A Pickering city councillor is facing backlash from community members and her council colleagues after penning an op-ed saying she does not support the concept of Black History Month, which led to public outcry and some demanding an apology.
In the op-ed, which was published online Sunday in the Oshawa Durham Central Newspaper, Coun. Lisa Robinson denounced the idea of celebrating Black History Month, arguing that "the race to equality is not the celebration of one race over another.
“We are so hung up on North American history and the historical trafficking of primarily African people that we have lost sense of time and period,” she wrote.
We can’t ever move past racism or other forms of prejudice by ignoring them. Rather, that’s how they get preserved. But more important than that, African Canadian history isn’t just about slaves or oppressed people any more than European Canadian history should be considered to be about slave owners or oppressors.