(UN)HEARD by Iconoclast Collective

v Cover Art: Katie Butler

Directors + Editors: Veronica Botnick, Catherine Cassels, Jade Rozal, Celine Tsang Copy Editor: Abby Stevenson Head of Graphics + Layout: Sally Gotlieb and Bridget Koza Graphic Designers: Amina Ali, Arteen Haddad, Shirley Jiang, Tiffany Lin, Catrina Tang The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. Its contents do not reflect the opinion of the University Students’ Council of the University of Western Ontario (“USC”). The USC assumes no responsibility or liability for any error, inaccuracy, omission, or comment contained in this publication or for any use that may be made of such information by the reader. Alters by RUNNY ARTS

art by SOPHIE HOLLAND

(UN)HEARD began less intricately than it finds itself now — as simply “UNHEARD.” Without the parentheses, there exists a certain implied passivity unsuitable for the loudspoken pieces contained in this issue. We seek to share just a fraction of the uninhibited energy that lies behind the current global demands for justice. (UN)HEARD acknowledges the past and ongoing hardships that BIPOC communities face, while devoting our share of the voice to expression of their lived experiences. This cultural revolution has taught us that Canada is far from immune. Kimberly Douglas’ “address to the ‘best’ country in the world” touches aptly upon the dissonance between the idealistic self-presentation of Canada and the reality of the indignities that Canadian BIPOC have faced, and continue to face. In the 1860s, Londoners welcomed with open arms Confederate families who flooded into Canada to hide out after the Civil War. These oppressors discovered a newfound solace in London, Ontario, and lived in peace for the rest of their lives, despite being sought after for murder and mayhem. Consider who is being given solace today. While the times we are living in are unprecedented, moments of uncertainty during the pandemic have given us ample opportunity to reflect. Daryn Osman’s “Socially Liberal, Morally Conservative” prompts us to reflect on the importance of discussing racism with those closest to you. Especially as we are tangibly closer to our loved ones than ever before, we must not neglect the necessity of those difficult conversations. As we ideated (UN)HEARD, we wondered what had been learned and where there was space to grow. Bridget Koza’s “Audre Lorde” celebrates one of the most powerful, self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior” poets in recent history. A champion for the rights of Black women, it is trailblazers like Lorde that we look to draw strength from in these times. This issue was born out of the idea that, “We are here to get it right, not be right.” We are humbled and honoured to have been able to learn and grow throughout the creation of this issue with the support of our team, as more than ever we have strived to harness the power of ICONOCLAST as a true collective. Even so, we stress that this issue is not about us, but rather the responsibility we have to share BIPOC lived experiences. (UN)HEARD is a call for non-BIPOC readers to keep learning and listening. The conversation does not end after the last page of this publication is seen and shelved away. Rather, from the first page, we begin a new dialogue — one that is mired in unbridled passion and support, rather than a callous apathy. Passivity has never been better than upfront hostility. And for our BIPOC creators, we are eternally grateful to you for sharing your experience with us. We hope that this issue has amplified what you have wanted to say. Love, Veronica, Catherine, Jade, Celine

awe(am) by Anaa Gulzar

Airborne by Tiffany Lin

Minnesota Riots by Darcy McVicar

(zeh)en by Anaa Gulzar

Audre Lorde by Bridget Koza Art by Chelsea Hitchen Lotus by Elvira Shah

(naqshon ka naq)shhh by Anaa Gulzar Remember Me by Tiffany Lin

Art by Grace Fan Talk of the Town by Anonymous

Art by Amina Ali Socially Liberal, Morally Conservative by Daryn Osman Listen by Angelina Havaris

Canadian Multiculturalism and Neoliberalism in Anti-Racist Policymaking by Kristen Le

address to the “best” country in the world by Kimberly Douglas

awe (am)

text by ANAA GULZAR

awe(am) we watch in horror [the people] we watch intrigued we watch in awe in a crowd at sheer one voice alone destruction is seldom heard and so allow me to explain to you, but if a crowd dear people, were to say my question the very same words, i hesitate a phrase, even, because i do not know together, is it right or is it wrong aloud— to plant a water-loving flower then by God, in this how do i even drought, begin to explain dry, bare but full how the echoes of of ignorance a single day where rain threats recur leave me in awe, but drops fall in impatience show a nation and we wait. its flaw. so i ask the people and the chant is it right or is it wrong the people and the belief to birth my child the people and the creed our child now let’s add an your child ‘s’ a human into this plurality ‘awe’? at its finest in agreement. is it right or wrong for that being justice. unity. peace. to join the people who fairly and unfairly awestruck is society break another’s back? thunder sounds people and we are still almighty who misuse the meaning and shame what the very lightning strikes essence of life is? but the same people sounds are now silenced who rip the earth open only to have it come back hurting?

we sit in awe. we stand in awe. we live in awe. and another dies ‘in awe’ ‘O’ people, i am lost but i am lost in awe or am i really lost in thought? and despite my dreaming and despite my dilemma i fear my words at first we’re lost in a crowd but i am not in awe, not then.

art by DARCY MCVICAR

Minnesota Riots

Against the laughing storm I am a nightingale, an eagle, a robin â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A burning swallow with her right wing Dipped in tears of gold Fighting. Staggering. I am all of them â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Though I am none. I am like the swan, Refusing to sing her song, A melody that drifts Above the listless, makeshift ravines, Teasing gravity. Her rhythm is like a steady drum; But who will march to the withering Pulses of her heart, When the notes are melting off The stiff-backed spines? She is smudged. Smeared. Silent. And finally,

airborne

airborne text by TIFFANY LIN

zeh(en) [the mind] how can you reduce the body the actions the thoughts the silence of my colour of my creed of my origin to the category “of unimportance” ?

God-given but scorned and labelled by those on Earth: all of whom should be insignificant

how can you assume a spirit to be satiated when you refuse to comprehend its thirst?

is it in our nature to claim a superior? is only one tongue allowed to be revered? why do we hierarchize the syllables of sustenance? the speech of you and i: the defect or

why is a tongue drenched with a grade a marking an achievement: what you like to call “intelligence”? why do we not drown? but surely if not us then our future lineages shall have this breakdown they say illiterate they say ignorant my words my ears my eyes mindless with an innate mind silent and savage with a bloodline inexcusable and exotic when i speak my my birthright.

participating in the race for a global vernacular that is not even mine

accent

of mankind

in what language do you even try to impress the hearing and unkind?

text by ANAA GULZAR

“zehen” means “mind” in Urdu and en or EN is a code in reference to the English language.

art by BRIDGET KOZA

S U T o L S U T S o LLoTU S U T o L S U T o L S U T o L S U T o L S U T o L S U T o L

There is a woman Down by the ocean Born of a lotus Completely of green and teal Now she stands Blindfolded alone Where even the sun could not reach her eyes She heard a rumour Of beguiles and sinners She promised to live in peace Safe and free But, sirens have never sung Heathens just appear And blame a song that was never sung

They lied and schemed Stole the gold in her eyes that supplied the sun of its rays And the brown in her skin that cultivated the earth And cut her footsteps that commanded the worlds Placed chains A lotus now afraid to grow She reminds her sisters That they grow from the ground No amount of pruning or sharpening Can prevent them from growing into the sun. text by ELVIRA SHAH

art by CHELSEA HITCHEN

text by DARYN OSMAN

To live in a liberal world, Means to live in a conservative society Where most are only socially liberal. You might judge someone on Twitter For not defending a political movement But once you go home And you hear your mother criticizing it You stay silent. Leave the stranger alone, Because change from within And cycles break from within This opinion that you hold That is dearest to you Might not matter to the online stranger But this opinion that you hold

art by AMINA A

That is dearest to you

M O R A L LY C O N S E RVAT I V E

SOCIALLY LIBERAL,

Matters to those who are dearest to you.

L Lii sten sten

text by ANGELINA HAVARIS Listen Hear the cries of the people for justice, swift and true cascading throughout time as the voices of the past bleed into the present mingling with our call to action Listen Hear that? The roar of generations, a spark that grows and will not fade nor be contained

until justice overflows like a stream Listen Hear the demands to right the wrongs while seeking change may we have hope that the tidal wave will not recede, but flow abundantly Listen Listen Listen

Talk ofthe Town Talk of the town Widely renown Wanted as if I were wearing a crown

Talk of the town Smile to a frown Rapturous revel in shredding me down

Talk of the town Suffer and drown Boots on bare body the silence is sound Talk of the town Beaten and brown No longer human not proper just noun Talk of the village Ransack and pillage Vision reflecting their very own image Talk of the city Scream if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re with me Our revolution and I will permit me Speak for myself Switch the position Thank you for coming now sit down and listen Crown my achievements and notice me now Shredding the chains that were holding me down Silence a lie take your boot off our throat Properly talk to me hear out what I can see Decimate property vision hypocrisy Need not permission help reclaim the boat Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paddle to greatness we splash the same stroke

text by ANONYMOUS

art by GRACE FAN

text by KRISTEN LE Multicultural policy is meant to be part of an anti-racist project. It exists in order to counteract the racial inequities embedded in Canadian history and Canadian policy making. Canada prides itself on being the first country to become officially multicultural, notably the Canadian Multiculturalism Act. Under the political and economic regime of neoliberalism, multiculturalism works to reinforce a racist status quo by using the marketplace to commodify cultural differences, which as a result accentuate race and stratify neoliberal multiculturalism. As such, the concept of multiculturalism does not result in anything substantial, let alone in anti-racism. Without a strategy that fundamentally challenges neoliberal valorizations of the capitalist system (a structure that relies on inequalities), anti-racist organization movements and in this case, Canadian multiculturalism, will never be enough to eradicate racism. Canada was originally occupied by hundreds of Indigenous nations. Wars between the British and the French claimed the land and justified this through the belief in the doctrine of discovery: the belief that if the settlers found the land, they had the right to possess it (Fontaine 2015). The colonialists did not

want to share the financial burdens of Indigenous peoples; they wanted to establish domination of the global economy and thereby invented the concept of race, categorizing and subordinating Indigenous peoples for capital gain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; assimilating them into one body politic of whiteness. Canadian colonialism has served the powerful and not the people (Fontaine 2015). Racism reifies race by producing hierarchical racial categories on the foundation of class interest.

Subsequently, neoliberalism valorizes capitalism: it exhibits the values of individual choice and personal freedom as market actors, rather than political and social rights. Additionally, it masks Canada’s colonial violence with a human face by producing a narrative of being a multicultural state which mistakenly synonymizes diversity and representation with anti-racism (Reed 2018). Consequently, racism is understood as overt, alienated actions which only a few bad people can commit – as Reni Eddo-Lodge quotes in her article, Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race, “We tell ourselves the good people can’t be racist. We seem to think that true racism only exists in the hearts of evil people. We tell ourselves that racism is about moral values, when instead it is about the survival strategy of systemic power”(32). By omitting the relationship between racism and the capitalist state under neoliberal paradigms, we are falsely living in solidarity with each other under the narrative which claims that structural racism has been eradicated and that we have closed the gap of racial inequalities (Reed 2018). Canada’s national identity of being multicultural often makes people claim that they are “colour blind”, a term that has been used to prevent people from acknowledging that structural racism exists. Colour blindness is a term that argues racial classification does not limit a person’s opportunities; in essence, that we have fully closed the gap of racial inequalities,

and that we see people as people without regard to race (O’Brien 2000). However, colour blindness is a systemic barrier to fully becoming anti-racist because many people claim to not see (but do see) racial differences; they choose to discard race as a factor in treating others, but look at race as something to look past, which in turn reifies race. Additionally, colour blindness rightly argues that race does not matter, but it misses a significant point in combatting racism; the belief that ignoring race eliminates racism only obscures the problem because class is never discussed (Steele 2020). As a result, by choosing to ignore race, collective efforts cannot be made to fundamentally challenge the system that permits hierarchical power relations; it renders systemic racism invisible. Works Cited Eddo-Lodge, R. (2017, May 30). Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/ world/2017/may/30/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-whitepeople-aboutrace Fontaine, P. (2015). A Knock on the Door: The Essential History of Residential Schools From the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Edited and Abridged. University of Manitoba Press. O’Brien, E. (2000). Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations: Antiracism . Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: https://link-springercom. proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/content/pdf/10.1007/9780-387-70845-4.pdf Reed, A. (2018). Antiracism: a neoliberal alternative to a left. Dialectical Anthropology, 42(2), 105–115. Steele, W. (2020). Neoliberalism. Powerpoint Presentation.

LAS OUG D Y BERL y KIM

text b

to Canada, the country in which I took my first breath, congratulations. you win the award for best country to mask their racial injustice in attempts to fool an entire nation. it’s amazing how you can compare yourselves to avoid the conversation. as if the lesser of two evils isn’t still evil. you claim “the true north strong and free”, you claim that you “stand on guard for thee” but “Oh, Canada”, please tell me, would you really stand on guard, for me? do not forget that “looters” stole this country. do not ignore the fact that what was once turtle island now houses your local Tim Hortons. cut the impunity. I wasn’t aware that a medium double double was the monetary equivalent of indigenous communities. this land has felt the effects of slavery too, and you had your prison, you just called it “school”. you wouldn’t know the blood on your hands from the red on your own flag, I’m extremely disappointed in you. but unfortunately, not surprised, for I’m not a stranger to the disregard of black lives.

2020