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ABSTRACT
The conflict between the ideology of democratic liberalism and the racist ideology present in the collective belief system of the dominant culture of Canada creates a fundamental dissonance. Although lip service is paid to the need to ensure equality in a pluralistic society, in reality individuals, organizations and institutions are far more committed to maintaining the status quo in order to stabilize or increase their power.
This paper identifies the concept of "democratic racism", an ideology that permits and justifies the maintenance of two apparently conflicting sets of values. One set consists of a commitment to a democratic society motivated by egalitarian values of fairness, justice and equality. In conflict with these liberal values, a second set of attitudes and behaviours includes negative feelings about people of colour that carry the potential for differential treatment or discrimination. In its simplest form, democratic racism reduces this conflict between egalitarian and non-egalitarian values.
White Canadians tend to dismiss easily the accumulated body of evidence documenting racial prejudice and differential treatment, including victims' testimonies and experiences. Public sector agencies conduct extensive consultations and then fail to translate their knowledge into substantive initiatives. Governments establish task forces and commissions of inquiry on racism to demonstrate their grave concern and then ignore the findings and recommendations. Academics produce important empirical studies documenting the ways in which people of colour are denied power and status, access and equity, rights and rewards, that are then buried. Politicians and the power elite within mainstream institutions rationalize away the racial boundaries and barriers that prevent people of colour from fully participating in the major arenas of social life including education, employment, media, justice, human services and the arts.
However, fundamental racial inequality persists and continues to affect the lives and life chances of people of colour in Canada. Racial prejudice and discrimination are a ubiquitous reality in the workplace. Racism flourishes in the school and classroom, negatively impacting on the performance of children of colour. Racist assumptions and practices by the print and electronic media marginalize the position and status of racial minorities by portraying them as invisible or by depicting them as outsiders. Arts\cultural organizations ignore and exclude the creative images, words and voices of people of colour. Patterns of policing and...