Statement of Solidarity in light of racist demonstrations in Hamilton

Standing against white nationalism must be a consistent and collective act[1]

November 13, 2024

Recently, a group “demonstrated” outside of Jackson Square in Hamilton and steps away from McMaster University’s downtown location where Hamilton’s Anti-Racism Resource Centre is housed.  The group held a very large banner that read “Mass Deportations Now” in large black stencil font. Many could reasonably see links from this action to President Elect Donald Trump’s long standing racist calls for mass deportations, as well as Trump’s racist ideas linking immigration to criminality, disease, scarcity, and cost. Many could also tie this demonstration to the recent magnification of anti-South Asian hate and anti-Muslim hatred linked to mis- and dis- information sharing. We should all denounce these hateful acts and the public propagandizing of racist ideas which are willful incitements of hatred.

Community organizations and elected officials here in Hamilton have rightfully called out this racism and hate publicly. The Office of Community Engagement at McMaster University is joining the community calls to denounce these xenophobic acts and ideas.

In July, Diagolon – a known white nationalist organization – attempted (but failed) to hold an event in Hamilton as part of their “Terror Tour.” Diagolon has fixed specifically on hatred of South Asian people as core to their larger goal of spreading hatred towards immigrants. Local organizations and community leaders took action, informing community members and local businesses about what Diagolon was planning in our community.   This was a successful collective intervention and an act of care that made it clear this hate is not welcome in our community.   Very recently, a neo-Nazi hate group distributed hateful flyers outside of McMaster University. Unfortunately, we saw little mention of  this hateful action in the media and there was insufficient care and support for those who were impacted.

Racist discourses attached to immigration in Canada have a long history, including the Chinese Head tax (1885-1923), the internment of Japanese Canadians (1942-1949), the erasure Black settlements and their histories, the reserve system for Indigenous peoples, and the refusal to land ships containing Sikh migrants (1914) and Jewish refugees from Germany (1939), amongst other examples.  We still have the  “Excessive Demand” clause in Canadian immigration law which restricts access to Canada based on ableism and sanism, and reinforces in policy the positioning of immigrants as “dangerous” carriers of threat, cost, and burden.

As the leadership in the Office of Community Engagement we acknowledge our complicity in these histories and ongoing realities. We not only denounce these past and ongoing acts, but we also pledge to work with communities and local organizations impacted by these hateful acts. We call out mis- and dis -information, and call for policies at all levels of government that address the material needs of our people in housing, income, education and healthcare. We encourage Hamilton residents and the McMaster community to stand up and act against hateful xenophobic actions.

With resolve against hate,

Ameil J. Joseph, MSW, RSW, Ph.D. Academic Director, Community-Engaged Research and Relationships, Office of Community Engagement Holder: Faculty of Social Sciences, Professorship in Equity, Identity and Transformation Associate Professor, School of Social Work

Karen Balcom, PhD Academic Director, Teaching and Learning, Office of Community Engagement Associate Professor, History/Gender & Social Justice

[1] Portions of this statement were published in the Hamilton Spectator as authored in an Opinion-Editorial by Ameil J. Joseph https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/standing-against-white-nationalism-must-be-a-consistent-and-collective-act/article_986d54cd-2ddb-501a-a35e-8ceff1135b75.html