Does anyone know what it would have been like to experience racism in the 1950-60s? I know education and general treatment was extremely bad but what would it be like for an average family, more specifically in Canada if you can manage that. I'm working on a vampire character who lived around this time and want to know more of what that would end up looking like.
Or even better if there would be anything this character might bring over from modern day? Like any ideals or beliefs around racism and white people in general? Anything and everything is welcome! I'm trying to be as educated as I can be for writing my girl's backstory.
As a white person I don't know anything about experiencing racism, but as a Canadian I can tell you a little bit about our history in that department:
- Canada didn't have Jim Crow laws like the US, but racial segregation was still very much present.
- Slavery in Canada was abolished in 1834, but segregation still persisted after this.
- It really kind of depends what province you're in. Ontario and Nova Scotia had legally segregated schools that were created by the provincial governments.
- These schools were especially present in southern Ontario, as this was where freed/escaped slaves from the US were coming.
- While Ontario and Nova Scotia were the only provinces to have laws that enabled segregation, it was still acceptable in other provinces for white people to deny black people entry into white owned businesses or schools.
- The Human Rights Act was passed in 1977, and this was when a lot of these practices began to change. The last segregated school closed in 1983 in Lincolnville, Nova Scotia
Or even better if there would be anything this character might bring over from modern day? Like any ideals or beliefs around racism and white people in general?
Depends on what you want your character to be like, I suppose. In general, things are much better than they were but racism is still very much present here.
I guess one thing to consider is that Canada and the US are very close, and a lot of times Canada can almost be a bit swayed by stuff that is going on in the US. If you want a recent (and coincidentally very relevant) example, there was a really big response to the death of George Floyd here. Like, everyone had an opinion, it was all over social media and there was a lot of BLM protests (especially in the bigger cities). It also sparked a discussion about how yes, this happens here in Canada too.
So, if your character was in Canada in the 50's and 60's although most provinces didn't have segregation laws this was a time in the US where there was a big push for black rights. I can't really say for certain, but I imagine that the political climate in Canada would be mirroring this. You'd probably see both sides of the argument playing out- people either campaigning for better rights, or racist jerks who think we should be more like the US.
Hope that helped. Here's some further reading if you need:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/racial-segregation-of-black-people-in-canada
https://ansa.novascotia.ca/content/african-heritage-month-narratives-week-three#:~:text=Several%20provinces%20including%20Ontario%2C%20Quebec,%2C%20in%20Lincolnville%2C%20Nova%20Scotia.
