We see a future free from racism and hate. The Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network website provides tools to help you do the hard work and make this vision a reality.
End Racism and Hate: Your Right. Your Responsibility.
Anti-Racism Tools
The views, opinions, conclusions and/or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the author(s). These materials do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Government of British Columbia or individual Resilience BC network members. The Government of British Columbia does not necessarily endorse, nor has it confirmed the validity of the information contained in these materials.
You have the right and responsibility to live in a society free from racism and hate. Learn more about how to make this vision a reality by checking out these e-learning options.
Indigenous and Canadian Histories 101: What You Didn’t Learn in High School
This 45-minute video by Rainwatch Consulting presents a concise yet comprehensive story of Indigenous peoples’ experiences in Canada, the policies that have deeply impacted their communities, and their structure of self-governance. This training includes a guide to culture and terminology. Cost is $55.
Knowing About the Land You Live On
This 2019 Teacher’s Guide by Native Land Digital features exercises for teachers to use with young and adult students — from navigating the map of Indigenous territories to learning about Indigenous history and culture, and unpacking colonialism.
Challenging Racist BC
Co-publishers University of Victoria (UVic) and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) launched an 80-page illustrated book, “Challenging Racist “British Columbia”: 150 Years and Counting.” This details the racist history of the province and how discriminatory policies have impacted Indigenous, Black and Asian communities.
Warrior Life
Renowned Mi’kmaq lawyer Dr. Pam Palmater’s website features her writings and podcasts from her interviews with Indigenous leader and knowledge keepers that shine light on issues impacting communities. The site also provides an extensive list of resources and recommendations on addressing injustices against Indigenous peoples.
Whose Land is it Anyway? A Manual for Decolonization
This handbook, supported by the British Columbia Federation of Post-Secondary Educators, looks into the impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples and paths decolonization and reconciliation. With it is an illustrated guide on understanding blockades and Indigenous rights.
Bystander Intervention Trainings
These interactive trainings by the US-based Hollaback! teach the 5D’s of bystander intervention: distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct so you can be better prepared and confident the next time you witness a hate incident or harassment on the street, in the workplace, or online.
Implicit Bias and Active Bystander Resources
The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, an interdisciplinary engaged research institute at The Ohio State University, offers free online workshops and lessons focusing on race and ethnicity.Trainings include being an active bystander, conducting trauma-informed care, and being an ally to LGBTQ+ people.
Anti-Racism Education
The CARED Collective (Calgary Anti-Racism Education) provides a space for facilitators to engage self-guided learners in challenging racism, including developing an anti-racism vocabulary, becoming an anti-racism facilitator and adopting learning actions for further engagement. It also features an extensive glossary and resources.
Call It Out
This 30-minute interactive e-course by the Ontario Human Rights Commission allows you to learn about the history and impact of racism in Canada. It helps you unpack terms like “race,” “racial discrimination,” and “white privilege” and how you can prevent and address racism and hate.
Faces of Racism
This interactive resource for Asian communities offers ways to respond to subtle racism, whether these are experienced in public, at school or at work. Translated in six languages, the website features a Discussion Pack to use and reflect on, so they can respond to microggressions and confront racism when it happens.
Bakau Resources Toolkit
Developed by anti-racism consulting company Bakau Consulting, this toolkit is an in-depth guide to navigating diversity and inclusion and fundamentals of anti-oppression; disrupting unconscious bias; unlearning anti-Blackness; and learning how to dismantle racism by examining the root of Canada’ race problem.
Everyday Feminism Online School
This U.S.-based educational platform provides trainings and classes that ranges from raising awareness on issues like white guilt and internalized whiteness to learning how to build an anti-racist organization and taking anti-racism work to the next level.
Trainings for Gender-diverse Youth
This Toronto-based group delivers workshops to create learning and unlearning spaces for young Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and gender-diverse youth. Their intersectional approach seeks to dismantle oppression and promote self-care.
Dismantling Anti-Black Racism in Schooling and Education
University of Toronto’s Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS) published a new resource booklet that features books, webinars, documentaries, and toolkits on the experiences of Black communities in Canada and the impact of anti-Black racism.
Connect with anti-racism and anti-hate efforts in Canada and around the world
Act2EndRacism
This national coalition of citizens and community groups seeks to address the rising anti-Asian racism and violence due to COVID-19. The network supports communities and members across Canada with advocacy materials and resources on its website.
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network seeks to expose and dismantle hate groups in Canada. Its website defines what a “hate group” is and how the public can monitor, contain, or document activities that promote bigotry, racism, and violence.
Canadian Race Relations Foundation
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation offers an anti-racism platform through videos, webinars, and research. In 2019, it released a ground-breaking study on race relations in Canada, to measure the attitudes and experiences of racialized and non-racialized people.
Centre for Diversity and Innovation
The Centre for Diversity and Innovation, the inspiration of the North Shore Multicultural Society and supported by the North Shore Immigrant Inclusion Partnership, features resources devoted to dismantling racism, including anti-Black racism and COVID-19 related racism. Its reading lists offer support for people experiencing racism, definitions of terms related to anti-racism, and key strategies in building inclusive spaces. The centre also offers DEI workshops.
Cold Tea Collective
The Cold Tea Collective is a media platform and community for, by, and about Asian millennials. It offers a wide range of resources — from stories to understand concepts of race and racism, tools to develop practical skills to stand up against racial prejudice on the streets or inequitable practices at work, to materials to examine the roots of systemic racism and the history of Asian Canadians.
Elimin8Hate
The Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society and Project 1907 provide an anonymous reporting platform for Canadians of Asian ancestry experiencing anti-Asian hate incidents. Their goal is to consolidate data and resources and push for accountability and change.
Hogan Alley Society
The organization provides a collection of anti-Black racism resources specific to the Canadian context. The site also provides a way to get involved in their Metro Vancouver Regional District Black Experience Project, which maps out the experiences, contributions, and challenges of people of African descent in Metro Vancouver.
I Dream Library
This website offers educational tools promoting 2SLGBTQQIA+ IBPOC representation in classrooms and libraries. It features readings lists for kids in pre-kindergarten and Grades 8+, including social justice and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) booklists, and other educator and peer-led learning resources.
Project 1907
A grassroots group of Asian women, Project 1907 features an extensive list of resources on Anti-Asian racism and history, decolonization and Indigenous allyship, cross-racial solidarity and movement building, anti-racism workshops and self-care and healing support services. Together with the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Project 1907 releases regular reports of racist incidents across the country, spots trends and issues community calls to action through its Racism Incident Reporting Centre.
Racism: It Stops With Me
This Australian Human Rights Commission campaign against racism in sports includes resources and videos about how individuals can take action against racism. Check out the trailer for the film The Australian Dream.
Raising Race Conscious Children
This platform is for adults who are talking about race with young children. The anti-racism resources include workshops, webinars, podcasts, strategies, and stories posted on its blog. Check out their list of “100 race-conscious things you can say to your child to advance racial justice.”
Anti-Racism Zine
This mental health hub for Asian communities in Canada supports individuals who experience anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents. It features mental health services, crisis lines, and mental health resources like the “Cultivating Growth and Solidarity” workbook, which unpacks racism and offers a guide on steps to take during racial encounters
How do I become anti-racist? What is systemic racism and how does it affect me? What is my responsibility as an ally? If you are asking yourself these questions, this list of videos, podcasts, and books is for you. Gather your friends, host an online watch party or start a virtual book club to engage in creating a future free from racism and hate.
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality
“Since its creation in 1876, the Indian Act has shaped, controlled, and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples, and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes. Bob Joseph’s book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process, when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is at a crescendo.” – Indigenous Relations Press, publisher
The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy
“This book challenge[s] virtually everything that non-Indigenous Canadians believe about their relationship with Indigenous Peoples and the steps that are needed to place this relationship on a healthy and honourable footing. Manuel and Derrickson offer an illuminating vision of what Canada and Canadians need for true reconciliation.” – Lorimer Publishing, publisher
Unsettling the Settler Within: Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling and Reconciliation in Canada
“In Unsettling the Settler Within, Paulette Regan, a former residential-schools-claims manager, argues that in order to truly participate in the transformative possibilities of reconciliation, non-Aboriginal Canadians must undergo their own process of decolonization. They must relinquish the persistent myth of themselves as peacemakers and acknowledge the destructive legacy of a society that has stubbornly ignored and devalued Indigenous experience.” – UBC Press, publisher
Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City
“Using a sweeping narrative focusing on the lives of the students, award-winning investigative journalist Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this small northern city that has come to manifest Canada’s long struggle with human rights violations against Indigenous communities.” – House of Anansi, publisher
Between the World and Me
“Americans have built an empire on the idea of ‘race,’ a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions.” – Penguin Random House, publisher
The Skin We're In
“Puncturing the bubble of Canadian smugness and naive assumptions of a post-racial nation, Desmond Cole chronicles just one year—2017—in the struggle against racism in this country. It is a vital text for anti-racist and social justice movements in Canada.” – Penguin Random House Canada, publisher
How to Be Antiracist
In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.” – Penguin Random House, publisher
Anti-Racist Reading List from Ibram X. Kendi
How to Be an Antiracist author Ibram X. Kendi puts together a reading list of more than 60 books for people starting their anti-racist journey.
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
“My Grandmother’s Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.” – Central Recovery Press, publisher
So You Want to Talk About Race
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to ‘model minorities’ in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.” – Seal Press, publisher
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
“In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.” – Beacon Press, publisher
Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work For Racial Justice (4th ed.)
“This 4th edition of Uprooting Racism provides practical tools and advice on how white people can work as allies for racial justice, engaging the reader through questions, exercises, and suggestions for action, and includes a wealth of information about specific cultural groups such as Muslims, people with mixed-heritage, Native Americans, Jews, recent immigrants, Asian Americans, and Latino/as.” – New Society Publishers, publisher
Me and White Supremacy
“This eye-opening book challenges you to do the essential work of unpacking your biases, and helps white people take action and dismantle the privilege within themselves so that you can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.” – Sourcebooks, publisher
Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada
“Until We Are Free contains some of the very best writing on the hottest issues facing the Black community in Canada. It describes the latest developments in Canadian Black activism, organizing efforts through the use of social media, Black-Indigenous alliances, and more.” – University of Regina Press, publisher
The Vanishing Half
“A stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.” – Riverhead Books, Penguin Random House, publisher
The Ultimate List of Diverse Children’s Books
Founder of Here Wee Read and Diversity & Inclusion expert Charnaie Gordon offers a comprehensive, diverse list of books for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary readers.
Other Reading Resources
BC Publisher’s Corner:
The Skin We're In
This video explores what it means to be Black in 21st century Canada and features Desmond Cole, author of The Skin We’re In.
How To Be Antiracist
In this with discussion at The Aspen Institute, Ibram X. Kendi, author of How To Be Antiracist, explores the characteristics of an anti-racist society.
So You Want To Talk About Race
Ileoma Olou discusses her book, So You Want To Talk About Race, at Talks at Google.
The phenomenon of White Fragility
University of Washington Dr. Robin DiAngelo reads from her book as she explains the phenomenon of white fragility on Seattle Channel.
Me and White Supremacy
Author Layla Saad shares her journey in writing, Me and White Supremacy, a book about how to be an anti-racist and how communities can go beyond performative allyship.
How Unintentional but Insidious Bias Can Be the Most Harmful
Derald Wing Sue of the Teachers College at Columbia University talks about how unintentional but insidious racial bias expressed in microaggressions causes harm.
The Australian Dream
Through the backdrop of Indigenous Australian Football League legend Adam Goodes’ journey, this documentary explores race, identity, and belonging in Australia today.
Unmasking Racism – What Are We Going to Do About It?
Watch this CBC Virtual Town Hall on systemic racism and explore solutions to build safer, more inclusive communities.
Anti-Racism Films
The National Film Board of Canada has a collection of films confronting racism in the country.
Legos and the 4 I's of Oppression
What are the 4 I’s of oppression? Learn how to dismantle oppression through this Lego video of the Western Justice Center. If you want to know about healing from internalized oppression, here is a guide.
All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward
In the 2018 CBC Massey Lecture series, titled All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward, prize-winning journalist Tanya Talaga (author of Seven Fallen Feathers) explores the legacy of cultural genocide against Indigenous peoples.
Seven Truths
Audible.ca recently launched an audio series, Seven Truths, where Talaga shares her personal story of fighting for Indigenous rights, conversations on challenges First Nations communities face, and reflections of Elders on Canadian history.
Code Switch
The series engages listeners in fearless, uncomfortable conversations about race where each member of the multi-racial and multi-generational team of journalists tackles the subject of race and racism with nuance and depth.
MediaINDIGENA
This weekly current affairs podcast features varied topics that confront Indigenous communities — from the history of genocide in Canada, dismantling colonialism, to everyday challenges that communities face.
Missing and Murdered
This eight-part podcast series investigates the cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and highlights the need to implement the Calls to Action in the “Final Report of the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls” (MMIWG).
Residential Schools
This three-part podcast looks into the history and legacy of residential schools and its impact on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit survivors and their communities.
The Secret Life of Canada
This podcast series spanning 10 years features stories about Canada that’s not otherwise covered in history books.
You have the right and responsibility to live in a society free from racism and hate. Learn more from researchers and experts about how you we can work together to make this vision a reality.
Race Relations in Canada 2019 Survey
by the Environics Institute for Survey Research and Canadian Race Relations Foundation
How Do We Solve Structural Racism?
This accessible Yellowhead Institute paper demonstrates that over the past 30 years, various inquiries and commissions have identified over 1,000 recommendations to address the structural racism faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada. The solutions are categorized into five succinct themes
Indigenous Ally Toolkit
The Montreal Indigenous Community NETWORK, through Leilani Shaw, offers an easy to read, three-step toolkit to be a better ally to Indigenous peoples. This document guides you through a journey of learning, self-reflection, and action.
Decolonize First, a Liberating Guide & Workbook
This 16-page workbook by Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee supports your decolonizing journey by providing anti-oppression tools to unpack and transform colonial impacts.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
Following the six-year process of producing a report documenting the truth of residential school survivors, families, and communities affected by the Indian Residential School System, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015 issued 94 Calls to Action. The legacy of the residential schools is exposed in the intense and systemic racism the Indigenous peoples experience to this day.
Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) in 2019 produced a report outlining the 231 steps that governments and individuals need to take to put an end to the violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people; hold to account perpetrators acting with impunity; and address the root causes of this ongoing genocide.
What We Heard About Poverty in B.C.
This government report captures the experiences of people living in poverty in BC, following a comprehensive consultation process in 2017. This led to the creation of BC’s first poverty reduction strategy, which seeks to address systemic barriers to accessing affordable housing, justice, appropriate health care, and finding employment. The report highlights the devastating impact of racism against Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC), leading them to suffer the greatest burden when accessing services.
A Human Rights Commission for the 21st Century – British Columbians talk about Human Rights
In 2017, the Province of British Columbia held public consultations regarding the state of human rights in British Columbia. This report, informed by the results from those consultations, presents recommendations for the model, scope and priorities of the province’s new Human Rights Commission.
Disaggregated demographic data collection in British Columbia: The grandmother perspective
BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (BCOHRC) in September 2020 published a 104-page report that provides a framework for disaggregated data collection grounded in “the grandmother perspective.” The report issues recommendations for the province’s development of a policy initiative for the collection of race-based, Indigenous and other disaggregated data to address systemic racism.
In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in BC Health Care
This report by former Judge Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is based on consultations with nearly 9,000 people, including Indigenous patients, family members, third-party witnesses and health-care workers, as well as unprecedented analysis of health data. The review found clear evidence of pervasive interpersonal and systemic racism that adversely affects not only patient and family experiences but also long-term health outcomes for Indigenous peoples. The report makes 24 recommendations to address what is a systemic problem, deeply rooted in colonialism.