Cultural pluralism is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, and their values and practices are accepted by the wider culture provided they are consistent with the laws and values of the wider society. Over the years, Canada has become more and more open to the idea…
We’ve all heard at least one complaint about the “unfairness” of our most recent federal election. But when we compare the voting process today to the voting process fifty years ago in racially segregated America, our democracy suddenly seems much more free and equal. But how exactly was this old voting process “unfair”? Look no…
Jazz became a mainstream staple of American culture in the early 1900’s with the rise of Be-Bop. Many rising artists from this era of jazz suffered from heroin addiction. A Brief History of Jazz Jazz developed from Rag and blues in the late 19th century, and was born in New Orleans. Louis Armstrong was one…
I recently finished reading this book while I was sick. Amongst a pile of tissues and wrapped in a blanket, I found that the book was beautiful, and I regret that I could not appreciate it in more dignified manner… oh well. Frankly, I have no idea how to describe the complex yet wonderfully captivating…
Music is a powerful tool. Whether it’s a Bösendorfer piano, a Tenori-On (Google it!) or a Shekere from West Africa, music has moved and touched humans all throughout time. It tells stories (take a look at “Wade in the Water”, a song sung by African slaves who worked in the fields) and is true to…
Although, the exact date of her death is not definitely known; Anne Frank and her sister Margot Frank were spared immediate death in the Auschwitz gas chambers. Instead, they were sent to Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp in Northern Germany where they died from Typhus sometime in late February or early March of 1945, just weeks…
The 1929 American Wall Street Crash caused the intertwined European economy to crash as well. After WWI, Germany was depending on America for loans so she could pay back her war reparations, and the money countries such as France and Britain received money from Germany and going back to America to repay the war bonds.…
To be weakened by war means to be unable to sufficiently sustain the country economically and politically. There is a failed attempt to deliver adequate services to the citizens, and often this results in a high mortality rate due to food shortages and a general decrease in public morale because of low development, which limit…
The black deaf community is wholly shaped by two marginalized communities: deaf and African-American. For women, the prejudice may reach an intersectionality of three, experiencing sexism, racism, and communication barriers. The history of prejudice and segregation against black folk invented a dialect of American Sign Language (ASL), known simply as Black ASL. The discriminatory practices…
Looking past personal prejudices, similar to sexism and homophobia, racism is systematic. It exists within societal institutions like the government, the education system, the health care system, the criminal justice system, and the work force. This results in underrepresentation of people of colour in positions of power and mistreatment of people of colour across institutions…
In February 2014, London-based, award winning journalist, Reni Eddo-Lodge published a blog titled, “Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race.” It explained the vastly recognized frustration that people of colour experience describing struggle to those who can’t wholly relate and refuse to listen. In the blog she explains, I cannot continue to…
For my English class, we had to read a book called Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. At first, I wasn’t too excited about it considering it wasn’t the type of book I usually read, but after finishing it this weekend, my opinion has been changed. This is such a phenomenal book with such a deep plot.…
I’ll bet Sir John Sparrow David Thompson, Minister of Justice of Canada in 1892, could never have imagined that a small, personal project could one day become the code upon which justice is determined in Canada. After its confederation in 1867, Sir John A. Macdonald (photo below), then Prime Minister of Canada, was determined not…
When most people think of the Yukon Territory, they think of a barren land of ice and snow which few people want to live in. However, there was a time in history, especially between 1896-1899, when people flocked to the Yukon in the thousands from around North America. This event is known as the Klondike…
Before the Calgary Stampede was the “greatest outdoor show on earth,” it was simply an idea born from a city kid who had long since dreamt of the cowboy way of life. Inspired by agricultural exhibitions dating back to 1886 and matched with his desire to branch out as an impresario, Guy Weadick formed a…