'Silence is violence': Winnipeg group hosts community conversation on white supremacy

Around 200 people met at the University of Winnipeg on Wednesday to talk about race and white supremacy.

"I think the Canadian narrative is that we're a [cultural] mosaic and welcoming country and all this type of polite Canadian stereotypes that we have up north," said Alexa Potashnik, founder of Black Space Winnipeg.

The group organized the event, called Silence is Violence.

"The reality is that white supremacy does exist. It knows no borders. It doesn't know any boundaries. It's regulated by the state, it has social and political influence," she said.

The event began at 6 p.m. at the U of W's Bulman Centre. It had initially been slated for the school's Riddell Hall, but had to be moved because of strong interest, Potashnik said.

The first portion of the event was set aside for members of the BIPOC — black, Indigenous and people of colour — communities to share their perspectives before it was opened up to allies to join the conversation.

"This dialogue, this discussion is very important, it's very key," said Adeline Bird, vice-president of Black Space.

Potashnik said Black Space members started calling for the event in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this month.

A 20-year-old man who reportedly idolized Nazis in high school drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters who gathered to oppose a white nationalist rally in the Virginia city. Nineteen people were injured and Heather Heyer, 32, was killed.

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White supremacist and alt-right groups are present in Winnipeg too, Potashnik said.

Bird added the event was also a response to the hateful graffiti that turned up in the city following the deadly Charlottesville rally.

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Potashnik said she hoped the Wednesday event gave people in Winnipeg an opportunity to speak openly about race issues.

"I want people, especially folks who are accustomed to privilege from the system, to really have an open, raw, real dialogue about privilege, race and supremacy, and really think and strategize ways to move forward as a community," she said.

Potashnik and Bird said it's essential for white allies to step up to combat racism when they see it, especially within their own social circles.

"People of colour, this is not our fight. We've been experiencing this for generations upon generations," Bird said.

"It's time for allies and non-people-of-colour to really step up and say, 'No more, enough is enough.'"