Anti-Racism and Anti-Hate Project Report
3 Environmental Scan
The purpose of the environmental scan was to identify resources, tools, and training already in place at 25 BC PSIs and four BC-based organizations[1] (see Appendix for the full list) that could offer robust engagement opportunities in AR and AH.
The ideal target audience of such resources are individuals beginning their journey of learning AR and AH practices. A secondary goal was to add the findings of the environment scan as a repository of resources to BCcampus’ open educational resources database. As a result, the following questions framed the environment scan:
- What tools, training or resources on AR and AH have been developed and made publicly available by BC PSIs and identified organizations?
- What framework emerges as a learning pathway for individuals working in the post-secondary sector to approach AH and AR work?
Situating this environmental scan with clear definitions is an important undertaking. AR has been clearly defined and for this reason, the definition chosen to frame the scan is as follows:
Anti-racism: “The active process of identifying, challenging, and confronting racism. This active process requires confronting systems, organizational structures, policies, practices, behaviors, and attitudes. This active process should seek to redistribute power in an effort to foster equitable outcomes.” (NADOHE, 2021, p. 8)
However, researching for a definition for AH revealed there is no clear uniformity, despite the term being utilized in critical narratives focused on creating an inclusive and safe environment. As a result, the definition selected for AH recognizes a similar active state required to engage in AR work and bridges it with what the BC’s Office of Human Rights Commissioner (2022) has available on their website with regard to hate and hate speech. The AH definition used to frame the scan is:
Anti-hate: The active process of addressing and combating the fear of losing power and the ignorance that underlies much of hate, a rise in white supremacy and deep roots in a legacy of colonialism, racism and misogyny. From hate speech to hate violence, this active process should seek to reduce hate, dismantle white supremacy and uphold legislation that supports human rights and constitutional rights that are free of hate and violence.
Recognizing the intersection of AR and AH, a glossary has been provided in the latter part of this report to clarify other key concepts that framed the scan and subsequent sections outlining the methodology and findings.
Timeline, Assumptions and Limitations
Given that the environmental scan was one component of the overall project initiated by BCcampus, the timeline described below outlines the milestones that were expected based on a project start date of January 28, 2022, and end date of March 31, 2022.
At the onset of the project, deliverables and milestones needed to be framed into what was possible, given the ambitious expectations