International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Americans may not give much recognition to the UN observance, but for ten years the citizens of Canada have heeded the UN's summons and gone so far as to expand upon the idea of a one-day commemorative event to create a nationwide program toward the eradication of racism.

On March 21, 1960, 20,000 demonstrators gathered in Sharpeville, South Africa, to rally against pass laws -- regulations that required Blacks to carry identification when entering areas outside of the state-designated Black townships. As part of its nonviolent campaign against apartheid, the Pan-Africanist Congress had asked protesters to hand over their reference books (passes) and offer themselves up for arrest.

The peaceful demonstration turned violent, however, when state police opened fire on the crowd. The officers' bullets left 67 South Africans dead and 186 wounded, with 48 women and children among the casualties. A focal point of international media attention at the time of its occurrence, the incident, now known as the Sharpeville Massacre, ranks as one of the first episodes of insurgence against South Africa's repressive apartheid system. In the estimation of many historians, the Massacre lit the spark that led to the legal abolition of apartheid almost a quarter century later.

In memory of the lives lost in Sharpeville and of the struggle against the South African government and those who perpetuated apartheid, the United Nations (UN) in 1966 declared March 21 the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The day serves as a call for global action against intolerance and its attendant violence.

A day to emulate Canada's example
Americans may not give much recognition to the UN observance, but for ten years the citizens of Canada have heeded the UN's summons and have gone so far as to expand upon the idea of a one-day commemorative event to create a nationwide program toward the eradication of racism. Launched in 1989, Canada's "Racism. Stop It" initiative, otherwise known as the "March 21 Campaign," serves to educate its citizenry about racism and ways to combat discrimination. "Racism has always been a barrier to human and social development," says the Honorable Hedy Fry, Canada's Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women. According to Fry, Canadians decided not to allow racial discrimination to take a strong foothold within their country.

By promoting basic Canadian values of respect, understanding and cooperation through organized community outreach programs and the distribution of educational materials, the creators of Canada's March 21 Campaign believe they can not only stamp out racism, but also enhance the country's growth.

Like the U.S., Canada is, and always has been, a nation of immigrants, but in recent years the ethnic make-up of those seeking an abode within the country's borders has changed drastically. According to the Office of Canadian Statistics, prior to 1961 the vast majority of immigrants came from countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, people who could easily blend in with the population's White majority. In contrast, people arriving in Canada today are most likely to be former residents of Hong Kong, China or India -- "visible minorities" who now constitute more than 11 percent of the population.

How and Where Hate Crimes Occur
A report commissioned in 1994 by Canada's Department of Justice to survey the tone of race relations in the country found that the majority of hate crimes occur in areas where large immigrant and minority populations reside and that racism, nationalism and anti-Semitism serve as the primary motives in such crimes. Further, the study echoed what many American experts have found -- that people involved in racially motivated hate crimes tend to be young -- in their teens or early twenties -- and that the perpetrators of such crimes are not, as some have suggested, experiencing bouts of teenage angst and rebellion. To the contrary, the study concluded that youngsters are acting out on long-held views shared by their families and friends about those unlike themselves.

 

Changing a people's belief system is not an easy task. Rising to the challenge, however, Canada's government reserved significant resources for the initiative's 1999 budget. The nation's Heritage Office has provided more than 21,000 schools and 9,000 grassroots organizations with free materials -- posters, stickers, brochures and teachers' guides -- to help launch school and community programs dealing with the themes of unity and tolerance. The March 21 Campaign has been so successful in reaching Canada's young that at the kick-off for the initiative's tenth anniversary celebrations special guest South African President Nelson Mandela was greeted with cheers from more than 40,000 of the nation's youngest peace advocates.

 

By all indications, Canada's dedication to the elimination of racism and discrimination through its March 21 Campaign seems to be paying off. As one Ontario teenager, Amy, 16, shares: "I used to tell [racist] jokes before I realized what I was doing. Then I stepped back and took a look at myself. I realized that my dad and brothers all talked that same way, and they all told the jokes. But really, there is no such thing as a 'different person;' all that matters is what's on the inside."

Activities

 

  • Ask students to research the pass laws that spawned the Sharpeville Massacre. To draw parallels between the historical event and their own lives, students might want to consider the widely reported pattern of African American drivers being detained by police for no other reason than 'Driving While Black.' What do incidents like these say about race relations in the U.S.? What does law enforcement's use of racial profiling say about race relations in this country?