival of new residents that made them distrustful? We had a lot to learn about each other.
I attended several months of meetings, advocating for Regent Park priority registration, gathering statistics on who uses the facilities and hearing concerns about racism at the pool. I have come to understand these concerns and several of my colleagues have become my friends. When we were ready to meet with the city’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism advisory group, I was told I could not attend as it was only for black advocates. I struggled with this as I had worked hard on the committee. I wish there was no racism or discrimination and everyone had equal opportunities no matter the colour of skin or religion. Unfortunately, this is not the case. However, I will continue my involvement in this exciting grassroots anti-racism project known as the SDP.
I love this neighborhood. With Nelson Mandela Park Public School nearby, I see children sailing past my window, skipping while bouncing soccer balls. Many evenings, I sit on a bench watching tournament calibre soccer games, lit by the professional high double-bulb standards, yes, but also under a magic moon in its many phases. I watch youth and bearded construction workers play ping pong by the basketball court, and the hoop games look good too. Living in Regent Park I can walk (slowly) to the Distillery District, to the theatre, to The World Urban Pavilion. The beach is a short drive away, as is the Art Gallery. It’s great to live downtown but as much as I enjoy the convenient location, what I really love is connecting to neighbours in my alive, diverse, sparkling neighbourhood. It is never too late for social inclusion.
Sarah Jane Growe is a market resident member of the SDP involved in the Planning Committee, Community Building Working Group, Safety Network and the Funding Task Group.
I am a White Jewish senior and I hunted for a stairless condo for years before I chose to live in Regent Park and then only because a relative did business with the new seniors’ building there. “Regent Park?” a friend exclaimed. “You are going to have ethnic problems.”
“Not I. I come from a long line of fiery leftie activists.” I replied.
Stage four and five of revitalizing this post-war subsidized development into a multi-income community was just beginning and I jumped in with both feet.
I joined the Access to Recreation Group of the Regent Park Social Development Plan’s Community Building Working Group. Local children were not getting access to Regent Park’s new state-of- the-art swimming pool. Middle class families, adept with computers and on-line registration forms, filled the swimming classes while shivering brown mothers lined up from 4 a.m. to await the centre’s opening only to find the classes filled with non-Regent Park kids.
Initially, I had trouble understanding why the pool’s high windows are covered in gauze-like grey blinds and why there was a need for special classes for Muslim women. I also could not believe that some of my granddaughter’s Muslim classmates could not attend her outdoor pool parties so as not to expose bare arms and legs. My committee colleagues were hostile “White privilege,” they said. Could that be possible? Or was it their traumatic years of bulldozers, uprooting and the arrival of new residents that made them distrustful? We had a lot to learn about each other.
I attended several months of meetings, advocating for Regent Park priority registration, gathering statistics on who uses the facilities and hearing concerns about racism at the pool. I have come to understand these concerns and several of my colleagues have become my friends. When we were ready to meet with the city’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism advisory group, I was told I could not attend as it was only for black advocates. I struggled with this as I had worked hard on the committee. I wish there was no racism or discrimination and everyone had equal opportunities no matter the colour of skin or religion. Unfortunately, this is not the case. However, I will continue my involvement in this exciting grassroots anti-racism project known as the SDP.
I love this neighborhood. With Nelson Mandela Park Public School nearby, I see children sailing past my window, skipping while bouncing soccer balls. Many evenings, I sit on a bench watching tournament calibre soccer games, lit by the professional high double-bulb standards, yes, but also under a magic moon in its many phases. I watch youth and bearded construction workers play ping pong by the basketball court, and the hoop games look good too. Living in Regent Park I can walk (slowly) to the Distillery District, to the theatre, to The World Urban Pavilion. The beach is a short drive away, as is the Art Gallery. It’s great to live downtown but as much as I enjoy the convenient location, what I really love is connecting to neighbours in my alive, diverse, sparkling neighbourhood. It is never too late for social inclusion.
Sarah Jane Growe is a market resident member of the SDP involved in the Planning Committee, Community Building Working Group, Safety Network and the Funding Task Group.
Comments
Post a Comment