Growing up Black in White Ontario, Anish Bensdira

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Anish Bensdira writes about her experience growing up as a person of colour in a predominately white culture. “Years of living in a small town nearly ‘white-washed’ me,” she writes. “Then BLM came along. Getting involved with activism made me realize who I am.”

By Anisha Bensdira, Broadview, March 9, 2021

In 2011, when I was seven, my family moved from Hamilton to Collingwood, Ont. — from a multicultural city to a predominantly white and privileged town. I was often the only child of colour in my classes. Black culture was no longer present within my community.

At school, the game of “how many pencils can fit in Anisha’s hair without her noticing” became a daily entertainment for my classmates. I was 11 years of age. I was told by adults that they were just kids being kids. However, to me it was racism.