Above: A scene from the Vancouver riots, June 2011. Below: the author, Navjot Kaur.
Current Events
Don't Believe Everything You Think
by NAVJOT KAUR
Media literacy encourages people, especially children to think critically about the world around them. Although a tool for information, mass media can also conjure much misinformation which fosters negative stereotypes. When educational establishments decide to set rules, these stereotypes need to be addressed before decision-enforcing policies are put into place.
A recent article in The Telegraph from the U.K. associates a school’s haircut policy with indirect racial discrimination. An African-Caribbean teenager’s cornrows were apparently seen as an indication of gang culture and so he was refused entry into his north London school gates back in September 2009. He was 11 then.
The “short back and sides” policy that I read about in this article made me reflect on many media images we see. The judge in this case ruled in favour of the family and cultural identity of the African-Caribbean family but also agreed that the school’s hair policy was perfectly permissible and lawful. The head teacher felt they had a justified policy given the prevalent gang culture in the area.
I can understand their fears but what about the negative stereotypes and unconscious biases associated with such thinking?
When I think back to the recent riots in Vancouver after the hockey game, I recall the numerous images flashed across the screen. Many perpetrators and bystanders are seen with “short back and sides”. None of them were labeled “gang members” or associated to any particular religious group. If they had shown any signs of a cultural or religious identity, they probably would have been labeled as such first.
One of the men was identified as the son of doctors and even his address was posted publicly. The family fled their home in fear of retaliation. He had “short back and sides”.
But then again, these riots and looters caught everyone by surprise. There was no haircut policy that could have prepared anyone of what was to happen. The city would have had to have been informed to react to that.
Navjot Kaur is the award-winning author of two children's books: "The Lion's Mane" and "Dreams of Hope".
[Courtesy: Soch]