The Anti-Oppression Committee wants to support self-education and reflection in Karma membership and is looking for new committee members.
Author: Betsy Carter (Anti-Oppression Committee)
The mural artist Monique Bedard painted this traffic signal box through June 3 – 5, 2016, making it the first one painted by an Indigenous Artist in Toronto. This work was signed using the name AuraLast, but they also make artwork as “Mo Thunder” – check out her online gallery for images of the paintings at Dundas and Roncesvalles.
Hello, my name is Betsy and I am a member of the Anti-Oppression Committee. If you shop in the store you may have seen the Committee’s Book Give Away poster and draw jar (more give- away info and a summary below) or our poster looking for new committee members. That poster states that the goals of the Anti-Oppression committee have been a challenge. Those thoughts come from discussions with other committee members, but the wording of that the opinionated bit is mine.
From Karma’s website the first goal of the committee is to “Ensure Karma policies and practices set the organization up to be in opposition to and to do the work of dismantling white supremacy, patriarchy, cis and heteronormativity, settler colonialism, capitalism, ableism, and other forms of oppression deemed relevant by the committee.” To do this, the 1st thing the committee was supposed to do was hire an auditing firm to examine Karma and make recommendations for action.
While on the committee, we have drafted and edited a scope document, worked to talk to auditors and get quotes. But to do justice to the process, you need to spend time and money on it, and so we went in circles for a long while to the present. Many people who started the committee had to move on to other priorities. In the end we were a committee of new people. We didn’t have a strong sense of how we arrived at the mandate for an audit. For me, I was asked by a prospective auditor, “Why now?”. Good question! Karma has been around since 1972, but the committee is a few years old. I had no real answer.
Recently the Karma Board expressed interest in drafting a Land Acknowledgement. Members of the committee had been reaching out to some Indigenous Organizations. I was asked nicely, “is this to check boxes?” My reply was probably, in part, in the sense of wanting to do something. I discussed the desire of the Committee to make connections and I was prompted that we as a co-op, as a committee and as individuals have to figure out why we are engaging. What type of connections are we looking for?
I am reminded of an article I read entitled, “Rushing is not arriving”. The author, Dr. Moyo Rainos Mutamba, writes, “there is a tension between the urgency driving the work, and the pace required to dive deeply into understanding, building connections, and creating the conditions for transformation.”
The founding committee members wrote that Karma, “is substantially less racially and economically diverse than the city in which we exist.” I am a white, able-bodied, cis woman who is middle aged and solidly employed. I know little of oppression and am seeking knowledge to guide me since my privilege leaves me ignorant on so many things. Not that my fellow members aren’t already interested in social justice and supporting important work. Yet, I can guess that many Karma members are similarly looking for guidance.
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Toronto is an organization that points people like me to the issues and actions that we can be taking. I highly recommend signing up for SURJ Toronto’s email newsletter. SURJ Toronto is a GTA-based grassroots organization. SURJ collaborates with, “Black, Indigenous, and racialized organizers, and move white people to take action to dismantle white supremacy and colonialism. SURJ Toronto gives members and supporters opportunities to learn, develop skills, deepen political analysis, build accountable relationships, and redistribute resources to Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities.” As a committee member I would like consider how SURJ’s methods can be replicated at Karma to give Karma members these same opportunities.
What about the book give away? Thank you for reading down to the end of this article. The Anti-Oppression Committee wants to support self-education and reflection. We will be recommending some great books while also supporting our amazing local book seller: A Different Booklist. Everyone can participate. If you are in store, there is a draw jar on the Member’s table. The 1st give-away book is Indigenous Toronto. Last day to enter in store has passed, but we have a separate draw posted on Karma’s social media (so there were two chances to win), please follow Karma on Facebook and Instagram. Our 2nd book will be Welcome to Blackhurst. Keep on the lookout for details in-store and on Karma’s socials.
This is a baby step for the committee to do something concrete and engage the membership and community. What do you think of book give-aways? What books would you recommend for self-education and reflection? Would you like to see the choice of print, e-book or audio book in future?
To contact or join the committee email antioppression@karmacoop.org, you can also send feedback for myself and this article via the committee email.