Students standing in a circle with the text understanding and unlearning identity-based oppression

Understanding and Unlearning Identity-Based Oppression

Content Awareness

This page presents content related to identity-based violence and oppression with perspectives on racism, colonialism, discrimination, hate, bias, prejudice, and violence. The views expressed in different resources on this page do not necessarily represent the University of Windsor or any University of Windsor person, office, department, or entity. This webpage is dynamic and will be regularly updated. If you would like us to explore adding a resource, please email vppei@uwindsor.ca.

Introduction

The University of Windsor affirms its commitment to being a safe and inclusive place to learn, live, and work. This requires us to dismantle systemic identity-based oppression and hate on our campus, but also in our local community and beyond. These resources are a component of our broader educational framework and part of our Equity, Inclusion and Anti-oppression Learning Series which includes strategic plans, learning modules, courses, workshops, webpages, and resources on EDI, Indigeneity and truth and reconciliation, anti-racism, and psychological safety and mental health. The educational framework supports our mandate to making our university an increasingly, equitable, diverse, inclusive, and just campus where our practices are undergirded by values of human dignity, civility, and respect and where everyone experiences safety and belonging.

The resources on this page:

  • Represent part of a broader educational framework to educate our campus community.
  • Provide multiple and often oppositional perspectives on critical issues.
  • Are grounded on the acknowledgement that the experiences and perceptions of discrimination and what constitutes discrimination may not be monolithic in oppressed and marginalized communities and therefore we strive to ensure that multiple and varied voices enrich people's understanding of identity-based violence and racism.
  • Are intended to enable a nuanced and multi-faceted understanding of the experiences and barriers facing people from marginalized communities as well as a strong framework of tools through which we all can share in the work of dismantling oppression and fostering a socially just and inclusive campus community.

As a post-secondary institution, the university takes its obligations to fostering discourse and debate seriously. We recognize that ideas in this space are invariably contested. The resources here are thus diverse, oppositional, and might present some dissonance and disequilibrium that we believe are fundamental to learning and perspective transformation. We hope that they will not only be read but, interrogated, and that at the end of the day they stimulate dialogue and lead to a more complete understanding of the various themes covered that may inform a process of learning, unlearning, and relearning. The resources include academic books and articles, reports, opinion pieces, media stories, films, blogs, and podcasts.

The resources are organized under focus areas of marginalization. Please select each of the areas to view the associated resources. 

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Antisemitism, Islamophobia Rising in Canada Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict

(Saba Aziz, 2023)

This article discusses the uptick in antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

View the article

 

Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly About Racism in America

(George Yancy, 2018)

This book expands upon the original article Yancy wrote (“Dear White America”) and chronicles the ensuing controversy as he seeks to understand what it was about the op-ed that created so much rage among so many white readers. 

View the book

 

Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028

(Government of Canada, 2024)

This builds on Canada’s first anti-racism strategy ‘Building a Foundation Change: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2019-2022". The 2024-2028 strategy outlines ideas and actions to tackle systemic racism and thus build a nation where racism is no longer a barrier to all people being able to reach their full potential.

View the strategy

 

Combating Anti-Palestinian Racism and Antisemitism: An Intersectional Approach to Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy

(Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Independent Jewish Voices Canada, 2024)

This report outlines the organizations’ proposals regarding the revival of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy and the new IHRA handbook, including a consultation process for both.

View the report

 

Dominion of Race: Rethinking Canada's International History

(Laura Madokoro, Francine McKenzie, and David Meren, 2017)

This book discusses how race thinking - normalizing racial differences and perpetuating them through words and actions that legitimize a discriminatory system of beliefs - has informed priorities and policies, positioned Canada in the international community, and contributed to a global order rooted in racial beliefs. 

View the book

 

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement

(Angela Y. Davis, 2016)

This book discusses the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world.

View the book

 

How to be an Antiracist

(Ibram X. Kendi, 2019)

This book asks readers to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it. 

View the book

 

IJV Canada Salutes the Victories of Student-led Encampments Across Canada

(Independent Jewish Voices Canada, 2024)

This statement outlines the IJV's support of the student-led encampment in solidarity with Palestine.

View the statement

 

Initiative Against Islamophobia and Antisemitism (IAIAS)

(Angela Campbell and Fabrice Labeau, McGill University, 2022)

This report outlines the consultation process conducted by the University in relation to their initiative to address and prevent Islamophobia and antisemitism (the IAIAS) on campus. It summarizes the University's findings, as well as the recommended actions brought forward.

View the report

 

Intergroup Relations Insight Handout

(University of Michigan, 2023)

This guide provides an overview to intergroup dialogue.

View the guide

 

Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Zionism, Setter Colonialism

(Lorenzo Veracini, 2022)

This article discusses Islamophobia and its relationship with antisemitism in the context of the radical European right's recent shift towards pro-Israel positions and away from its traditional antisemitism. The paper emphasizes the foundational role colonial and settler colonial imaginaries play in the dynamic relationship between these forms of prejudice and suggests that current Islamophobic utterances can be seen as surrogate antisemitism.

View the article

 

Israel-Palestine: Avoiding Antisemitic and Islamophobic Hate Speech

(Solutions Not Sides)

The Solutions Not Sides website provides a list of considerations to remember when engaging in dialogue around Israel and Palestine.

View the website

 

Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism

(Rachel Shabi, 2025)

According to one reviewer, Off-White is “an invaluable guide for anyone who seeks to understand issues over which we stumble far too often”. The book purports to offer a different way of analyzing the hyper-divisive issue of antisemitism by considering whiteness, Judeo-Christian mythmaking, pro-Israel antisemitism, and the Palestinian struggle against colonialism.

View the book

 

Overcoming Everyday Racism: Building Resilience and Wellbeing in the Face of Discrimination and Microaggressions

(Susan Cousins, 2019)

This book studies the psychological impact of racism and discrimination on BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) people and offers steps to improve wellbeing. It includes definitions of race, racism and other commonly used terms, such as microaggressions, and evaluates the effect of definitions used to describe BAME people. 

View the book

 

Profs Call Ford Government Bill 'Political Interference' on Campus

(Mike Crawley, 2024)

This article discusses Bill 166 and how it would require all Ontario universities and colleges to have mental health and anti-racism policies and would give the province broad powers to dictate what those policies contain. 

View the article

 

Seeing One Another: The Creation of the Sawubona Healing Circles

(Evan Auguste, Tania Lodge, Niara Carrenard, Jana Robina Onwong’a, Ashley Zollicoffer, Dana Collins & Laneay London, 2024)

This article outlines the theory, development, implementation, and initial evaluation of the Sawubona Healing Circles (SHC) intervention.

View the article

 

Sister Outsider

(Audre Lorde, 2007)

This book is a collection of fifteen essays and speeches, covering sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. 

View the book

 

Taking Action Against Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination Including Islamophobia

(Honourable Hedy Fry, 2018)

This report provides an introduction and overview of the context regarding systemic racism and religious discrimination in Canada, outlines issues related to systemic racism and religious discrimination in Canada as raised by witnesses; and provides recommendations on what the federal government could do moving forward.

View the report

 

University Encampments Highlight Critical Issues About the Right to Protest

(Geoff Callaghan, 2024)

This article discusses student encampments on university campuses and the extent to which protest should be tolerated in liberal democracies, and under what circumstances.

View the article

 

Unlearn and Learn

(The University of British Columbia)

The University of British Columbia's website provides education about racism, prejudice, and discrimination occurring in Canada and North America and provides tools for unlearning these things.

View the website

 

What to Make of the Controversy over the University of Windsor Agreement to End the Encampment

(Professor Richard Moon, 2024)

In this blog post, law professor Richard Moon discusses the controversy over the University of Windsor’s agreement to end the pro-Palestinian encampment at the university in the summer of 2024.

View the blog 

 

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

(Robin DiAngelo, 2018)

This book explores the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.

View the book

  • Book Critique: Robin DiAngelo’s ‘White Fragility’ Ignores the Differences Within Whiteness (Raluca Bejan, 2020) View the article
  • Book Critique: The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility (John McWhorter, 2020) View the article

 

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race

(Reni Eddo-Lodge, 2019)

This book explores issues from eradicated Black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, offering a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. 

View the book

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Ableism

(Leah Smith)

This article discusses how ableism is intertwined in our culture, due to many limiting beliefs about what disability does or does not mean, how able-bodied people learn to treat people with disabilities and how those with disabilities are often not included at the table for key decisions.

View the article

 

Ableism

(University of the Fraser Valley)

The University of Fraser Valley's website discusses the definition and history of ableism, provides information on etiquette and examples, as well as provides a variety of resources and tools in relation to further education on ableism.

View the website

 

Ableism

(York University)

The York University website discusses the meaning and roots of ableism and outlines various factors to consider when critiquing the logics of ableism.

View the website

 

Ableism 101

(Ashley Eisenmenger, 2019)

This blog discusses what ableism is, what it looks like, and how to become a better ally.

View the blog

 

Ableism and Disablism

(Sense)

Sense's website discusses the definition of, and provides examples of ableism and disablism.

View the website

 

Ableism in Canada

(John Loeppky and Clayton Ma, 2023)

This article discusses legal protections against ableism and forms of ableism, as well as ableism in relation to language, social media, employment, immigration policy and the medical environment.

View the article

 

Ableism, Negative Attitudes, Stereotypes and Stigma

(Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2014)

The Ontario Human Rights Commission's (OHRC) policy on preventing discrimination based on mental health disabilities and addictions outlines the relation of ableism and how negative attitudes, stereotypes and stigma can lead to discriminatory behaviour toward or treatment of people with disabilities.

View the policy

 

Accessibility 2024: Making B.C. the Most Progressive Province in Canada for People with Disabilities by 2024

(Government of British Columbia, 2015)

This report reflects the shared accomplishments of the individuals and organizations in the disability community and the business sector - champions of accessibility who dedicate their energy, vision and commitment to pushing B.C. forward.

View the report

 

A Way With Words and Images: Guide for Communicating With and About Persons With Disabilities 2024

(Employment and Social Development Canada, 2024)

This guide supports communication with and about persons with disabilities in writing, speech and images.

View the guide

 

CIHR Glossary of Terms Used in Accessibility and Systemic Ableism

(Canadian Institutes of Health Research)

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research's website provides a list of terms used in accessibility and systemic ableism.

View the glossary

 

Policy on Ableism and Discrimination Based on Disability

(Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2016)

The Ontario Human Rights Commission's (OHRC) policy on ableism and discrimination based on disability is intended to provide clear, user-friendly guidance on how to assess, handle and resolve human rights matters related to disability.

View the policy 

 

The Harmful Ableist Language You Unknowingly Use

(Sara Nović, 2021)

This article discusses how ableism can be indirect, and even unintentional, in the form of linguistic microaggressions. It also discusses how using language that equates disability to something negative can be problematic.

View the article

 

Understanding Ableism and Negative Reactions to Disability

(Dana S. Dunn, 2021)

This article discusses factors that characterize and contribute to ableism.

View the article

 

Unlearning Ableism

(OKU Rights Matter Project)

The OKU Rights Matter Project's website shares some insights about what might be helpful to unlearn ableism, some helpful tips when someone calls out ableism, as well as links to additional resources.

View the website

 

What Ableism Means and Why It Matters

(Crystal Raypole, 2022)

This article offers an overview of ableism, along with examples, its impact, and ways to address it.

View the article

 

What is Ableism, and What is its Impact?

(Zawn Villines, 2021)

This article discusses the definition, types, examples and impact of ableism, as well as ways in which ableism affects health and healthcare.

View the article

 

Words Matter, And It’s Time To Explore The Meaning Of “Ableism.”

(Andrew Pulrang, 2022)

This article discusses various definitions of ableism and explores its personal and systemic components.

View the article

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Anti-Asian Racism During Coronavirus: How the Language of Disease Produces Hate and Violence

(Paula Larsson, 2020)

This article discusses the spike in racist terms, memes and news articles targeting Asian communities in North America during COVID-19 and references the historical rise of anti-Asian racism in Canada.

View the article

 

Anti-Racism Films: In the Shadow of Gold Mountain

(Karen Cho, 2004)

This short film portrays the stories from the last survivors of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act, a set of laws imposed to single out the Chinese as unwanted immigrants to Canada from 1885 to 1947.

View the film

 

Asian Communities Across Canada Report Rising Racist Behaviour During COVID-19 Crisis

(Robin Gill, 2020)

This article discusses how the origins of the novel coronavirus virus led to spikes of overt acts of racism against Asian communities in Canada.

View the article

 

B.C. Leaders From Every Level of Government Condemn Rise in Anti-Asian Racism

(Bridgette Watson, 2020)

This article discusses how the pandemic has triggered a spike in acts of racism targeting members of the Chinese and greater Asian communities in B.C.

View the article

 

Being Chinese in Canada: The Struggle for Identity, Redress and Belonging

(William Ging Wee Dere, 2019)

This book explores the work of the head tax redress movement and gives voice to the generations of Chinese Canadians involved.

View the book

 

Blame, Bullying and Disrespect: Chinese Canadians Reveal Their Experiences with Racism During COVID-19

(Angus Reid Institute, 2020)

This report summarizes the survey conducted of more than 500 Canadians of Chinese ethnicity and outlines the extent and depth to which they have been exposed to discriminatory behaviours, and the effect on their own sense of self and belonging.

View the report

  

COVID-19 Has Put a Harsh Spotlight on the Anti-Asian Racism That Has Always Existed in Canada

(Carol Liao, 2020)

This article discusses how anti-Asian sentiments have always existed, and how COVID-19 has shown a spotlight on, and escalated anti-Asian racism.

View the article

 

Killing the Model Minority Stereotype: Asian American Counter Stories and Complicity 

(Nicholas Daniel Hartlep and Brad J. Porfilio, 2015)

This book comprehensively explores the complex permutations of the Asian model minority myth, exposing the ways in which stereotypes of Asian Americans operate in the service of racism. 

View the book

 

Landscapes of Injustice

(University of Victoria, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiative)

"Landscapes of Injustice" is a research and public history project exploring the dispossession of Japanese Canadians as part of their forced displacement and internment in the 1940s.

View the project

 

South Asian Newcomers to Canada Say Online Hate is Taking a Toll

(Josiah Sinanan, 2024)

This article discusses how international students from South Asian countries are witnessing discriminatory pages on social media popping up more frequently.

View the article

 

The ‘Model Minority’ Myth Explained. What You Need to Know About How it has Propped Up Anti-Asian Racism in Canada

(Angelyn Francis, 2021)

This article discusses the “model minority” — an example of how to, essentially, overcome racism - and its effect on anti-Asian racism in Canada.

View the article

 

This is What Anti-Asian Racism Looks Like in Canada

(CBC News, 2021)

This video shares the experiences of Asian Canadians regarding anti-Asian racism, in the days following the 2021 Atlanta shootings.

View the video

 

Why 'Asian' Isn't a One-Size-Fits-All Term for Many Canadians

(Ahmar Khan, 2021)

This article reviews the use and meaning of the word "Asian."

View this article

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Addressing Antisemitism Through Education

(The United Nations Education and Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO])

Through this website UNESCO underscores the seriousness of antisemitism globally and the importance of building the capacity of education systems to combat and counter contemporary manifestations of antisemitism.

View the website

 

After the Holocaust: Human Rights and Genocide Education in the Approaching Post-Witness Era

(Charlotte Schallié, Helga Thorson, and Andrea van Noord, 2020)

This book shares Jewish scholarship, activism, poetry, and personal narratives which tackle the changing face of human rights education in the 21st century. 

View the book

 

Antisemitism Across the Ideological Spectrum

(Ethan Hersh & Laura Royden, 2022)

In the wake of rising antisemitism in the United States, this book offers a rare quantitative analysis of left-wing versus right-wing antisemitism and makes the major finding that young adults on the far right of the ideological spectrum are at the center of antisemitic attitudes.

View the book

 

Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial

(United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website provides a variety of resources on antisemitism and the Holocaust, such as the definition and history of antisemitism, as well as Holocaust denial and distortion.

View the website

 

Antisemitism in Our Midst: Past and Present

(Adam Naftalin-Kelman, Ethan Katz, Steven Davidoff Solomon)

This film charts the history of antisemitism from its origins until today. It tackles the hard questions about different and changing forms of antisemitism, persistent anti-Jewish stereotypes, the complex racial position of Jews in contemporary America, and the precise line between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. 

View the film

 

Antisemitism: Reflections on How to Name, Frame and Challenge

(Jillian Rogin, Abigail Bakan, and Sheryl Nestel, 2023)

This webinar is a panel discussion with Professors Abigail Bakan, Sheryl Nestel, and Jillian Rogin, outlining the contours of the debates about antisemitism, focusing on the academic context.

View the webinar

 

Arguments for the Sake of Heaven: A Jewish Community Divided

(JSpace Canada, New Israel Fund, and Canadian Friends of Peace Now, 2024)

This report presents the findings of a survey of Canadian Jews that explored several issues related to feelings about the land of Israel, attitudes towards the Israeli Canadian political affiliation and engagement. Sociologist, Robert Brym served as consultant on the survey conducted by research firm Leger.

View the report

 

Briefing on Efforts at Combating Antisemitism: Introducing the Role of the United Nations and the European Union

(United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the Delegation of the European Union to the UN, 2022)

This briefing outlines the work of the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Program to address antisemitism across the UN system and explore system-wide responses to combating antisemitism.

View the briefing

 

Dismantling Racism & Oppression: Opposing Antisemitism

(Camosun College)

The Camosun College website provides a guide to a variety of resources on opposing antisemitism.

View the website

 

Do American Jews Really Know What ‘Zionism’ Means?

(Mira Sucharov, 2022)

In this opinion piece, Mira Sucharov questions American Jews’ understanding of Zionism emphasizing how their attitudes and feelings changed when presented with different conceptualizations or definitions of ‘Zionism’.

View the article

 

He Wrote a Definition of Antisemitism; Now He Says It’s Being Weaponized

(PBS, 2024)

Kenneth Stern led the drafting of the current definition of antisemitism, as written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. In this video he joins Amanpour and Company on PBS, with a warning that the definition is being used to stifle free speech.

View the video

 

How Weaponizing Antisemitism Puts Jews at Risk

(Raz Segal, 2024)

This article discusses how the weaponization of antisemitism intensifies the discrimination and exclusion against vulnerable communities in the U.S.

View the article

 

IHRA Toolkit Against Holocaust Distortion

(International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance)

The IHRA Toolkit Against Holocaust Distortion is designed to help policy and decision makers and civil society take steps towards recognizing and countering Holocaust distortion. It provides leaders with practical tools, guidance and example activities to empower them to be ambassadors for change – in their institutions, governments, and communities.

View the toolkit

 

Introduction to Anti-Jewish Discrimination

(University of British Columbia, 2025)

This resource is part of a suite of education and training offerings for faculty, staff, and students developed by University of British Columbia’s Equity and Inclusion Office, Learning Foundations program. The resource seeks to help stakeholders develop critical understanding of discrimination against Jewish people and tools to combat it.

View the module

 

Jewish Faculty Reject the Weaponization of Antisemitism

(Debbie Becher, et al., 2024)

This article highlights the call on the University of Columbia's President, by the Jewish faculty of Columbia University and Barnard College, to defend the shared commitment to universities as sites of learning, critical thinking, and knowledge production, and to object to the weaponization of antisemitism.

View the article

 

Jews and Israel 2024: A Survey of Canadian Attitudes and Jewish Perceptions

(Robert Brym, 2024)

This peer reviewed article in Canadian Jewish Studies reports findings of a survey of 2,857 Canadians and their attitudes towards Jews and Israel. The study shows that while Canadian Jews feel threatened about rising anti-Jewish sentiments, non-Jewish Canadians expressed mainly positive feelings about Jewish Canadians. The study showed that current Israeli government policy has led to an erosion of Canadian Jews’ emotional attachment to Israel.

View the article

 

Report of the University of Toronto Antisemitism Working Group

(President, Vice-President and Provost, and Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture, University of Toronto, 2021)

This report outlines the consultation process conducted by the University's Antisemitism Working Group, as well as the recommendations made by the group about how the University can make itself a more inclusive and equitable place.

View the report

 

Resources and Tools for Addressing Antisemitism, Intolerance & Bias

(Jewish Federation of Greater Washington)

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington website contains links to various resources and tools on understanding, talking about and responding to antisemitism, as well as resources in relation to advocacy.

View the website

 

Social Media Antisemitism in the 21st Century

(Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada Inc.)

The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada website defines antisemitism, provides an outline of the types of online antisemitism, and identifies how to combat antisemitism.

View the website

   

The Use and Misuse of Antisemitism Statistics in Canada

(Sheryl Nestel)

This report discusses and provides examples relating to the use and misuse of antisemitism statistics in Canada.

View the report

 

Tough Questions on Antisemitism Explained

(American Jewish Committee, 2024)

This article reviews ten tough questions about antisemitism, including the origins and sources of antisemitism, what it looks like today, and what Israel has to do with it.

View the article

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

A Psychological, Historical Analysis of Post-Slavery Trauma and Post-Slavery Growth: Are They Viable Constructs?

(William Cross, 2024)

This article attempts to summarize theory and research for both PTSS and PTG, as each may apply to an analysis of the psychological legacy of slavery.

View the article

 

Ain't I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism

(Bell Hooks, 2014)

This book examines the impact of sexism on Black women during slavery, the devaluation of Black womanhood, Black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the Black woman's involvement with feminism. 

View the book

 

Beyond Code of the Street and Psychopathic Features: Black Masculinity and Self-Compassion

(Richard H. Morley, Matthew J. Taylor, Michael Mason, 2024)

The article outlines the role of self-compassion in relation to code of the street, psychopathic features, and masculinity as examined among a sample of 207 African American men.

View the article

 

Identifying Risk and Protective Factors in Research on Mental Health and Black American Adolescents: 1990 Through 2022

(Aerika Brittian Loyd, Marisha L. Humphries, Ceily Moore, Chastity L. Owens, Aremu M. Smith, and Nia Williams, 2024)

This article synthesizes research on Black American adolescents’ mental health published between 1990 and 2022 to identify prominent risk factors and highlight key protective factors for their mental health. 

View the article

  

North of the Color Line: Migration and Black Resistance in Canada, 1870-1955

(Sarah-Jane Mathieu, 2010)

This book examines life in Canada for the estimated 5,000 Blacks, both African Americans and West Indians, who immigrated to Canada after the end of Reconstruction in the United States. 

View the book

 

Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present

(Robyn Maynard, 2017)

This book traces the violent realities of anti-Blackness from the slave ships to prisons, classrooms and beyond.

View the book

 

Remember Africville 

(Shelagh Mackenzie, 1991)

This short film depicts Africville, a small Black settlement that lay within the city limits of Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

View the film

 

The Hanging of Angélique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal

(Afua Cooper, 2007)

This book tells the story of Marie-Joseph Angélique, a slave woman convicted of starting a fire that destroyed a large part of Montréal in April 1734.

View the book

 

The Hidden Rules of Race: Barriers to an Inclusive Economy

(Andrea Flynn, Dorian T. Warren, Felicia J. Wong and Susan R. Holmberg, 2017)

This book discusses the hidden rules of race that create barriers to inclusion today. 

View the book

 

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colourblindness

(Michelle Alexander, 2020)

This book discusses the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and relegated to a permanent second-class status.

View the book

 

The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power

(Desmond Cole, 2022)

This book reveals in stark detail the injustices faced by Black Canadians on a daily basis: the devastating effects of racist policing, the hopelessness produced by an education system that fails Black children, the heartbreak of those separated from their families by discriminatory immigration laws, and more.

View the book

 

The WELLS Healing Center Campus

(The WELLS Healing Center)

The WELLS Healing Center is a non-profit organization that provides workshops and training using counseling psychology and Black feminist principles. The WELLS Healing Center also provides mentorship and training for aspiring mental health and wellness healers (e.g., counselors, coaches, etc.) that incorporates scholarship and activism. 

View the website

 

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

(Beverly Daniel Tatum, 2017)

This book discusses the psychology of racism that shows us how to talk about race in America.

View the book

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

All My Relations

(Matika Wilbur and Adrienne Keene)

This podcast, hosted by Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) and Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation), explores relationships— relationships to land, to our creatural relatives, and to one another.

View the podcast

 

As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock

(Dina Gilio-Whitaker, 2019)

This book tells the story of Native peoples’ resistance to environmental injustice and land incursions, and a call for environmentalists to learn from the Indigenous community’s rich history of activism.

View the book

 

Documentation: Inclusive Teaching/Land Acknowledgements in Teaching and Learning

(UBC Wiki, 2020)

This resource serves as a beginners guide to help better understand the importance of land acknowledgements and how to integrate them into teaching and learning practice, specific to UBC Point Grey campus.

View the resource document

 

Evan's Drum

(Ossie Michelin, 2021)

This short film is the story of an adventurous young boy and his determined mother who share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. 

View the film

 

For Angela

(Nancy Trites Botkin & Daniel Prouty, 1993)

This short film portrays the experiences of Rhonda Gordon and her daughter, Angela, when a simple bus ride changes their lives in an unforeseeable way.

View the film

 

Freedom Road Series

(Angelina McLeod & Paula Kelly, 2019)

This five-part documentary series tells the inspiring story of Shoal Lake 40 Anishinaabe First Nation and their battle to build a road, after their community was forcibly relocated and cut off from the mainland over 100 years ago, so that water could be diverted to the city of Winnipeg.

View the series

 

Holy Angels

(Jay Cardinal Villeneuve, 2017)

This short film powerfully recaptures Canada’s colonialist history through impressionistic images and the fragmented language of a child. 

View the film

 

Indigenous Portal: Professional Development

(University of British Columbia)

The University of British Columbia's website provides learning resources that focus on various Indigenous topics. They have been created with diverse audiences in mind, so users are encouraged to choose those that are most applicable to their role and interests.

View the website

 

Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger

(Alanis Obomsawin, 2019)

This film tells the story of how the life of Jordan River Anderson initiated a battle for the right of First Nations and Inuit children to receive the same standard of social, health and educational services as the rest of the Canadian population.

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Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again

(Courtney Montour, 2021)

This short film shares the powerful story of Mary Two-Axe Earley, who fought for more than two decades to challenge sex discrimination against First Nations women embedded in Canada’s Indian Act and became a key figure in Canada’s women’s rights movement.

View the film 

 

My Conversations With Canadians

(Lee Maracle, 2017)

This book presents a tour de force exploration into the writer’s own history and a reimagining of the future of our nation.

View the book

 

nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up

(Tasha Hubbard, 2019)

This film weaves a profound narrative encompassing the filmmaker’s own adoption, the stark history of colonialism on the Prairies, and a vision of a future where Indigenous children can live safely on their homelands.

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Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition

(Glen Sean Coulthard, 2014)

This book fundamentally questions prevailing ideas of settler colonialization and Indigenous resistance.

View the book

 

San’yas Anti-Racism Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program

(Indigenous Health Department, Provincial Health Services Authority)

The San’yas Anti-Racism Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program provides online training and consultation services focusing on uprooting anti-Indigenous racism and promoting cultural safety for Indigenous people. 

View the program

 

Stories Are in Our Bones

(Janine Windolph, 2019)

This short film follows Janine Windolph as she takes her young sons fishing with their kokum (grandmother), a residential school survivor who retains a deep knowledge and memory of the land. The act of reconnecting with their homeland is a cultural and familial healing journey for the boys, who are growing up in the city. It’s also a powerful form of resistance for the women.

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The Lake Winnipeg Project

(Kevin Settee, 2021)

This four-part documentary series calls attention to stories of ingenuity and resilience among the Anishinaabe, Cree and Métis communities of Matheson Island, Poplar River First Nation, Fisher River Cree Nation and Camp Morningstar, at a time when many external forces are imposing change.

View the documentary

 

Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery

(Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah, 2019)

This book discusses the far-reaching, damaging effects of the "Doctrine of Discovery."

View the book

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Anti-Palestinian Racism and the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

(Sheryl Nestel, 2024)

This webinar discusses antisemitism, providing critical views from the Jewish Faculty Network.

View the webinar

 

Anti-Palestinian Racism in Canada: CJPME's 2022 Report

(Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, 2023)

This report provides an overview of the need for a report on anti-Palestinian racism, highlights examples of anti-Palestinian racism emerging from the 2022 data and emerging recommendations.

View the report

 

Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations (Community Consultations and Reflections) 

(Arab Canadian Lawyers Associations, prepared by Dania Majid, 2022) 

This report provides recent examples of anti-Palestinian racism, the steps taken to define anti-Palestinian racism, as well as commentary regarding the anti-Palestinian framework. It also discusses the problem of conflating anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia, and the importance of addressing harms from anti-Palestinian racism.

View the report

 

Decades of Spying and Repression: The Anti-Palestinian Origins of American Islamophobia

(Moustafa Bayoumi, 2024) 

This article discusses the anti-Palestinian origins of American Islamophobia.

View the article

 

Palestinian Rights and the IRHA’s Definition of Antisemitism

(Samir Abdallah, et al., 2020)

This article discusses the views of 122 Palestinian and Arab academics, journalists and intellectuals regarding the definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and the way this definition has been applied, interpreted and deployed.

View the article

 

Ten Major Concerns with the Concept of Anti-Palestinian Racism (APR)

(Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs)

This document discusses ten major concerns with the concept of anti-Palestinian racism.

View the document

 

The Canadian Islamophobia Industry: Mapping Islamophobia’s Ecosystem in the Great White North

(Jasmin Zine, 2022)

This report serves to map the political, ideological, institutional, and economic networks that foment Islamophobic fear and moral panic in Canada; examine strategies employed by Islamophobia agents and highlight the ties among players within the Islamophobia industry; create profiles of key public figures, media outlets, and organizations who produce and distribute Islamophobic ideologies and propaganda; and identify the dominant Islamophobic discourses that circulate through these networks.

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The Push to Define Anti-Palestinian Racism is Not About Fighting Discrimination

(Shimon Koffler Fogel, 2024)

This article argues that the push to include anti-Palestinian racism as a form of discrimination is really about equating Zionism with racism in order to stifle pro-Israel voices.

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Unveiling the Chilly Climate: The Suppression of Speech on Palestine in Canada

(Sheryl Nestel & Rowan Gaudet, 2022)

This report seeks to shed light on the wave of suppression of speech regarding Palestine that is sweeping North America and parts of Europe. It documents the impact of reprisals, harassment, and intimidation faced by activists, faculty, students, and organizations working in solidarity with the struggle for Palestinian human rights.

View the report

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Coping with Homophobia and Transphobia: Strategies for Resilience in the Face of Recent Legislature in Texas and Beyond

(Vagdevi Meunier, 2023) 

This blog discusses how homophobia and transphobia deeply affect the relationships in our society, presenting significant challenges for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies. Recent discriminatory legislation, like the Texas Senate Bill 8, has further intensified the struggles faced by marginalized communities, emphasizing the urgent need for coping strategies that empower individuals to navigate and cope with homophobia and transphobia on both personal and systemic levels.

View the blog

 

Decoding the News: A Media Literacy Guide for Understanding Anti-2SLGBTQI Media Manipulation and Disinformation Tactics

(Egale, 2025)

This guide is designed to help you understand and navigate today’s complex information landscape. Whether you’re on social media, watching a viral video, or listening to a podcast, being able to separate fact from fiction in the media is essential in stopping the spread of misinformation and combatting anti-2SLGBTQI hate.

View the guide

 

Egale Explains: Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation

(Egale, 2025)

The rise in anti-2SLGBTQI hate is directly linked to the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and malformation (MDM). Planned anti-2SLGBTQI movements use the fact that many people are unfamiliar with trans and gender diverse people in order to deliberately spread harmful and false information. Use this resource to understand what MDM is, how to spot it, and how to stop it.

View the resource

 

Egale Website

(Egale)

Egale is Canada’s leading organization for 2SLGBTQI people and issues. They provide a variety of research, education, and awareness resources to help advocate for human rights and equality in Canada and around the world. 

View the website

 

Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan… Building our Future with Pride

(Government of Canada, 2024)

Building on work started in 2015 by the Federal Government of Canada, the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan lays out a plan to create a more equitable country for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+) people in Canada.

View the Action Plan

 

Ready to Respond: A Guide for Understanding and Responding to Anti-2SLGBTQI Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

(Egale, 2025)

This guide was created to help individuals, community leaders, educators, and allies recognize, understand, and effectively respond to harmful online and offline content that undermines the safety and dignity of 2SLGBTQI communities in Canada and beyond. Through this guide, you’ll be ready to respond to anti-2SLGBTQI misinformation, disinformation and malinformation.

View the guide

 

Standing Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

(Statistics Canada, 2022)

This report discusses and provides statistics regarding gender-based violence in Canada.

View the report

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Anti-Muslim Racism Beyond Islamophobia: Resource Guide

(Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies, 2021)

This guide provides an understanding of Islam and Muslim cultures, examines the historical and present-day manifestations of anti-Muslim racism, and unpacks the compounding experiences of Black Muslim peoples and communities.

View the guide

 

Combatting Hate: Islamophobia and Its Impact on Muslims in Canada

(The Honourable Salma Ataullahjan and The Honourable Wanda Elaine Thomas Bernard, 2023)

This report outlines the study conducted by the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights to understand the rise of Islamophobia, what its effects are, and how to reverse its trends. It also notes the 13 recommendations made by the committee as a result of the data collected.

View the report

 

Dismantling Racism & Oppression: Fighting Islamophobia

(Camosun College)

The Camosun College website provides a guide to a variety of resources on fighting Islamophobia.

View the website

 

Fake Mosque on Canadian Forces Base in Alberta Raises Concerns for Muslim Community

(Stephen Cook, 2021)

This article discusses the use of a fake mosque at a training facility at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield, in Alberta.

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Head of N.L. Muslim Association Says Hate Crime Legislation Only Way to End Islamophobia

(Kyle Mooney, 2022)

This article discusses the need for specific hate crime legislation to battle increasing instances of anti-Muslim hate. 

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‘I Own All Parts of My Identity’: 3 Generations of Muslim Women Reflect on Hate in Canada

(Morgan Black, 2021)

This article reflects on the words of three generations of Muslim-Canadians, giving insight into the deep sense of self and confidence the community maintains.

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In Their Words: Untold Stories of Islamophobia in Canada

(Miranda Gallo, Mashaal Saeed, Sanam Islam, and Reyhana Patel, 2022)

This report shares Islamophobia experiences from Canadians in an effort to better understand how Islamophobia manifests in Canada, to learn more about response and coping mechanisms, and to gauge opinion on governmental responses.

View the report

 

In Your Face: Law, Justice, and Niqab-Wearing Women in Canada

(Natasha Bakht, 2020)

This book analyzes niqab bans in Canada while also drawing on interviews with niqab-wearing women to reveal their complex identities and multiple motivations for dressing in this way.

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Introduction to Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim Discrimination

(University of British Columbia, 2025)

This resource is part of a suite of education and training offerings for faculty, staff, and students developed by University of British Columbia’s Equity and Inclusion Office, Learning Foundations Series. The resource seeks to help stakeholders develop critical understanding of discrimination against Arab people and Muslims and tools to combat it.

View the module

 

Islamophobia in Canada: Muslim Students Share Their Personal Experiences

(Geoffrey Vendeville, 2018)

This article highlights Sidrah Ahmad, a master's student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and her research conducted on interviewing Muslim women in the GTA about their experiences of Islamophobic violence.

View the article

 

Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Racism Through the Lived Experiences of Muslim Youth

(Naved Bakali, 2016)

This book is the first ethnographic study of Muslim experiences in Canadian secondary schools with a focus on Quebec schools. It theorizes how and why Islamophobia manifests in the Canadian context; as well as compares, contrasts and synthesizes global meta-narratives and localized discourses and practices of Islamophobia.

View the book

 

Marginalized and Misunderstood: Survey on Attitudes on Arabs and Anti-Arab Racism in Canada

(Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Canadian Arab Federation and the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association)

This report outlines the results of a survey conducted in relation to attitudes on Arabs and anti-Arab racism in Canada.

View the report

  

Resources on Combatting Islamophobia

(Government of Canada)

The Government of Canada website provides a list of links to various educational resources, as well as organizations, to help people learn about and combat Islamophobia. 

View the website

  

'When We Embrace Our Hijab, We Embrace Death:' Canadian-Muslims Balance Faith, Safety

(The Canadian Press, 2021)

This article discusses the discrimination against women who wear a hijab, and the navigation they face between their safety and their faith.

View the article

 

Who Belongs in Quebec? Identity Politics in a Changing Society

(Raquel Fletcher, 2020)

This book discusses Islamophobia in the province of Quebec.

View the book

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

Allies Against Sexism: The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism

(BJ Dury & CR Kaiser, 2014)

In this article, Dury and Kaiser discuss the critical role that men play in combatting discrimination against women.

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Ambivalent Sexism and Violence Toward Women: A Meta-Analysis

(E. Agadullina, A. Lovakov, M. Balezina and OA Gulevich, 2022)

In this meta-analysis the authors analysed the relationship between ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward male-to-female violence or violent behaviour. The results showed that both hostile and benevolent sexism independently impact on attitudes toward violence and violent behaviour albeit to a different degree.

View the article

 

Barriers to Women Engaging in Collective Action to Overcome Sexism

(HRM Radke, MJ Hornsey, and FK Barlow, 2016)

In this article, Radke et. al., discuss the challenges that women face in achieving absolute equality. They attribute this to the challenges of mobilizing collective action due to issues identifying with other women and feminists and their own perceptions of sexism.

View the article

 

Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination

(Julia C. Becker & Chris G. Sibley, 2015)

In this chapter on ‘Sexism’ Becker and Sibley explore gender-based discrimination against women and the manifestations of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination.

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Intersectional Gender Wage Gap in Canada, 2007-2022

(Statistics Canada, 2023)

This news release presents Statistics Canada data explaining the state of gender gap in wages in Canada through intersectional analysis.

Read the document

 

Quality of Employment in Canada; Pay Gap 1998-2021

(Statistics Canada, 2022)

This document presents the result of a study that examines the evolution of the gender gap in average hourly wages since from 1998-2021.

View the report

 

When Sexism Leads to Racism: Threat, Protecting Women, and Racial Bias

(JM McMahon & KB Khan, 2018)

This article explores how sexism and protective paternalism often fuel racial bias especially in white men. The authors warn that policies framed around safety and protection of women unintentionally increase anti-minority racial bias.

View the article

The following resources are alphabetized by resource title.

 

Extremism Fact Sheet - Xenophobia & Anti-Immigrant Extremism: From Fringe to Mainstream

(Human Rights First, 2023)

The report outlines the meaning of xenophobia & anti-immigrant extremism, how extremism is normalized, the impact that is has on the community, and how xenophobia & anti-immigrant extremism drive other movements.

View the report

 

Is Xenophobia a Medical Diagnosis? 

(Zawn Villines, 2025)

This article discusses the meaning of xenophobia.

View the article

 

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know

(Malcolm Gladwell, 2019)

This book aims to figure out the strategies people use to assess strangers to understand how to balance trust and safety.

View the book

 

The Long History of Xenophobia in America

(Taylor McNeil, 2020)

This article is an interview with author Erika Lee, in relation to the history of xenophobia in the U.S.

View the article

 

UNHCR Guidance on Racism and Xenophobia

(UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, 2020)

This report outlines how UNHCR can address and respond to situations of racism and xenophobia affecting persons under its mandate.

View the report

 

What is Xenophobia?

(The University of Edinburgh)

The University of Edinburgh website provides a definition, as well as examples of xenophobia.

View the website

 

Xenophobia: The Fear of Strangers

(Lisa Fritscher, 2025)

This article outlines the signs and types of xenophobia, as well as provides examples, causes, and impact of xenophobia.

View the article

Additional resources can be found on the Anti-Black Racism website,  Office of Human Rights, Conflict Resolution and Mediation website, the Centre for Teaching and Learning website, as well as the UWinPride website.