In The News: Complaints Against Racial Discrimination
There are many people who would like to believe, that in the year 2021, we are living in a post-racial society, but the evidence continues to prove that racial discrimination remains deeply entrenched in different power systems globally.
That doesn’t mean that people are not taking action and fighting back!
Australia
Image by Simon Maisch
The state of Western Australia is re-drafting heritage laws meant to protect sacred Aboriginal sites so that developers may have the right to appeal, while denying appellant rights to Aboriginal Groups.
While the updated draft of the laws emphasize agreement between the indigenous Aboriginal groups and developers, it also maintains that the government retains the final decision in land disputes; and gives developers the opportunity to appeal that decision while withholding that same right from Aboriginal peoples.
A group of five Aboriginal Australians have filed a complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, stating that this is "a continuation of systemic and racial discrimination.” The Thomson Reuters Foundation reports that “while the UN has no authority over Australian state legislation, the group hopes getting the committee involved could help put pressure on the state government to make changes.”
Already, there has been the destruction of culturally significant, Aboriginal rock shelters by developer Rio Tinto.
The United States
Image from Twitter/@NoahWicks
In the state of Mississippi, six Black farmworkers have filed a lawsuit against Pitts Farms (one of the largest farms in Mississippi) for discriminating against them in favor of White foreign laborers from South Africa. Pitts Farms hired the White South African workers through an allegedly illegal use of the federal government’s H-2A visa program, “which allows U.S. farmers to hire foreign workers only when no U.S. workers are available to do the job.”
“With the unemployment rate in the Delta hovering at around 10 percent, it is unacceptable and unlawful that local farmers are looking to hire foreign labor before people in their own communities,” said Ty Pinkins of the Mississippi Center for Justice, which filed the lawsuit along with Southern Migrant Legal Services.
“Pitts Farms once employed a majority Black workforce drawn from Sunflower County, which is over 70% Black,” however, beginning in 2014, Pitts Farms “began recruiting and hiring only White farmworkers from South Africa, a country that is over 80% Black. In 2020, the lawsuit says, Pitts Farms laid off most of the plaintiffs while it recruited more White H-2A workers than ever, (Mississippi Center for Justice).”
In addition to discriminatory hiring practices, Pitts Farms also violated federal law by paying Black workers less than the White H-2A workers. Black workers received the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour with one dollar an hour more for weekend work, while the White workers from South Africa received $9.87 an hour in 2014, “and that rate increased most years until it reached $11.83 an hour in 2020” (CBS News).
To Conclude
It’s not just unfortunate that situations like the two mentioned here continue to happen, it’s unacceptable! This is what is meant when people say institutionalized or systemic racism, and yes, it is still happening in 2021.
Discriminatory practices are ingrained in much of the fabric that make up different societies, and are embedded in policy making and business operations.
These are not two outlier examples, they are proof of the continued and calculated acts meant to grant certain rights and privileges to one group while intentionally withholding those same rights and privileges from others.
There is power in collective efforts. It’s time for our communities to come together and hold institutions and systems accountable. Community-ownership, especially by impacted and marginalized people, of Development processes is a vital part of that accountability. When people are re-powered and understand that together they can affect positive change, we will begin to see equitable and inclusive social transformations that benefit those who have been traditionally underrepresented.
Re-Power SPOTLIGHT: Winnie Cheche, Climate Activist and Blogger
Perhaps on your side of the world, you have already started noticing people using less and less plastic in an effort to better protect the environment.
Kenya is said to have the world’s strictest ban on single-use plastics. And according to Blogger and Climate Activist, Winnie Cheche, the reason it has been successful is because users were involved.
When development solutions are created in collaboration with end users, the success rate is much higher!
📷 @rootsofafrika for Global Citizen
Environmental conservation is one aspect of Development that is often neglected, and yet it is a critical component to sustainable development. All the activities around economic, human, and social development, mean nothing if there is no healthy future in sight for our planet.
“Climate change affects everyone, but disproportionately impacts poorer nations and communities…” (Global Citizen).
Yet hope remains even in some of the most vulnerable regions.
Amazing young people, such as Winnie Cheche are leading the charge when it comes to promoting sustainable living and wildlife conservation.
Winnie lived next to Lake Nakuru National Park, in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. Her access to the wildlife and nature’s beauty fostered a passion for the environment, even as a young child.
Today, Winnie uses her website (https://chechewinnie.com/) to break down the issues around sustainability and conservation into simplest terms, in order to reach more people and convince them to take actions to protect the planet. Winnie also tell uses her site to share stories of hope based on what other people are doing to achieve a er planet.
We salute Winnie for her efforts. Winnie knows that when more people understand the language around environmental conservation and know the practical steps they can take to reduce waste and contamination, the greater the positive change we will see in our societies prioritizing protecting the environment.
Read Winnie's full essay via Global Citizen or visit her website and blog at: https://chechewinnie.com/.
A New Year's Message and Birthday Wish From Our Principal
By Cara-Marie Findlay
FHG Principal Consultant
Happy 2021 Everyone
...and Happy Birthday Findlay House Global!
January 1 is a special day for many reasons, even aside from the new year, it’s the day that Haiti—the first Black republic—was born, after a revolution that defeated imperial France; Sudan, French Cameroon, Brunei and the Czech Republic also gained their independence on January 1 as well.
The first of January also has special meaning for Findlay House Global (FHG). Although I started my journey as an independent consultant and contractor back in January 2012, FHG officially became an LLC on January 1, 2019.
We’re celebrating our birthday all month long, and our birthday wish includes you!
For too long, terms like: agency, activism, community development, economic development, international development, government policies, have been made to feel as though they are beyond comprehension for the average citizen, no matter the country.
And the fact is, “development” affects everybody.
Every country, regardless of its economic status, is engaged in some form of development—be it the expansion of infrastructure or the expansion of human rights.
FHG is working towards ensuring our birthday wish comes true! We want greater numbers of underrepresented people to lead, speak, engage, and respond to the development dialogue and planning process taking place at different levels—locally, nationally and globally.
Development in our cities, neighborhoods and villages, “community development,” should not be happening without us. We should have a say in the decisions being made that will affect us and our families, especially those of us who have found ourselves being marginalized, underserved and underrepresented.
FHG is ready for 2021, and we are committed now more than ever to making greater numbers of people aware of the sociocultural conditions that shape our lives; and the possibilities of their transformation, especially through the levers of development and social change—academia, policymaking and practice.
We’ve even updated our handle on Instagram and Twitter to @repower_intldev, to better feature the stories and work of the people, communities, and organizations that inspire us to change the face of development so that the development sector is led and owned by impacted peoples, until ultimately it is no longer needed.
If you’re curious about our use of the word Re-Power, you can read more about our Re-Power Development℠ Framework here.
I’m so grateful for all the awesome partners who have entrusted us with their projects so far, and I’m looking forward to the new partnerships and new projects on the horizon!
But most of all, I’m thankful for the AMAZING individuals who make up FHG’s team! Each of you show up with equal parts dedication, innovation and excellence, and FHG wouldn’t have made it to this point without you. The best way I know to thank you for your labor of love is to work hard so that we continue to rise together and can bring more likeminded people with us. Thank you for not only believing in me and the mission and vision of FHG, but for making FHG your own. I will be forever grateful.
This is just the beginning!
One behalf of the entire FHG team, here’s to a happier, healthier, and more prosperous year!
May 2021, be our best year yet!
One love,
Cara-Marie Findlay