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poisonenvy's review against another edition
4.0
When I think of racism in Canada, I mostly think of the racism against Indigenous peoples. It's not that I wasn't aware of anti-black racism in Canada, but up until recently, I had always thought of it more as an individual racism instead of one that is just as institutionalized and systemic as the racism against the Indigenous peoples. I don't think I had even been aware that slavery existed in Canada - I remember being taught a lot about American slavery, and how people enslaved in America would escape to Canada, where they would then live happy and fulfilling lives, free in the Great White North or whatever revisionist history we were taught.
It was refreshing, then, to see a book that was about racism, specifically in Canada. Most of the critical race theory I've read has come out of the States, and while that is all valuable as well, it's left me with a big blind spot when it comes to systemic racism in Canada. This book is a much needed light to shine on the darker parts of Canada, and it taught me a lot. It's very well researched, and while Canada itself lacks data in specific areas - and so American data was used as a jumping off point - and I found a lot of valuable information in these pages.
It's written very academically, but I also found the language accessible. I have read quite a lot of academic, social justice based literature, so maybe I'm a poor judge of that, but that Maynard did an excellent job of explaining any terms that might not be in the public discourse, and keeping away from highly specific terms when more general terms would suffice.
This book was highly intersectional, which I was very, very happy to see. Maynard spoke often about disabled, trans, and queer black experiences, and had a strong focus on black feminism.
The only thing I was a little disappointed in was that I would have been happy with a book twice this length. There were a lot of events mentioned in passing and never really explained - I knew some of them, but didn't know all of them. There were a lot of concepts that were introduced, but never delved deeper into - most particular to my interests was the abolition of prisons. Maynard was usually pretty good about providing additional reading when specific concepts came up, though all the prison abolition resources she provided are American based and it would be nice to see some from a Canadian perspective. This book really serves more as a thorough introduction to institutionalized anti-black racism in Canada than something more in depth, but I found it to be a very valuable jumping off point to further my own education on the topic.
It was refreshing, then, to see a book that was about racism, specifically in Canada. Most of the critical race theory I've read has come out of the States, and while that is all valuable as well, it's left me with a big blind spot when it comes to systemic racism in Canada. This book is a much needed light to shine on the darker parts of Canada, and it taught me a lot. It's very well researched, and while Canada itself lacks data in specific areas - and so American data was used as a jumping off point - and I found a lot of valuable information in these pages.
It's written very academically, but I also found the language accessible. I have read quite a lot of academic, social justice based literature, so maybe I'm a poor judge of that, but that Maynard did an excellent job of explaining any terms that might not be in the public discourse, and keeping away from highly specific terms when more general terms would suffice.
This book was highly intersectional, which I was very, very happy to see. Maynard spoke often about disabled, trans, and queer black experiences, and had a strong focus on black feminism.
The only thing I was a little disappointed in was that I would have been happy with a book twice this length. There were a lot of events mentioned in passing and never really explained - I knew some of them, but didn't know all of them. There were a lot of concepts that were introduced, but never delved deeper into - most particular to my interests was the abolition of prisons. Maynard was usually pretty good about providing additional reading when specific concepts came up, though all the prison abolition resources she provided are American based and it would be nice to see some from a Canadian perspective. This book really serves more as a thorough introduction to institutionalized anti-black racism in Canada than something more in depth, but I found it to be a very valuable jumping off point to further my own education on the topic.
cieldemayo's review against another edition
5.0
Absolument nécessaire, fâchant, incisif et crucial. NoirEs sous surveillance devrait être une lecture obligatoire dans toutes les écoles jusqu’à ce que l’histoire du racisme systémique au Canada, présent de l’esclavage jusqu’à nos jours, soit intégrée directement dans les cours d’histoire. Les nombreuses facettes méconnues du racisme au Canada sont troublantes. Impossible de rester silencieux après cette lecture.
coffee_addict25's review against another edition
5.0
Essential reading for everyone, black and non-black.
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Like Desmond Cole's The Skin We're In, this changes the way I see anti-Black racism in Canada. We have this image of Canada as proudly multicultural and 'better' than USA when it comes to racism and acceptance of PoC in Canada. This book thoroughly debunks that lie.
This covers the history of Black lives in Canada from the forced immigration and enslavement era (so much of which is purposefully buried and unknown by white Canadians) to modern criminalization of Black youth, mass incarceration, cultural separation via foster care, and racist immigration policies. Maynard drives home that each of these is the same prejudice, the same hate in a different form. "Slavery's afterlives." Misogynoir, Anti-LGBTQIA state-sanctioned violence, and (dis)ability rights are covered as well as the links between Black and brown experiences of racism in Canada. State violence against Indigenous peoples was covered extensively and the parallels are chilling and alarming.
If you liked Stamped from the Beginning, this is a tighter, accelerated Canadian version of that. It covers many of the same topics and themes and it was fascinating to read them simultaneously and see the similarities and differences between the two (besides scope and size). Timely and important, something we should have learned in school. We must actively be protesting the mistreatment of Black people in Canada if we want change and this book inspires this action.
This covers the history of Black lives in Canada from the forced immigration and enslavement era (so much of which is purposefully buried and unknown by white Canadians) to modern criminalization of Black youth, mass incarceration, cultural separation via foster care, and racist immigration policies. Maynard drives home that each of these is the same prejudice, the same hate in a different form. "Slavery's afterlives." Misogynoir, Anti-LGBTQIA state-sanctioned violence, and (dis)ability rights are covered as well as the links between Black and brown experiences of racism in Canada. State violence against Indigenous peoples was covered extensively and the parallels are chilling and alarming.
If you liked Stamped from the Beginning, this is a tighter, accelerated Canadian version of that. It covers many of the same topics and themes and it was fascinating to read them simultaneously and see the similarities and differences between the two (besides scope and size). Timely and important, something we should have learned in school. We must actively be protesting the mistreatment of Black people in Canada if we want change and this book inspires this action.
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book should be required reading for everyone in so-called Canada. As a white settler, I learned so much about the multitude of ways that Black and Indigenous people are affected by our racist, colonial system.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Racism
justinelit's review against another edition
5.0
C’est une oeuvre magistrale et importante. Chaque chapitre est extrêmement bien documenté. Tout le monde devrait livre ce livre et tout spécialement ceux et celles qui travaillent pour l’État. // This book is masterful and important. Every chapter is precise and extremely well researched. Everyone and especially people who work for the state should read this book.