Raymond Sheppard: “The Canadian government, in concert with the African Canadian community, could establish the mandate and or purpose of the public inquiry, and provide the funds necessary out of the money it made from the historic enslavement of the African and the trillions that this wrongdoing generated and continues to generate.”
Raymond Sheppard: “Most of the things we have been told as African Nova Scotians are lies.”
Raymond Sheppard in this very personal essay describes how an injury to one is an injury to all, how acts of racism targeting an individual traumatize the entire African Nova Scotian community. “During the past fifty years of my life I have personally experienced racism and injustice. Like most African peoples, I have felt the pain, frustration, anxiety, and panic attacks caused by racism. This suffering never goes away because racism never goes away,” he writes.
After the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Raymond Sheppard reflects on the pervasive racism in the US and Canada.
“The current complaint system at the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission (NSHRC) doesn’t seem to be working. Those who have been traumatized by racism, sexism and hate are being re-victimized,” writes Raymond Sheppard.
In light of racist police violence in Halifax it’s time to take another look at body cams, says Raymond Sheppard.
Raymond Sheppard meets with IWK officials after he and his grandson were kept waiting at the ER. “I felt and still feel, or should I say I know, that I was passed over because I am African Nova Scotian,” he writes.
Raymond Sheppard looks into the training police officers receive, and has some ideas how to make it better. “If police officers across Canada had the above-mentioned training they might not feel the need to bully and use excessive force against African People and other Persons of Colour.”
“Over the years, I had the pleasure of knowing some very good police officers within the Halifax Regional Municipality.” A quick note by Raymond Sheppard.
Raymond Sheppard explains why Nhlanhla Dlamini is his nomination for person of the year. “He has shown courage in the face of adversity, he tries at all costs to avoid confrontation, and he has spoken truth to power and privilege. He is a silence breaker while sending a clear message. He is gentle, loving, caring and respecting. As a young man he has become a role model to other young people and to those not so young.